As part of an ongoing celebration for the 35th anniversary of its Promaster collection of purpose-built sports watches, Citizen has just announced three new limited-edition models that will be joining the lineup for 2024. Since the Promaster collection itself is divided between Land, Sea, and Air categories, the new trio of Citizen Promaster 35th Anniversary models represent each of these domains, and the collection includes a diver, a pilot’s watch, and a rugged multi-function piece that is intended for adventures on dry land.
The first of the three new Citizen Promaster 35th Anniversary watches is from the collection’s Sea series, and it is based upon the brand’s “Fujitsubo” diver, which first made an appearance in 2022 as the modern reinterpretation of a vintage Citizen dive watch from the 1970s that was lost at sea and washed up on a beach in Australia years later, covered in barnacles but still running. While Citizen has produced a few different versions of the Fujitsubo, the new Citizen Promaster 35th Anniversary Mechanical Diver 200m NB6026-56L is inspired by the blue oceans and white sands of Long Reef Beach in Australia where the original vintage Citizen diver washed up on the shore. Unlike previous Fujitsubo models, the new Citizen Promaster NB6026-56L features a blue dial paired with a black bezel insert, and it has a Platinum Duratect finish with a metallic blue bezel ring to further lean into its colorway and inspiration.
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Aside from its colors and finishing, the new Citizen Promaster 35th Anniversary Mechanical Diver 200m NB6026-56L is largely identical to its standard-production siblings, and it is crafted from the brand’s Super Titanium alloy with a case that measures 41mm in diameter by 12.3mm thick. Similarly, a sapphire crystal protects the dial, while a screw-down crown works together with a solid screw-down caseback helps support the 200 meters of water resistance that is offered by the Fujitsubo collection. Additionally, just like the rest of its siblings, the Citizen Promaster NB6026-56L is powered by the brand’s Cal. 9051 automatic movement, which is based upon the Miyota 9015 and runs at a frequency of 28,800vph (4 Hz) with a power reserve of approximately 42 hours. Lastly, the 20mm lugs are fitted with a matching bracelet that is crafted from Super Titanium with a Platinum Duratect finish to match the case.
The second limited-edition model from the new Citizen Promaster 35th Anniversary lineup is from the collection’s Air series, and it is based upon the brand’s current generation of Skyhawk A-T watches. Crafted from stainless steel, the angular case of the Citizen Promaster 35th Anniversary JY8146-54E measures 46.7mm in diameter by 13.8mm thick, with an integrated lug design that connects directly to its matching stainless steel bracelet. The majority of the case and bracelet components on the Citizen JY8146-54E are given a dark gray Duratect coating, while a Sakura Duratect finish appears on the crown, pushers, and the inner section of the slide rule bezel in order to provide the watch with a rose gold two-tone appearance. A flat sapphire crystal protects the dial, while a solid caseback closes up the reverse side of the watch, and water resistance for the Citizen Promaster JY8146-54E comes it at an ample 200 meters, despite being primarily intended for aviation use.
The design theme for the Citizen Promaster 35th Anniversary JY8146-54E is “midnight sun” and the colorway of the watch is inspired by the gray and pink hues of the night sky in polar regions where the sun never sets. Similar to the diver from the Promaster 35th Anniversary collection, the Citizen JY8146-54E is largely identical to its standard-production counterparts, and it offers the same advanced set of features. Based around a hybrid analog/digital display with a quartet of sub-dials and two LCD screens, the Citizen Promaster JY8146-54E offers a wealth of functions that include a chronograph, perpetual calendar, countdown timer, radio-controlled global atomic timekeeping, two programable alarms, world timer functionality, and an LED backlight. Additionally, making all of this functionality possible is the brand’s Cal. U680 Eco-Drive movement, which is powered by any light source (natural or artificial) and will run for 3.5 years in total darkness when in power save mode.
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The third and final model from the new Citizen Promaster 35th Anniversary lineup is from the collection’s Land series, and it represents a completely new addition to the Japanese manufacturer’s catalog. Known as the Citizen Promaster 35th Anniversary Eco-Drive Combination Watch JV1008-63E, the new limited-edition model is crafted from stainless steel with a dark gray Duratect coating, and it measures 43.9mm in diameter by 14mm thick. A flat sapphire crystal protects the dial, while a solid caseback is fitted to the reverse side of the watch, and water resistance for the Citizen JV1008-63E comes in at the same 200 meters that can be found throughout the rest of the Promaster collection. Additionally, while the right-hand side of the case receives a signed crown flanked by a pair of pushers, the left side features an additional crown at the 8 o’clock location, which is used to operate the internal compass bezel.
Although the lugs of the Citizen Promaster 35th Anniversary Eco-Drive Combination Watch JV1008-63E come fitted with a matching stainless steel bracelet that has a dark gray Duratect finish, the watch also comes packaged as a set with an interchangeable Cordura fabric strap. The centerpiece of the Citizen Promaster JV1008-63E is its hybrid analog/digital display that consists of a trio of centrally-mounted hands, two analog registers on the lower half of the dial, and a large memory in pixel (MIP) LCD screen that sits above the main time-telling hands. Powering the Citizen JV1008-63E is the brand’s all-new Cal. U822 Eco-Drive movement, which offers the usual wealth of features, such as a chronograph, alarm, countdown timer, world timer, and an LED backlight. Additionally, the Citizen Cal. U822 also includes a light level indicator function, which offers a visual representation of the movement’s ability to charge itself and can display up to seven days of power generation history.
In terms of pricing and availability for the new Citizen Promaster 35th Anniversary models, the Sea series Promaster Mechanical Diver 200m NB6026-56L will be produced as a limited edition of 4,500 examples and it will be accompanied by an official retail price of $1,195 USD. Meanwhile, the Air series Citizen Promaster JY8146-54E will be a limited edition of 5,600 examples and the Promaster Combination Watch JV1008-63E will have the largest production run at 5,900 examples, and both of these models will be priced at $995 USD. All three of the new limited-edition Citizen Promaster 35th Anniversary watches feature special celebratory engravings on their casebacks, and while the Sea and Air models are largely just variations of existing models from the brand’s current catalog, the Land series watch represents an entirely new design for Citizen, and it will be interesting to see how this concept gets reinterpreted as a standard-production model. For more information on the Citizen Promaster 35th Anniversary collection, please visit the brand’s website.
