My first 300m diver was a Nov. 2004 Marathon SAR automatic. Nice watch. The only problem I had with it was that some of the lume application on the dial was spotty[12:00 & 1:00 markers], and there was a small speck of metal on the inside of the crystal.
Look at 11:00 :
I sold that, and with that money, I bought a Citizen Eco-Zilla and a Timefactors PRS-14 SM300 homage.
I still have the Zilla, but I had the PRS-14 less than 24 hrs before I exercised my 3-day inspection option and sent it back to the seller. The lume was poorly applied and very thin and weak. The lume in the bezel was non existent. In fact, it looked like the lume on a $40 Relic diver. Also, when I pushed the crown in after setting the watch, the whole dial/hands/movement assembly moved within the case. I was thoroughly disappointed given the price and given the reputation of the Dreadnought.
So with that $$, I bought a LNIB Seiko SBBN007 Tuna Can that had and SKX series bezel insert swap done by Randall Benson.
I am pleased with both of these 300m Helium rated quartz divers. It is interesting to see 2 different approaches to the same mission.
Let’s look at the Eco-Zilla first. A review of the Can will be forthcoming later as I’ve only had it a couple days:
Specs:
Citizen BJ8050-59E 300m Professional Diver rated for He saturation diving environment.
Stainless Steel with integrated proprietary SS bracelet with push button clasp, no diver’s extension.
Eco-Drive quartz movement with 180 day power reserve.
One way ratcheting elapsed time diver’s bezel.
Date function.
Antimagnetic to 4800 A/m.
Curved mineral glass crystal, 6mm! thick with AR coating[not advertised, but it’s there].
48mm X 18mm.
As sized for my 7” wrist, it weights 8.8 ounces, or 250 grams. It is a beast of a watch. Yet the bracelet makes the watch wear surprisingly comfortably. You know it’s there, but after a couple hours, it feels natural.
Dial and hands:
The dial and hands are of a unique design that is very original. This is a homage to nothing. The dial is set into the watch very deeply, which is to be expected given the 6mm thick crystal.
The minute hand is a nice Day-Glo orange that really lights up under UV lighting. The second hand is unique in that there is no counterbalancing tail.
The date window is kind of small, which is ok if you don’t wear glasses as it nicely disappears on the dial until you look for it.
Both the dial and the hands are coated with Citizen’s trademark blue emission Super Luminova which glows very brightly with the hands a touch brighter and longer lasting than the dial, which is nice.
This watch is very readable no matter what the lighting and at some pretty shallow angles given the AR coated domed crystal.
Case & movement:
The case is built like an M1 Abrams tank. It’s huge and heavy duty. Yet it slides nicely under a dress shirt cuff, I have worn this to the office several times. It is completely brushed finished with the crown at 9:00 to prevent digging into your wrist. It is designed such that even a 7” wrist can wear it.
The ring around the bezel is removable, I’m told for cleaning around the bezel. I tried to remove it with my hands, but it won’t budge, so special non-marring tools are probably required.
The case back is nicely engraved with diver emblem with the usual text. It also includes “Diver’s watch 300m for mixed-gas diving”. Page 25 of the owner’s manual specifies it is OK for helium rich environments.
The ring around the outside of the caseback is secured by 4 screws and holds the bracelet in place. The bracelet or strap is proprietary in its attachment and therefore you are stuck with what you buy.
Pic courtesy of SCF:
The upside is, you will never lose a Zilla due to a broken springbar.
The EcoDrive movement has gained about 1.5 to 2 seconds since I received it 3 weeks ago. The second hand lines up with the hash marks perfectly. I have not yet tested the power reserve, which is OK as I don’t plan on leaving it in a dark drawer for six months.
The bezel is 60 click, and turns smoothly and surely, with a green luminous dot @ 0 which contrasts nicely with the blue glow of the dial and hands. You have to turn it using the 6 slots machined into its top, and it works great, even in the water. It is misaligned a little, which from what I gather is standard fare for the Zilla. Citizen needs to work on this. One thing I noticed about the bezel is that after swimming, a lot of water stays in the area between it and the retaining ring. Water was still leaking out of it 20 minutes after I was out of the pool. I had to shake the watch face down to get it all out.
The bezel sits proud of the crystal by bout 1 mm, so it should protect the crystal nicely.
Conclusion:
For $225-250 new, this is one heck of a watch for the money. I am very impressed. I do think that Citizen needs to make a braceleted Duratect Ti version, though. That would be the bee’s knees, IMHO.
This big bad boy is a keeper, not just because it is a good, quality watch, but because it just exudes attitude.
