Citizen BN0211-50E Promaster Tough Eco-Drive Black Dial Bracelet Watch - Simplicity Is Its Beauty, A Review (plus Video)

Any watch collector will have something to say about quartz watches. All would say that accuracy for quartz powered watches surpasses mechanical timepieces. Unfortunately, a lot of them also will shy away from acquiring a quartz watch due to the prevailing negative perception vis-a-vis a mechanical timepiece. Although I officially don't have such a bias view against quartz watches, the watches I acquire over the years appears to show a high degree of leaning towards mechanical timepieces. After looking at the facts and some soul searching, I came to the conclusion that my historical acquisition trail has been influenced by reviews and comments from other watch collectors.

I realised that my worldview is a reflection of the collective wants of all the watch collectors that are sharing their dreams about this hobby online. Unfortunately, this is not what I want in the hobby. For me, it is all about the design, technology and a watch's position on the evolutionary tree of watches. In the last year or so, I have started to become more inclusive and started to look further into the quartz world.



For this review, I set my sights on the Citizen Promaster Tough series. I saw the announcement by Citizen about this watch in 2018 and I was intrigued by the brand's assertion on its 'toughness'.



The year 2018 was an important year for Citizen as it marks its 100th year of existence. Due to this important brand milestone, Citizen came up with a number of new releases focused on heritage, innovations, technology as well as partnerships with other iconic brands. One of the least promoted but important new watch line to watch collectors as well as consumers looking for an accurate, durable, attractive and value-for-money timepiece in the Promaster Tough series. It is comprised of three watches with Eco-Drive movement as well as a few features watch enthusiasts should appreciate. Of the three options, I chose the black dial with bracelet version.



The 42 mm wide watch (excluding crown) with reference BN0211-50E is made out of brushed stainless steel. The surface has been coated in Duratect, Citizen’s proprietary surface hardening technique made out of titanium compound that allows for superior scratch resistance as well as anti-rust and hypoallergenic properties. Citizen claims such hardening technique is five times harder than typical stainless steel. Although I won't be actively looking at testing the claim, a number of reputable watch collectors have vouched for its strength. Other headline figures on its dimensions are as follows: lug-to-lug is 51 mm, thickness is 10.75 mm and lug width is 22 mm.

The watch is styled as a Sports Watch. The designers intend it to be used for all occasions. The rather simple dial design with just three hands and a date window makes it an ideal watch as it is at ease in a boardroom as well as on a racing yacht. Its simplicity is its beauty.



One design feature that a number of watch collectors (myself included) can appreciate is the monocoque construction. In this style of design, the watch does not have a traditional opening at the back. Instead, only one major opening in the casing is provided via the front (the holes for the crown as well as pushers, if any, are generally taken as standard in all designs). By removing the need for an additional case-back plate to be added later, the Promaster Tough has a thinner case. This style of construction not only allows for greater wearability but also amplifies the overall rigidity.  However, this style of manufacturing is more expensive. Instead of stamping it out of blanks, each casing has to be milled from blocks of stainless steel. For watch collectors, this style of manufacturing is rare. For me, monocoque timepieces are part of a unique sub-theme in my collection.

The dial is black and multi-layered. It has a sloping chapter ring also painted black with minute markers in white either in Arabic numerals (every 10 minutes), long markers (every other 5th minute) and short markers (the rest). The chapter ring lands on the first layer that rings around the dial and contains the primary hour markers.

The applied primary hour markers on the first dial layer are rectangular in shape and size with polished borders apart for the 12 o'clock and 3 o'clock markers. The 12 o'clock is a large triangle marker while the 3 o'clock is a shortened rectangular marker to accommodate the date window. All primary hour markers are painted with proprietary luminous paint called LumiNova made by a company called Nemoto & Co. Ltd.

At the centre of the dial is the second and final layer and here is were the brand, logo and some primary information about the watch are printed on. Compared to other watch brands, at least the logo or the brand would be an applied piece but for Citizen, the designers decided to have all the texts and logo printed. From a consistency points of view, it does make sense but from a branding point of view, the lack of emphasis on the brand is surprising. The key takeaway that Citizen wants viewers to have when looking at the dial is the fact that it is powered by an "ECO-DRIVE" movement and that it is water rated to "WR200" i.e. 200 meters.

The date window has a simple rectangular cutout that also extends slightly into the first dial layer. In keeping with the heigh of the hour marker at 3 o'clock, the date window is rather thin. Aesthetically, the size does blend nicely with the markers. However, practically, it is rather hard to see the date unless you are close to the dial and looking at it dead-on. If given the choice, I would design the date window differently. Instead of eating into the 3 o'clock marker, the date window can be relocated closer to the centre of the dial and put (at an angle) between the 4 o'clock and 5 o'clock positions. This way, the symmetry of the hour markers remain consistent especially in the dark when the glow of the luminous paint kicks in. In the photo below you can see the shorter illumination for the 3 o'clock hour marker.



The hours and minutes hands on the Promaster Tough is sword-like. With polished framed borders, the inner centres are painted with LumiNova. The seconds hand is painted red with a small arrow head at the tip painted with LumiNova. Visually, I would have preferred the minutes hand to be a slightly longer. It should cover the primary hour markers completely. The current length makes it harder to refer to the minutes. The hours hand should also be slightly longer so that it would as close as possible to the primary hour markers. Similarly, the same for the seconds hand as well.

Citizen use two different compound of LumiNova on the Promaster Tough for two different colors of illumination. The hour markers and the hours hand is green while the minutes hand  is blue. This should help minimise possible confusion in the dark.



Protecting the dial is flat sapphire crystal covered with anti-reflective coating. Surrounding the crystal is a fixed bezel. At the bottom of the bezel near the lugs at 12 o'clock position you can see the fine slit to help pry open the bezel from the watch (see photo above). From there, one can get access to the innards of the watch.



The crown is sizeable and located at the typical 3 o'clock position. It is a screw-down crown and partially protected by beefy shoulders that extrude out of the casing. The crown has gear-like texture on the side for grip and the Promaster logo etched on the top surface. The screw-threads are easy to engage during screw-down procedure.



The stainless steel bracelet on the Promaster Tough has the same Duratect hardening treatment as the watch casing. All the links are solid. The links are made out of H-links with a beveled rectangle block set in between the links. There are no drilled out lug holes on the 22 mm wide lugs for ease of straps replacement. Nevertheless, the contemporary sized lugs does allow one to easily source aftermarket straps to change the look and feel of the watch. There is a slight taper in the bracelet from 22 mm at the lugs to 20 mm at the clasp.


Sizing the bracelet is simple. The links are connected with friction pins. No half-links provided although three micro-adjustment points are provided on the clasp. The clasp has a fold-over-safety with push button lock. The bridge between the two halves of the bracelet is milled. It is well constructed like the rest of the watch; it feels solid on the wrist.

Some of you may find it difficult to size the watch properly. I am surprised that Citizen did not provide more than 3 micro adjustment points on the clasp when there is more than ample space to provide for more. A sports watch should be worn firmly on the wrist and not allowed to wiggle around. In this case, if you are keen to use it as intended, I suggest you don't bother resizing the bracelet but immediately replace it with a strap of your choice. I was made to understand from other reviewers, the hybrid CORDURA® Ballistic fabric and polyurethane strap used on the other two examples for this series is too stiff. If you do get the other two examples, you may still want to replace the standard strap with something more comfortable.

In any case, for my 7.25 inch circumference wrist, I just need to take out one link and use the innermost micro-adjustment point for a good fit. Every link takes out approximately 11 mm out of the bracelet length.



The back of the watch is flat and filled with the rest of the information deemed important. In the centre is a graphic of a globe with the brand and and the words "ECO-DRIVE" etched around it. Underneath it is the E168 movement using solar power charging with 6 months of power reserve. This movement has a quartz crystal operating at 32,768 Hertz with a manufacturer's accuracy of +/- 15 seconds per month. It has an overcharge prevention system as well as an insufficient charge indicator (seconds hand would start to move in 2 seconds interval in the last 4 days of power reserve).

The watch is water rated to 200 meters. Citizen highlighted that it is ISO compliant, anti-magnetic (4,800 A/m) and shock resistant but no further details on the three areas were given. I suspect, the ISO for the the anti-magnetic is the ISO764 (a wrist watch must resist exposition to a direct current magnetic field of 4,800 A/m) while for the shock resistance it is the ISO1413 (a wrist watch must be able to absorb the shock received when falling from a height of 1 meter onto a horizontal wooden floor).


The Wearing Experience

The Promaster Tough has the hallmark of a 'grab-and-go' watch. The long charge state of the battery eliminates the need to constantly take care of the watch unlike mechanical timepieces. Coupled with the accuracy of the E168 movement, I tend to make it as a reference timepiece when I need to re-energise and adjust the time on a dormant mechanical timepiece.

Made out of stainless steel, it has some weight to it at 174 gm. For a sports watch, some weight is preferable as it give a bit of confidence to the wearer that the watch is tough. It wears well and I find it comfortable.



Nevertheless, there are a number of areas that can do with some enhancements.

The first is the length of the bracelet. For my 7.25 inch circumference wrist, typically I would need to take off two or three links for a comfortable sizing. However, for the Promaster Tough, I only need to take off one link. This implies for those of you with bigger wrist circumference, the standard bracelet may not fit. I was made to understand that if you are in America, all you need to do is just contact Citizen (Seiko has the same policy) and they will courier to you, for free, an additional two links. Unfortunately, the same does not apply to a purchaser from Malaysia. Isn't it better to add the two extra links immediately at the factory so that everyone in the world may not suffer such a problem? If this is a strategy to reduce production cost, another option is to provide a canvas strap as a secondary option as part of the package.

The second is also on the bracelet. Since there are no half links provided, additional micro-adjustment points is much appreciated.

The third is the date window or aperture. Honestly, it is too small. May as well not have it. The location should be elsewhere and not disturb the 3 o'clock applied hour marker. Current setup not only difficult to see but also disrupt the symmetry of the illumination of the dial in the dark. Just make the aperture bigger and put it between 4 o'clock and 5 o'clock so as not to disturb the hour markers.

The fourth is the length of the hands. All the hands should be longer so as the be closer to the reference timing scales (minutes and seconds hands to the minute markers and hours hand to the hour markers).

Pricing is another area that a number of reviewers have commented about this watch. Most find it to be on the high side. However, I disagree. The cost of manufacturing a monocoque design watch is expensive as it requires milling instead of stamping. Taking this factor into consideration, I find the cost of the watch to be fair.



At the point of writing, this watch is the sixth watch in the collection that has a monocoque case design but the first powered by a quartz movement. Some say it has some resemblance to the Victorinox Swiss Army I.N.O.X. watch. I do have the mechanical version of the I.N.O.X., the Reference 241835 which is not as capable as the quartz version. When compared together, the resemblance is actually very small. Capability-wise, the quartz I.N.O.X. is more capable. I doubt it if the Promaster Tough can survive being run over by a tank!

I believe the Promaster Tough fits into a niche in the market that has a lot of potential. A lot of people are not as crazy as watch collectors and can go through life with just one watch. A lot of people put accuracy and minimum fuss priorities when it comes to watches. To them, the need to rewind a watch is deemed archaic when there are already technologies to make a watch accurate and power it almost indefinitely using light. Here is where the Promaster Tough shines. Its thin profile and sensible dimensions coupled with clean dial design makes it ideally suited for most occasions.

Overall, I am pleased with the Promaster Tough. Although I have listed a number of issues, on hindsight, these does not degrade the performance of the watch in anyway, they are just suggestions for improvement. As it stand, the watch is capable to handle a lot and the looks to go with it.


The Purchase

I got the watch via Amazon. I decided to get the expedited shipping option as the cost also includes the expected import taxes into Malaysia. It gives me some peace of mind as I would not need to queue up at the tax counter to settle any tax issues. Sometimes, if the deposit amount is more than actual taxes, Amazon will refund the difference.


The total cost to me was USD382.06 or RM1,651.85 which consists of USD324.95 for the watch and USD57.11 for the courier and other charges.

I made the order on 1 February 2019. It was immediately shipped by DHL. It left the U.S.A that evening itself and landed in Hong Kong on 3 February 2019 (lost a whole day when the plane crossed the International Date Line). The package remained in Hong Kong for a few days since its Chinese New Year holidays at the moment. It finally arrived on my desk on 7 February 2019.


The Unboxing

The packaging came in two parts. The outer box is a just a simple black cardboard box with the brand printed in silver on the top surface. Within this box is the main watch box.

The main watch box is a plastic hard box akin to a Pelican case. Sized for just one watch, the black plastic case has the brand and Promaster logo embossed prominently on the top surface. The case is well secured with a handle to carry it like a small briefcase.

Do note that this hard box should not be treated in the same way as a Pelican case. Despite its appearance, it is not a "high impact" hard box. Once you handle it you know what I mean. The surface has the 'normal' feel and texture of plastic unlike the rough feel of 'reinforced' plastic. If the box fall on a hard surface, chances are it will crack. Anyway, you know it is a display box designed like something solid since it does not come with any locking mechanism (even a place to put padlocks).

Inside the case is a well padded slot for a single watch. Apart from the Promaster Tough placed securely in the slot located in the centre of the case, you should be able to  find the various documents such as the manual the guarantee. Unfortunately, this time around, Citizen only provided a link on the website for me to view the manual in PDF format. However, there was a document missing and that is the Proof-of-Purchase document. The only thing I got was a document not filled by the dealer. I may need to seek redress from Amazon. [Side note: After emailing the merchant, Savvy Watch, I received the following reply: "We do not complete this certificate as the order did not ship from us, it shipped from Amazon. You are able to fill this out using your order information. Citizen does not require this document for assistance, just a copy of your order information showing Savvy Watch as the seller". I guess I have to accept this.



The warranty of this watch if purchased in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Caribbean, and Mexico from authorized retailers is 5 years. The warranty will be honored only by Service Centers in the jurisdiction mentioned earlier. Service Centers located in other parts of the world will only provide warranty service under the one year International Warranty. However, it is a limited warranty. Under the fine print, it says.....

"warrants this watch (except the power cell, case and its components [including crystal, stem, crown], bracelet and its components [including clasp, links, pins, screws], strap and its components or any accessories) to be free of defects in material and workmanship and to meet the timekeeping accuracy specification in the instructions".

Note the exclusion list. Isn't that the whole watch????? 


The Series

There are three models under the Citizen Promaster Tough series. The MSRP of the various models are highlighted under each watch for reference.

BN0211-50E MSRP: USD495

BN0211-09X MSRP: USD425

BN0217-02E MSRP: USD425

Specifications

Casing: Stainless steel in a monocoque design
Surface Protection: Duratect surface hardening technology using titanium alloy
Bracelet: Stainless steel with solid links
Clasp: Safety fold-Over-clasp with push button lock
Dial: Black with luminous hands and markers
Case Size: 42 mm wide, 10.75 mm thick, 51 mm lug-to-lug
Lug Width: 22 mm
Water-Resistance: 200 m/20 Bar/666 ft
Crystal: Sapphire with anti-reflective protection
Functions: 3-Hand with date
Capabilities: Extremely rigid, shock resistance, anti-magnetic & 5 times harder than stainless steel
Luminous Paint: LumiNova
Movement: Eco-Drive Caliber E168
Power: Solar with 6 months of power reserve
Weight: 174 gm
Warranty: 5 years limited warranty for certain jurisdictions; globally, only 1 year
MSRP: USD495
Purchase Date: 1 February 2019
Serial Number: 8N1020649
Price: USD324.95 + USD57.11=USD382.06; RM1,651.85 (refund RM11.84 =>RM1,640.01)

Promaster Tough Setting Guide on Scribd

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