{"id":26154,"date":"2021-03-23T07:51:57","date_gmt":"2021-03-23T07:51:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.horbiter.com\/citizen-promaster-eco-drive-professional-diver-1000-bn7020-09e\/"},"modified":"2024-06-03T07:18:12","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T05:18:12","slug":"citizen-promaster-eco-drive-professional-diver-1000-bn7020-09e-watch-hands-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horbiter.com\/en\/citizen-promaster-eco-drive-professional-diver-1000-bn7020-09e-watch-hands-on\/","title":{"rendered":"The Citizen Promaster Eco-Drive Professional Diver 1000 BN7020-09E watch hands-on"},"content":{"rendered":"

100 years of Citizen watches (celebrated almost in silence).<\/h2>\n

There is a simple rule to keep in mind when you visit\u00a0Baselword<\/strong>; the most\u00a0important novelties are never confined to the ground floor only. The second floor of the central hall is primarily dominated by the three big Japanese groups: Citizen<\/strong>, Seiko<\/strong>, and Casio<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Citizen-pavilion-booth-Baselworld-2017\"This year, Citizen<\/strong> celebrates its\u00a0100th<\/sup> Anniversary<\/strong> and celebrates it with some commemorative models and a completely renovated booth that has moved to the center of the floor\u00a0and includes the Citizen Pavilion<\/strong>,\u00a0where they proudly display all the watches from the brands belonging to the Citizen Group<\/strong>, many of which are located in Europe<\/strong> such as for example the Frederique Constant<\/strong>\u2013Alpina<\/strong> group, acquired one year ago.<\/p>\n

\"Citizen-baselworld-2018-booth\"Moving from the product industry to the timepieces\u00a0displayed at this exhibition, the\u00a0Citizen Promaster Eco-Drive Professional Diver 1000 BN7020-09E <\/strong>is back in the news since it successfully blends\u00a0the\u00a0brand\u2019s experience in creating professional diver\u2019s watches with their Eco<\/strong>\u2013Drive<\/strong> technology.<\/p>\n

\"Citizen-Promaster-Eco-Drive-Professional-Diver-1000m-5\"Last year it was displayed in a renewed yet dark booth, inside a thematic area devoted to the Promaster<\/strong> collection.\u00a0This year\u00a0it was instead placed inside a much brighter and more enjoyable space, which included commemorative models such as the Citizen Satellite Wave GPS<\/strong>\u00a0CC7005<\/strong>\u201316G<\/strong> and the beautiful Citizen Promaster AV0077<\/strong>\u201382E<\/strong>, the modern re-edition of the legendary Citizen Bullhead<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The legacy of the Citizen Promaster AutoZilla NH6930-09FB.<\/h2>\n

Why is the Citizen Promaster Eco-Drive Professional Diver 1000 BN7020-09E<\/strong> so important? Because it has marked\u00a0the come-back of Citizen<\/strong> among hyper-professional diver\u2019s watches by replacing the historic automatic Citizen Promaster AutoZilla NH6930-09FB<\/strong> with a timepiece equipped with impressive technical features and a crafting level that, personally, I have never encountered in any other Citizen Promaster<\/strong> before.<\/p>\n

\"Citizen-Promaster-Eco-Drive-Professional-Diver-1000m-7\"The Citizen Promaster Eco-Drive Professional Diver 1000 BN7020-09E <\/strong>is, first of all, a beautiful watch; its Japanese designers started off with the current platform of their professional diver\u2019s watches characterized by a case with a \u201cperfect cylindrical symmetry<\/em>\u201d typical of the last generation of Promaster Eco-Drive<\/strong> diver\u2019s watches (no lugs and the\u00a0Accordion strap<\/strong> that enters the case with no continuity solution).<\/p>\n

A timepiece with outstanding technical features.<\/h2>\n

Citizen<\/strong> came up with a new blocking system for the bezel, one of the most important features when it comes to professional diving sessions,\u00a0that is made up of a ring coaxial to the bezel itself that, when rotated clockwise, can block the bezel in a specific position. Conversely, if you rotate it counterclockwise (FREE<\/strong>), you can unlock it.<\/p>\n

\"Citizen-Promaster-Eco-Drive-Professional-Diver-1000m-3\"The bezel doesn\u2019t feature the classic micro-grooves typical of all diver\u2019s watches but it rather features six \u2018wings\u2019 that remind me of a shuriken<\/strong> design and that are built to allow a diver to easily grab the bezel when underwater and let it rotate even when wearing thick diver\u2019s gloves.<\/p>\n

The case is made of titanium<\/strong> and it underwent a hardening treatment called Duratect MRK<\/strong> that is applied to the entire watch with crown and helium-escape-valve (something we could get rid of) included, so as to withstand the pressure of water at a 1000<\/strong>\u2013metre<\/strong>\u2013depth <\/strong>(ca 100 bar). The Citizen Promaster Eco-Drive Professional Diver 1000 BN7020-09E<\/strong> is the first watch equipped with the Eco-Drive <\/strong>technology that can reach this depth and is therefore a milestone in the history of Citizen<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Citizen Promaster Eco-Drive Professional Diver 1000 BN7020-09E is a hefty watch.<\/h2>\n

The case is quite impressive (52,5mm<\/strong>) and it is larger by 3mm<\/strong> than that of the Citizen Promaster Depth Meter<\/strong> (that I owned), but the thickness is even more impressive since it was necessary to create something that could satisfy a 700m-rating higher than the entry level diver\u2019s watch; the BN0175<\/strong>\u201301E<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Citizen<\/strong> mainly chose the Super Titanium<\/strong> so as to make it extremely light and the manufacture\u00a0also took the very best from its technologic shelf to make it extremely resistant. The Super Titanium<\/strong>\u2013made<\/strong> case<\/strong> undergoes then\u00a0Duractect DLC<\/strong>, MRK<\/strong> and TIC<\/strong> treatments. The DLC<\/strong> acronym might sound familiar to watch-making fans (it stands for \u201cDiamond Like Carbon<\/em>\u201d).<\/p>\n

\"Citizen-Promaster-Eco-Drive-Professional-Diver-1000m-6\"The MRK<\/strong> treatment consists of a treatment where titanium<\/strong> is combined with nitrogen<\/strong> and oxygen<\/strong> to make it extremely strong, the TIC<\/strong> treatment, on the other hand, is a chemical treatment, where a thin layer of titanium carbide<\/strong> is transferred on to the metal surface.<\/p>\n

The Eco<\/strong>\u2013Drive<\/strong> movement, once fully wound, can last up to 1,5 years<\/strong> rather than the standard 6 months<\/strong> of the other Promaster<\/strong> watches (but keep it please always under a source of light, you might otherwise experience what I personally experienced with my Citizen Promaster Altichron Titanio<\/strong><\/span><\/a>).<\/p>\n

JAMSTEC, Citizen\u2019s technical partner in testing the\u00a0Promaster Eco-Drive Professional Diver 1000 BN7020-09E.<\/h2>\n

The Citizen Promaster Eco-Drive Professional Diver 1000 BN7020-09E<\/strong> was developed by Citizen<\/strong> in collaboration with JAMSTEC<\/strong> (the \u201cJapan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology<\/em>\u201d) that fully tested the watch prototypes using the Shinkai 6500 <\/strong>(JAMSTEC<\/strong> partners with Seiko<\/strong> too), a small submarine used by the agency\u2019s technicians to explore ocean depths.<\/p>\n

According to the brand, the Citizen Promaster Eco-Drive Professional Diver 1000 BN7020-09E<\/strong> kept working non-stop even when it reached depths well above 1,000m<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Citizen-booth-Baselworld-2017\"It is therefore neither the classic Eco-Drive<\/strong> nor the classic Promaster<\/strong>, it is rather a watch that summarizes exceptional technical specs and that follows a manufacturing process that differs from the standard one all the other models of this collection undergo.<\/p>\n

The timepiece is hand-assembled by a dedicated and highly-specialized team following the criteria of the pharmaceutical industry (i.e. in an environment completely dust-free) and a rigid assembling process that only allows the team to craft\u00a035 pieces a day<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Price and availability.<\/h2>\n

All those who have never been able to get their hands on an Autozilla<\/strong>, are now given the chance to purchase the new Citizen Promaster Eco-Drive Professional Diver 1000 BN7020-09E<\/strong> that is fully\u00a0available, at the brand\u2019s authorized retailers as well as on the grey market.<\/p>\n

The official retail price of the most advanced ISO 6425<\/strong> certified timepiece ever crafted by Citizen<\/strong> totals 2,200 euro\u00a0<\/strong>but you can buy it on line with a 40% discount approximate (and no manfuacturer\u2019s warranty). It is retailed at a premium price that cannot be compared to the retail price of Citizen<\/strong>\u2019s top range timepieces from 10 years ago and neither are the products comparable.<\/p>\n

\"Citizen-Promaster-Eco-Drive-Professional-Diver-1000m\"This diver\u2019s watch belongs to that family of timepieces that Citizen<\/strong> releases on to the market every 2 years as its flagship models and devoted to a small group of aficionados; this model does not follow the standard production volumes and processes of traditional diver\u2019s watches.<\/p>\n

If you are a fan of diving and this type of diver\u2019s watches also, bear in mind that the quality of the crafting is simply extraordinary, despite the fact I would have expect Citizen<\/strong> to come up with a case with no helium-escape-valve; a goal that Citizen<\/strong> could easily achieve and that his Japanese competitors have reached already.<\/p>\n