They’ve gone for both a brushed and polished finish which is something I’ve always been quite a fan of. The top of the casing is finished in a brushed style, however, the sides of the casing have a polished shiny finish. I tend to find this sort of design gives a watch a high-quality look.

There’s no denying it’s a well made Japanese watch that’s ideal for diving with the ISO certification and high visibility display. Plus it’s what I’d class as an affordable watch which is something I love featuring on this watch blog. Lume is mesmerizing.. I'd say it could stay readable for at least 7 hours in darkness... after that it gets confusing, because both the dial and the hands lume is very good but after time they get mixed up. water resistance - ISO diver certified for scuba. The watch has been used by different military agencies and has been reportedly pressure tested to 500M without failure. One other unexpected result from my encounter with the 09W, I have started looking at other Citizen NYXXXX divers. I still like my Seikos and Orients, but see these Citizens as quality watches that deserve to be in everyone's collection. What an underappreciated example of the classic no-frills all-business rugged auto diver. I hope Citizen continues to build this line of watches for a long time. A strange feature of the Miyota 8200 movement is the fact that the crown sits at this odd 8:00 position, something I’ve already mentioned I’m a fan of. Water Resistance Rating

A number of subsequent commenters opine that the Citizen wears smaller (even "women's watch" small.) The Seiko has a slightly more octagonal shape, and, as discussed below, a much bigger, protruding crown. Because of that, I would agree that it wears larger. But in my experience, not extremely so. For those unfamiliar with the NY0040 line of divers, it has been around for some time, introduced originally in 1997. I think it is fair to say that it does not get a lot of attention nowadays. It is a conventional sized diver with a vintage look. Here is a summary of the key features that I have been able to glean: I hear stories that Hardlex is better than mineral. It may be; I haven't gotten scratches on either. But the Citizen is a fingerprint magnet (as you can see in the above photo). Does it have A/R on the outside? I can't tell and I couldn't find that spec. But with the "belief" that Hardlex is harder, and the crazy amount of fingerprints I see on the Citizen, Seiko is the winner here. The preceding is coming from a recently converted shameless fanboy of the NY0040-09W. Although it is still a NY0040, the design decisions made using the luminous dial make the 09W something completely different from the other NY0040's and your typical dive watch. I've probably drank too much of the "kool-aid", but believe the 09W is an overlooked gem that should be in everyone's collection. I currently prefer to wear the 09W over the SKX009 any day. I started a thread to discuss the 09W in more detail for those interested. Whether you are looking to dip your toe into the world of mechanical watches and are looking for a solid starting point, or you are in the market for a quality beater, the Citizen Promaster NY0040 definitely holds its own. Despite having flown under the radar for a long time, I think it’s a watch that deserves more recognition and consideration. With a retail price of around €190, it’s a true value proposition. With a military past for added credibility, these Citizens are a perfect care-free companion for any situation you might find yourself in.

To give an example, when I sleep say at 7pm I wake up at 4am and could tell the hour but not the minutes... What do you think of the Promaster? Do you own one? How do you like it? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! One final thought, if others agree, I would like to propose we come up with a name for the 09W and would welcome suggestions. After all, there are Seiko "Monsters", Orient "OSD", Omega "Speedys" and the like. Based upon my earlier comments, here are my two suggestions: the "Ghost Diver" or perhaps, the "Green Lantern". I don't know how to set up a poll, but if there is sufficient interest, I will go research, or better yet, ask that another fan set one up.The first thing I noticed as soon as I ripped up the handbrake and looked out of the car window was that directly across the street from the Air BNB was a dive shop. I looked down at my wrist and felt butterflies in my stomach. My mind was already made up. After a couple of days snorkeling the crystalline waters of Playa Chica I worked up the courage to walk into the dive shop. The people there were a band of incredibly friendly Brits, who immediately let me know all about the PADI discover scuba dive. The almost symbolic price of €50 got you a 30-minute dive, where you would learn how to gear up, equalize, and breathe underwater using a regulator. We agreed upon a time and date and just like that, it was in the books. Caution: I do not know if the EcoDrive diver this bracelet was meant for was distributed in markets other than the US. If so, the model number of the watch and/or the part number of the bracelet may differ from the numbers I’ve used. Accuracy is very good... I'd say +- 10 seconds.. What makes me like "my watch" is that it appears to deliver great accuracy even when it's energy is below half. After looking into the watch design, quality, features, and pricing this watch received a 9/10 from us at The Watch Blog. As you can tell by now, like the earlier poster, I too have become passionate about this watch. Indeed, I finally put up an avatar, and sure enough, it is an 09W lume shot that I captured. If you also like this watch and want to "join the club", please feel free to copy the image and use it as your avatar, too.