Cheap Citizen Men's BN0055-53E Eco-Drive Promaster Carbon Watch Review
Citizen Men's Eco-Drive Promaster Carbon Watch #BN0055-53E
I recently purchased the watch and the first noticeable feature was its XXL size. Even on a big wrist it may appear somewhat oversized but despite this, every design detail makes it look and feel good. Overall, it feels solid and nicely built. I expected for a watch like this to be made in Japan (movement & case entirely made in Japan) rather than "Japan Movt" (only movement made in Japan, while assembled and cased elsewhere), but surprisingly none in the whole series is, whether you spend 0 or 0 (this is the only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5). Its large, black dial with luminescent hour marks and hands makes it easy to read under any lighting situation, including underwater; furthermore if exposed to light during the day it glows the whole night. I opted for this specific model as I have been using another Eco-Drive, the Citizen Aqualand BJ2054-51E for the last 4 years and although I loved it I have always been bothered by its excessively busy dial. With this new one, I was looking for simplicity, sturdiness and reliability and so far I'm pleased with my choice. For divers, the carbon fiber bezel offers a nice grip, even with gloves on, which is always a feature to be appreciated. The mineral crystal glass is truly non-reflective and it feels solid but its flush mount with the case makes it somewhat prone to be accidentally hit (and eventually scratched/chipped). I didn't own it long enough to be able to submit a comprehensive accuracy test result but it seems to amaze me with a mere 1 second deviation in 5-6 days, which would result in a remarkable accuracy of only 5-6 seconds deviation per month. The screw-down crown seems to be better built than the previous models as the date adjustment can now be performed without accidentally stopping the watch when actually this was not intended (date adjustment is performed by pulling the crown one notch, while time adjustment requires pulling the crown further, to the second notch). The stainless steel bracelet looks and feels solid and is easily adjustable for various wrist sizes by removing as many links as needed. The expandable clasp sounds like a nice feature for divers but unfortunately it just doesn't extend long enough to allow the watch to be worn over a 7mm wet suit if the bracelet was previously adjusted to snugly fit the owner's writs. The date placed at 3 o'clock doesn't have magnifying glass but, personally I like it this way. Overall a nice watch and with prices expected to go down in the near future it truly makes a very good option for a diver's watch, as well as a day-to-day sport watch.
A final advice: go see it before you buy it - the pictures are deceiving about the size; it's BIG.
