In Review: Citizen Promaster Dive Fugu

Not that long ago, we brought you word of the latest version of the Citizen Promaster Dive Fugu (you can see that here). Since we published that article, we’ve were able to spend some time with a review loaner, and have our thoughts organized now to give you our take on the watch.

What’s it all about?

For a watch design that originally hails from 1989, the Citizen Promaster Dive Fugu is a dive watch that fits very solidly into today’s dive watch aesthetic. Part of that is due to just how changeless dive watch designs are, and as a result they look good year after year. It’s got all of the design cues that help it maintain legibility under water (large hands that are easy to tell apart, oversized indices, and high-contrast colors) that let you know that, yes, this is a purpose-built watch.

What we really, really like about it

On paper, the Citizen Promaster Dive Fugu sounds like a very large watch, with a 44mm case. In all practicality, though, it wears (and looks) a bit smaller on the wrist. This is due to the curved surfaces, and how in-line to the case profile the dive bezel is (and yes, it’s still quite grippable). Combine this with the crown over at 8 o’clock, and you’ve got quite the recipe for extreme comfort, even with this larger watch. Oh, and that rubber strap – with the expansion ripples in it – of course fits quite easily on the wrist.

Who’s it for?

Ostensibly, the Citizen Promaster Dive Fugu is for people who dive. And yes, you could use it for that (with a 200m WR rating), but we really think this is more for people who are just around water a lot (and who isn’t, now that summer is just about here). Not desk divers, per se (though they could rock this), but for those folks who are always on the river, out in a canoe or fishing boat, or even just floating around in the inner tube in the pool. This is a watch meant for getting in the water, and it will look like it belongs there when it’s on your wrist.

How much does it cost?

This is where things get really dangerous for the dive watch shopper. Around the $500-mark, you’re thinking maybe something from the smaller independents. Well, the version of the Citizen Promaster Dive Fugu that we reviewed comes in at $550, which puts is squarely in the range of those indies. The very dive-watch enthused past me would have been all over this to the exclusion of some others. There’s just something about that combination of classic design and reliability promised from Citizen that just seems to hit a very sweet spot. There are two other versions as well, and a bracelet option available as well. You can check them out, and pick up your own, over at at citizenwatch.com