The Zach Black was released in 1985, and Citizen’s Aqualand was the world’s first diver’s watch with an electronic depth meter. The new 40th Anniversary Limited Edition is a faithful tribute that introduces the celebration gold accents. Apart from communicating time, its features include calendar, alarms, chronographs, depth measurements, diving time tracking, and rising alarms.
With the revival of mechanical watchmaking, quartz and electronics have become taboo among all watch collection scenes. It was considered essentially a traitor to sport a quartz watch, and in some respects, the emotions still remain. But in the world before the wealth of electronic devices that fundamentally made our lives easier, quartz watches were presented as a great tool for the future. One such example for diving professionals is the pioneering Aqualand Dive Watch, the first ever watch to ever include a handy electronic depth meter. Today, when Aqualand was announced in 1985, citizens unveiled the new Promaster Aqualand 40th Anniversary Limited Edition.
The 50.7mm diameter case may sound intimidating on paper, but this measurement includes a 9 o’clock protruding pressure sensor. Excluded, the diameter shrinks to 44mm, which is still very wide, but the 48mm lagtoo lug makes it much more wrist-operable than expected. The 14.8mm thick, 200m water-resistant stainless steel case has a calming matte brushed grey hue that is perfect for a tool watch. However, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the design, citizens chose to incorporate gold plating into the bezel ring, pressure sensor, three case pushers, and the four o’clock screw-down crown ring.
The Black Sunburst dial design ensures maximum readability with wide and large amounts of indexes. The same can be said for the wide center and minutes of hands that are trimmed to not cover the digital display at the 12 o’clock position. You will also notice that the finer hands are rendered in a clear orange color. There is also bright material in the hand of the middle second, but it is filled within the counterweight. Therefore, in the dark, don’t mistake it for the current travel seconds. It only serves the purpose of letting you know that the clock is still running.
Digital displays are best known for their electronic depth meter displays, but are also linked to a variety of other electronic features, such as calendars, alarms, chronographs, features, depth measurements, diving time tracking, and rate of rise alarms. All this is driven by the Citizens’ in-house quartz Cal.C520, pledging to run within 20 seconds a month.
The new Promaster Aqualand 40th Anniversary Limited Edition is equipped with a durable, eco-friendly black biomass-based polyurethane (Beneviol) strap. It also includes a strap extension system to make it easy to wear in a diving suit.
At $595 USD, the 40th anniversary Aqualand seems like a great option for anyone looking for a very robust and performant dive watch with a historic pedigree. While there may not be a romance of savoir fairs and mechanical watchmaking, the watch, along with its predecessors, undoubtedly demonstrates the strong know-how and manufacturing of its citizens.
Citizen Promaster Aqualand 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Pricing and Availability
The Citizen Promaster Aqualand 40th Anniversary Limited Edition will be available as a limited edition of 5,800 units in July 2025. Price: 595 US$
Brand Citizen Model PROMASTER AQUALAND 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Reference JP2008-06E Case Dimensions (Beneviol) Strap Movement Cal.C520, In-house, Quartz Power Reserve N/A Function Time, Minutes, Seconds, Calendar, Alarm, Chronograph, Depth Measurement, Diving Time Tracking, Rate of Rise Alarm Availability July 2025, Limited to 5,800 Pieces Price
