NY0040‑09E
Promaster Diver Promaster Automatic Diver 200m
Lug width: 20 mm
Source: Two sourcesCase size: 42 mm
The story · Since 1959
The story of the Citizen Promaster Diver
Two decades before the Promaster name existed, a six-person Japanese team climbed the north face of the Eiger with eight Citizen Seven Star divers, and each came through the climb unchanged.
- 1969 Up the Eiger's north face A six-person Japanese team, five men and doctor Michiko Imai, spent just over a month on the Eiger's north face, on a route dubbed the Japanese Direttissima.
- 1970s to 1980s The navy's Challenge Diver In the decade after the Eiger, Citizen released the Challenge Diver, a 41 mm watch with a rotating bezel and a 200 m rating.
- 1980s to 1990s Diving on a Civil War wreck Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientists trusted the Cyber Aqualand in their research, including Monitor 2001, a joint venture with the US Navy to salvage and recover portions of the USS Monitor.
- 1989 Land, sea and sky When Citizen created the Promaster family, divers were only one third of it.
- 2016 Below its own rating Citizen tested its Eco-Drive Professional 1000m with Japan's marine science agency JAMSTEC.
- 2022 to today A gauge on a light-powered chronograph The modern Aqualand combines a light-powered movement with a chronograph, a 50 m depth display and a DLC-coated bezel in a 200 m case.
8 of 8
Citizen Seven Star divers supplied for the 1969 Eiger climb, each unchanged at the end
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8 of 8Citizen Seven Star divers supplied for the 1969 Eiger climb, each unchanged at the end
1,000 mrating of the Eco-Drive Professional, which a prototype exceeded in 2016 testing
30+models in today's Promaster dive line-up
Chapters
- 1969
Up the Eiger's north face
A six-person Japanese team, five men and doctor Michiko Imai, spent just over a month on the Eiger's north face, on a route dubbed the Japanese Direttissima. Citizen supplied eight Seven Star divers, and each remained unchanged at the end of the climb.
- 1970s to 1980s
The navy's Challenge Diver
In the decade after the Eiger, Citizen released the Challenge Diver, a 41 mm watch with a rotating bezel and a 200 m rating. The Royal Australian Navy favoured it through the 1970s and into the 1980s.
- 1980s to 1990s
Diving on a Civil War wreck
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientists trusted the Cyber Aqualand in their research, including Monitor 2001, a joint venture with the US Navy to salvage and recover portions of the USS Monitor. The ironclad had sunk off Cape Hatteras in 1862, and the program comprised five expeditions.
- 1989
Land, sea and sky
When Citizen created the Promaster family, divers were only one third of it. The first line-up paired the Aqualand with the Altichron for mountaineers and the Aerochron for pilots, each built for a professional environment.
- 2016
Below its own rating
Citizen tested its Eco-Drive Professional 1000m with Japan's marine science agency JAMSTEC. A prototype strapped to a submersible went well past its 1,000 m rating in the dark bathypelagic zone.
- 2022 to today
A gauge on a light-powered chronograph
The modern Aqualand combines a light-powered movement with a chronograph, a 50 m depth display and a DLC-coated bezel in a 200 m case. Around it, the Promaster dive range has grown to more than thirty models.
Moments
1983. An unverified tale says a barnacle-crusted Challenge Diver washed up on the Australian coast and was still running when found.
1969. The Eiger connection was personal: Michiko Imai belonged to the same college mountaineering club as the daughter of Citizen president Eiichi Yamada.
A photo shows a Royal Australian Navy Executive Officer Commander placing a sailor's cap on a penguin named Paddles, with what appears to be a Citizen Challenge Diver on his wrist.
Generations and strap changes
- 2022Dive Automatic NY015x
Eight new 44mm Dive Automatics inspired by the 1989 NY004 brought caliber 8204, sapphire and a 120-click bezel.
Citizen lists a 20mm lug width for the NY0158-09L on its polyurethane strap.
- 2021Mechanical Diver NB6004
A 46mm Promaster Mechanical Diver 200m arrived on a polyurethane strap (NB6004-08E) or titanium bracelet (NB6004-83E).
- 1989Promaster line, NY004
Citizen launched the Promaster line in 1989; the NY004 diver set the 8 o'clock crown and heavy lume design later models follow.
- 1985Aqualand
The Aqualand quartz diver added an electronic depth sensor, which Worn & Wound calls the first of its kind on the market.
- 1982Professional Diver 1300m
Citizen released the Professional Diver rated to 1300m.
- 1970Challenge Diver
In the 1970s the Challenge Diver debuted as a 41mm dive watch with a rotating bezel, rated to 200m.
- 1959Parawater
Citizen's dive watch history starts with the Parawater, the base later Promaster divers trace back to.
Firsts and innovations
Monochrome traces the Promaster line to the mid-1980s Aqualand, which it describes as the first watch with an electronic depth gauge.