Citizen Promaster NY0040-17LE Review & Complete Guide

Citizen Promaster NY0040-17LE Review & Complete Guide

There are watch designs and models that can be recognized immediately. Models that have been around for quite some time and changed subtly over the years, if any. And this is a model that has been just that. In fact, it was first presented in 1997 and is impressively enough still in production today.

In this article, we are looking closer at one of those watches. Specifically the Citizen Promaster NY0040-17LE.

This watch is a sporty tool watch with a very distinct design. Within a second, it can be identified as a sports watch, and in fact, it is built to last. With that said, if you are looking for a serious sports watch that can handle all kinds of different hardships you put it through, the Citizen Promaster NY0040 may just be the watch for you. Let’s look at what this watch is all about.

Citizen Promaster NY0040-17LE Review

Citizen is overall known for making affordable watches. But in relation to their price, they are widely appreciated due to their high, long-lasting quality.

It is built as a dive watch and so not only has a dive-watch-inspired design but also a dive-watch performance when it comes to water-resistance. What’s more, this watch is also automatic, which is why it is also widely popular amongst watch enthusiasts. This is also great to see from a brand that primarily makes quartz watches. Having the price in mind, it’s evident that it offers exceptional value for money. But this is something we’ll notice when going through the details.

 

Worth noting is that the reference NY0040 only refers to the Promaster diver collection as a whole. Due to this watch’s popularity, Citizen has released many different iterations and color versions of this model, and the versions can be noticed in the following letters of the reference number, as follows: NY0040-XXXX.

This model is, as mentioned part of the Promaster collection. The Promaster consists of a large number of timepieces, including the NY0040-17LE. In Citizen’s own words:

”Promaster is our collection of professional-grade sports watches with an appeal for the everyday adventurer. Promaster has always been inspired by great adventures, with the highest levels of functionality and endurance for each category in Air, Land, and Sea.”

Citizen Promaster NY0040-17LE case

The watch is presented in a sporty stainless steel case design featuring a satin finish. As a contrast, however, the sides are polished. This is something that enhances the impression of quality and shows Citizen has paid attention to the details, even though it is an affordable watch. Many dive watches can be recognized as a dive watch from miles away, and this is certainly one of them. 

The case design is rather straightforward, but what stands out about this timepiece is its crown position. Citizen has positioned the crown at 8 o’clock. Not only does this give it a unique and distinct look, but it also has the practical benefit of keeping the crown from digging into the wrist and thus improving the comfort when wearing it. Of course, seeing that this is a dive watch, it has a screw-down crown to ensure its water-resistance.

Speaking of water-resistance, this one has a resistance of 200m/660 feet. This is the minimum required for a dive watch and means that it is suitable for essentially all kinds of water activities including swimming and diving. In addition, the watch is also an ISO certified diver.

The lugs are relatively short in relation to the case size, but with that said, it is a big watch. Measuring in with a diameter of 41.5mm and a thickness of 12mm, it is a relatively large watch that is most suitable for men with medium to large wrists, and those who enjoy wearing watches that have a great presence on the wrist.

Being a dive watch, it of course has a unidirectional rotating bezel with 60-minute markers. The bezel has a black matte aluminum bezel insert. The color of the bezel insert depends on which version of the NY0040 you opt for. It also has a distinct bezel design, with ”hacks” in groups of 6, consisting of five to help with the grip when rotating it.

The watch has a solid case back, and sitting on top is a mineral crystal. It’s not a sapphire crystal, but this is not something we expect from a watch in this price range either. The benefit of a mineral crystal above sapphire, however, is that it doesn’t shatter.

Citizen Promaster NY0040-17LE dial

Moving on to the dial, it’s evident that Citizen has paid attention to legibility, which is key in a dive watch. Again, the dial color depends on which version you opt for. It has large applied hour markers with polished metal frames around it and luminescent material applied to them. It has a pointy arrow-tipped minutes hand and a square-shaped hour hand with a pointy tip.

Positioned at 3 o’clock, it also has a day and date window. These are perhaps not the type of information that is crucial when diving but considering most people will wear this watch as an everyday timepiece, it can be convenient to have. The window has a metal frame around it.

Around the outer edge of the dial, it has an angled chapter ring on which the seconds markers are printed. Overall, the dial is clean and more or less what you expect in a dive watch.

Citizen Promaster NY0040-17LE movement

The NY0040-17LE is an automatic timepiece, and it is powered by the Miyota 8200 automatic self-winding movement. This is an in-house Citizen movement that beats with a frequency of 21600 BPH and has 21 jewels. The movement has proven to be quite reliable, and in fact very reliable if you factor in the price of this watch.

A great function of this movement is that it has a hand-winding feature. This is something that some of the affordable dive watches made by the competitors do not have, for example, certain Seiko watches.

Citizen Promaster NY0040-17LE strap

The Promaster NY0040-17LE is presented on a thick strap made in rubber. It’s no news that rubber straps go exceptionally well with dive watches due to their water-resistant properties but also because of their sporty look. In addition, they can be worn on top of a wetsuit without needing an extension.

If you look closely, you can see the text ”N.D limits” written on it. This stands for ”No Decompression Limits”. This refers to the limits that the watch has when a diver rises to the surface after a dive, but as indicated, it has none.

If you don’t like the rubber strap, you can easily change it to a different strap. This watch looks good on many different straps.

Specifications

• Crystal: Mineral
• Diameter: 41.5mm
• Thickness: 12mm
• Strap: Rubber
• Movement: Miyota caliber 8200, self-winding with manual winding function
• Water-resistance: 200m/660 feet
• Jewels: 21

Conclusion

All in all, the Citizen Promaster NY0040-17LE is a dive watch that doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. When looking for affordable automatic dive watches, Seiko is often a lot of people’s first choice, but this watch is well-built, solid, and offers exceptional value for money.

It has a more or less classic and iconic dive watch design, is powered by n automatic movement that is a reliable workhorse, and has good water-resistance.  In addition, its ISO certification is another great feature.

For the money, you really cannot go wrong with the Citizen Promaster NY0040-17LE.