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Hello all,
I decided to write a small review on the Citizen 800m Titanium Professional Diver's. I always found it hard to get some info on this watch, so maybe I can make it a little easier for others...
(I am not a native speaker)
If I remember correctly this watch belongs to a family of the first Citizen Titanium Divers, which included a 1300m and a 300m models. The 1300m model was produced from 1983, and I believe the 800m model came out some years later. This particular model has been produced in 1991. I think it must also have been around that time when the model was discontinued. These watches seemed to have a direct Seiko-rival, the 600m Quartz Model. All of them are quite rare.
(taken from: http://www.network54.com/Forum/17022.../FS-+7c46-6009)
This professional diver's family is the ancestor of the EcoZilla and Autozilla.
Model name: Citizen Promaster 800m Professional Diver's
Movement #: 5503
Overview
This is a Professional Diver's watch, means it's been made for saturation diving. It is quite big, but thanks to the titanium it's light and wears very comfortable. It has all the features a dive watch should have plus the special bezel, which can only be operated when pressed down (press-to-turn). It came on the usual Citizen rubber strap, but after almost 20 years of usage it had to be replaced (I have it on an aftermarket rubber, though I think about buying an original one; I think the Citizen Aqualand rubber straps are the best on the market...).
On 3 o'clock position, a covering is integrated and screwed into the case. I guess it must be the cover sheet for the bezels blocking, I never took it off, the slotted screws seem to be a little flimsy and I didn't want to take the risk to destroy them (there was no need to take it off, so far). The knurled screw down crown is positioned at 8 o'clock.
Movement
It's the Citizen 5503, a quartz movement which obviously was available for 40-50$ back then (that's what I#ve read on one of the threads). It's 3.3mm thick, runs with ±15 seconds per month, 32,768 Hz, (actually mine runs with +1 to 2 sec/week) and uses a five-year battery. It has a power-warning (2 second steps) and is anti-magnetic.
The day/date can be quick set and comes in two languages (German/English, but I also have a Spanish/English one). The disks are black with white cyphers, the Sunday is red. The hands almost hit the minute markers, with only very little offset.
More info: http://www.citizenwatch.com/downloads/tech/tech.htm
Case
The Titanium is really nice to wear, the case is quite thick so the crown doesn't push into the back of your hand if you wear it in the right wrist. No sharp edges on this watch!
The lug width is 22mm, lug to lug is 46mm, 3-to-9 is 48mm and 8-to-2 (including crown) is 50mm. Thickness is 15.5/14.5mm (measurements have been taken with a sliding calliper).
The crown is knurled and has 6mm Ø. It has a lot of "wobble", so you better be a little careful when screwing it down.
The caseback shows the divers helmet, like you may know from the Zillas. A calender chart shows when the battery needs to be changed (same as for example the Seiko Sawtooth has).
The crystal is is the well-known mineral glass, it's flat. That's all there is to say about it...
Strap
As already mentioned above, it was on a rubber strap which was replaced. This watch can also be worn on bradcelets, e.g. a 22mm straight end Watchadoo, looks quite good actually!
Photo taken from: citizen 1300 meter diver
Bezel
I guess the bezel – apart from it's rarity – is what makes this watch so special. It can only be operated when pushed down. Doing this you'll reduce the thickness of the watch from 15.5 to 14.5mm.
Release it and it'll pop up again, pushed by (some?) springs. The blocking is (obviously) covered and it's a part of the case at three o'clock. That means that once the mechanism is worn out (which hasn't been the case in this watch), you'd be able to operate the bezel without pushing it down. Of course, due to this mechanism, the bezel has a little "play" compared to the normal ones. For example, if you clap your hands real hard, you can hear a sound from the bezel. It has 24 "teeth", which give it a real rugged look.
A (more or less) similar bezel was used for the Aquamount.
It has 60 clicks and can be turned anti-clockwise. The outer Ø is 42mm, inner Ø is 28mm. The golden cyphers are raised/machined away. Lume dot at 12, numbers every 10 minutes.
Dial
The dial has golden markers and capture, the Promaster-logo is red and the "800m" white. The hands are golden, too. The lume fades, but that's kind of normal for a almost 20-year old watch.
Closing comment
This is a rare watch, the chance of bumping into somebody that wears it/owns it/knows it equals zero I guess. It's a good everyday watch, there's no complaint about the wear.
Though, I wouldn't take it diving, because it seems to be really hard to find spare parts or even somebody that can do the servicing/pressure testing. Citizen Germany denies to service it, because the don't have the spare parts any more.
As written above, the bezel is very special, but has it's cons, too. But one more good thing about it is, that even if you hit something, the bezel is pushed in, so I believe that this mechanism prevents some dings...
I really like the watch, the golden hands and markers look cool and the watch runs perfectly. Plus, the caseback is wicked, I think.
Some more pics:
The bigger brother:
Photo taken from: citizen 1300 meter diver
Cheers,
Sebastian
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