The Most Boring Watch Of 2023! 

Jodie...I very much think the majority of watch enthusiasts will disagree with you over this one. It's so good to see citizen pair back their designs to something that watch enthusiasts really enjoy. The majority of citizens other designs are too large and aggressive to be worn on a daily basis. It's not boring...it's a fantastic watch

Boring isn't for everyone. I prefer simple designs like this lol. I think it looks great and balanced, and would be giddy with excitement to own one, but on a bracelet.

I love boring watches, just straight forward tool watch. I paid US$ 545 for mine. Love the boring look of this watch.

Looks incredible imo. If this is boring, so is a Rolex Sub or a Pelagos.

Haha....sorry but you will find many who will disagree with you Jody. I reckon this is one of the best looking Citizen divers ever !

I love this watch and am thinking of adding this to my collection. Not boring 😊

Nobody’s perfect, everyone can be wrong sometimes, Jody 😂 I for once disagree… this watch looks absolutely great in my opinion…

I love it. Faithful retro release, no embarrassing, orange fake aged lume, finally something that has an appropriate aluminium bezel for a vintage design, it's a proper diver's watch on top of that. Exactly my cup of tea! Just the price that is a bit more than I would have liked it to be and the non branded strap are actually the only disappointments I can share here.

I have to say, I like it! Would anyone fault a Submariner or a 62MAS for being black and white and therefore call either of them bland? I like the case shape and the fact it has that hardening coating that by the way you don't get on a Tudor Pelagos. And the rubber strap may be sterile but it suits the watch and it looks like good quality.

Personally I think for once Citizen nailed a watch with the essence of masculinity. Gets the job done without being a glib pratt!!! Well done Citizen!!!

I have to respectfully disagree ( 😃 ). I bought one of these recently and love it. Wonderfully light owing to the titanium construction, which I know makes some think it (and other titanium watches) has a "cheap" feel. Faithful to the design of the original Challenge diver, with some updates (ISO rating, 200m water resistance, titanium case). I wore it after wearing my Seiko Arnie and thought, "Crikey, this looks small"... but after a few hours of wearing it something clicked and I realised that it's dimensions were perfect, and I was just used to wearing that huge Arnie with its Tuna case. (FWIW, I have a wrist size somewhere between 7 and 7.5 inches, so I'm not a pipsqueak with noodle arms by any stretch of the imagination.) I don't mind the noisy movement if it's as accurate as this one seems to be (at least, in my experience with it). I have two small caveats: I'd love a larger, signed buckle on the strap; and the bezel action is admittedly a little "tinny" and thin. At a push, I'd say that I'd also prefer a matte dial than the glossy dial this has - or alternatively, some AR coating on the inside of the crystal. But I can live with both of those for now (and eventually put most of my watches on after-market straps, anyway). Cheers for the review.

Knew we’d disagree sooner or later lol. I’ve got the blue version on a bracelet and it’s got a certain X factor for me that just works. And in a world where Tudor are celebrated for releasing the same watch with a slight variation every year and Seiko charge thousands of dollars for a watch they will eventually repackage into a $700 watch a few years later, I appreciate citizens decidedly middle of the road approach to an archive watch (something they rarely do to begin with, which is also refreshing in this landscape of retro reissue mania)

It's not the most exciting watch that's ever been offered, sure. But for many people, they want something functional, reliable and which doesn't draw any sort of attention to itself. This is perfect for those people. The fact that Jody finds it relatively boring is hardly surprising: he's handled a TON of wild and weird watches.

It's a Citizen...rarely the most exciting designs with them. That said, this one doesn't look particularly boring either. Certainly not the most boring watch you've reviewed so far this year 😄

Super titanium and a Hi-beat antimagnetic movent is definitely NOT BORING. Great watch with great history.

I think it's awesome, and a likely a great watch if you don't already have a drawer full of similar watches. If Citizen has released it back in '18 when I was getting "into" watches I'd have one on the way... Since it's not 2018, and I have a GSAR already, I don't have a Citizen "Barnacle" headed my way. I will say that I find it a bit unfair to hammer on Citizen for "boring" in a world where people spend thousands of dollars for a similarly boring BB58 or Submariner...

I agree that it's not ground breaking looks but can you think of any other 4hz certified diver for under USD700? Glad to see the kittens again!

To each their own, I love a nice simple dial/watch and this citizen is very similar to the seiko 62 MAS reissue which everyone raves about (and rightfully so) but this citizen is better! In my opinion it's got an awesome backstory especislly for a dive watch!! Plus it's simple elegant, and titanium so has some unique features while still coming with the standard (but great) dimensions!

I actually really love it and think it looks awesome. Guess I'm into boring designs. I love the simplicity and that everything is visible and legible at a glance without a fuss.

One of The Greatest releases made in the last years. Super cool looking, titanium, strapmonster. What's not to love? Everyone I know who got it absolutely LOVE it, and so do I.

I don't hate this watch and normally I find Citizen's to be too busy or clunky for my likes. They just do not usually grab my attention. This is one of the few I have seen that I would happily wear though. To each their own :).

I purchased the black on rubber from the Citizen flagship store while on a recent trip to Tokyo and I absolutely love it. My collection includes Rolex, Cartier, Breitling, Omega, Longines, Sinn …. You get the idea. But I LOVE the simplicity of the watch, the weight, and the 70’s vibe. It’s running at +5 a day, It’s understated, and it just works.

The big problem is the price point. I wouldn't say it's boring. More of a no nonsense classic design.

I think it looks great. A proper tool watch for diving

Well, it's been a long time coming, but we'll agree to disagree on this one. A good, honest, down to earth watch. No pretentions to be something it isn't. I've seen plenty of 'boring' dive watches which will cost you 3K plus, of which, 2.5K will be for the name. Nothing wrong with Citizen being on the dial 🙂

Yes, I like it. I would buy the blue dial myself. It is all about personal taste. It's not spectacular, but it is good quality.

I was excited when it came out but disappointed when I finally got one... until I started wearing it. Now it's my favorite.

Love this simple design. It's simple but looks well executed. It's classic and understated. I think a price of around 700 USD is okay 1200 USD is a Bit much

jody i think you might be a victim of puffed up expectations on this one, its a fine watch, even pretty cool to many! but if you come from 50 watches a year and great reviews, a well done dive watch with a classic design may underwhelm?

Personally I love it Jody & plan to buy one. It’s party time! 🎉🍾🤪

It's no more boring than any Tudor I've seen.

Sounds like somebody got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning. Tell us what you really think Jody!

I’ll be honest, my eyes lit up when I saw this! Definitely subjective .. It’s one of the nicest Citizen models I’ve seen in a long while. Mostly they’re way too over complicated and the display window in a Jewellers just turns into a blur, but this is absolutely on the nail for me. 😊👍

Wow Jody ! Kind of surprised ! I Love my Blue and Black versions ! I don’t know… hmmmmm . Rolex looks back, 10’s of Thousands , Tudor looks Back, a couple of Thousands but if Citizen looks back for UNDER a Grand and it’s a Meh 🫤 form You !!! Say no more !! You watch snob you !! Lol 😂…. Only kidding but I love both of mine still. Take care and keep up the Great work. Eric

It’s not that it’s boring, it’s just … conventional. It’s just paying for demonstrable durability, and actually there’s nothing wrong with that. Still a lot less than a Rolex sub, and if you think about it, it looks a lot better than Rolex’s more recent Sub offerings.

When you opened the container and did the reveal my first thought was "Oh, that's quite nice actually" and was reminded of unboxing my San Martin 62mas homage.

It's not the best watch in the world but there's definitely things to like about it. I like the head on view. My main problem would be the side on view and the mismatch of the bezel. It's crying out for a matched titanium look with a coin edge and if it had that I'd consider buying it for the right price.

Love this watch, functional, no nonsense, unpretentious, the beauty is in the clean and simple design, right up my street, I'd love it to be my next Citizen, I have 2 Promasters and they get by far the most wrist time out of my modest collection of 17 watches, I guess we all like different things and that's what makes life interesting, but Jody's just wrong on this one 😉

Third for me today but that citizen looks like a great daily wear haha 😊

I honestly really like the design of this watch.. more so than any of the Citizen divers that I have encountered. The only shortcoming of this watch is the light bezel action, but really not too bad for the price.

Jody normally I hang firmly on your lips and am fit always your opinion. But here you are miles off the mark. I have had the watch for almost a year and still find it very exciting and beautiful. It glows like a flashlight in the dark and the glass phase combined with the dial makes many Seikos fade into the background. In addition, an excellent movement that runs very well. Its simple beauty makes it a keeper with me. Only the rubber strap is not to my taste. It was replaced with a vintage oriented rubber strap from Oris. Now the watch is just awesome.

I like the clean simple design. Cons: that rounded bezel edge and high price.

In an era of garish over designed divers, I find this “boring”, I would say “classic”, design quite refreshing! Then again, I tend to gravitate towards field watches, so that’s why this appeals to me more than many modern divers.

I am a big fan of Citizen watches and have quite a few divers. This one at the price point wouldn’t be my first choice by far. I will still take a Citizen over a Seiko anytime.

Citizens are good looking, well made, no nonsense tool watches and I think your distaste for this one relates to your prioritization of gimmicks and glitter

Respectfully I have to disagree with you on this Jody. I would definitely buy this! 😍

A bit harsh, Jody?

In my opinion, this is a beautiful watch. As an owner of several Citizen watches, I have no complains about them, love each one of them, and although I´m not sure if I would get this one or not, I don´t care if this one is boring. It looks like a beautiful classy piece from an excellent brand.

I think that's a lovely watch - I think it will appeal to someone looking for a sub homage. Accept the comment about the crown being too small, though. I'd definitely have an eco-drive version at about half the price.

Awesome watch, I love how it looks like my SBDC 105 but I don't like the Citizen's noisy rotor. Adorable kittens can't hide the rotor noise unfortunately.

Citizen, love them. I wear : Citizen, Casio, Armitron & Bremont for work. The Citizen, I'd wear on a NATO strap. That would give it some colour.

Lately, there seems to be an overload of micro brands trying to out do each other with what I would call "jumping the shark" designs. These are of no interest to me. I appreciate Citizen in their approach. This is a faithful recreation of their 70's diver with modern coated titanium, sapphire crystal, and 9000 movement. The only changes I'd make are to offer a titanium bracelet on both colors and to engrave a picture of the original "Barnacle" on the case back.

I like it a-lot! Its minimalist , its practical from a long standing manufacturer with an in-house movement. Its original, it's the real. What's not to like? Its balanced and toolish. Oh thank goodness, its not another bloody Chinese knock off designed watch! So sick of them! I think its handsome and the kind of watch that our father's would have put on and forgotten about and worn for years and years without issue. Im 62 now and have owned from the cheap as chips to the bloody ridiculous in cost. I think your criticisms are valid for you Jody . However, I suspect this watch will appeal to normal people (those not suffering with watch collectors syndrome). I for one now gravitate to watches with original designs. This watch is a counterfoil a good juxtaposition if you will, to the shiny bling ,over rated sometimes hysterical and mostly pointless state of the modern watch market today. Rolex being a case in point. I own a very sturdy 16610, pre ceramic Sub. Had it from new. (1991). It has a lot of parallels with this watch with regard to basic design with it's toolish attention and function following form ,illustrating for me how silly the new incarnation watch 'jewellery' has become . Watches and wonders!! OMG! What a silly collection of fawning vids I have had to endure. Yes, your right, I'm not watching them anymore. Oh, Im one of those afflicted watch nuts! Oh well , i'm condemned forever I fear. keep up the good work Jody

Don't understand the Citzen hate. "They're too blingy....or they're too boring...or they're not a Seiko!". Have had my Citizen Blue Angels World Chronograph for 7+ years and still love it.

Lol - I think it looks pretty cool. It's a dive watch. I like the black on black. But I wear black t shirts and black jackets. As you said wears well, comfortable and I'm sure looks great with the right clothes. I think you are being a little harsh here.....

Boring and vanilla for some. It’s utilitarian, lightweight, practical and carefree for me. I’m 52 and no longer need to flex my worth. Might grab one when I go get my white New Balance trainers.

Boring is good!! I really have been lusting after this watch for the past month. JOMW I would challenge you to find an alternative to this watch! ...I guess I would challenge you to best black submariner style watches, I think this would take the cake

I love this watch, for some it may scratch that explorer itch. It is light on the wrist and is understated. Have to disagree with you on this one. Citizen hit it out the park with this one. I got mine for $556 US. Just wish citizen and Seiko would do better with bracelet design.

In America house have what you call curb appeal. It means the house looks great form the curb. Generally, it also means the house is more style over subustance. A work friend of mine was thinking of buying a house. He was figured he was going to get married in two years, and he and wife would pick a house. His father was going to gift him the down payment. His father came down, and we drove around on our lunch break. We, looked at houses, most of which his wife liked. They had big roofs, with fake gables, and colored roof tiles. They had an open flour plan, which made it seem big, but you just lost rooms, and and upper floor. The kitchens had stone counter tops of various tupes. These place had great first impressions, but that's all. The doors were all foam core. The material was substanderd which was up to code now. They were all sitting on plotes of land the size of potage stamps. Then we passed a mid century modern brick home built in the late sixties. The origional owern still lived their. The cellar was dry, and bit dusty. In my area, it's a minor mircle to have dry cellar. The back yard was level with the cellar, and it was all open. It was like small country club. Window facing a back yard, and pool. You could see down on the citly from the bar in the cellar. The rest of the house was amazing, but it had no eye appeal. Best of all, it was just a little of the down payment of the other houses. The fater and I wanted him to buy it. The guy was afraid of what his wife would say. So the fahter just bought, and told his son he could live in for now. The son is living in the house now. His wife is not happy, but gives a flying fuck. She can't take the house in a divorce. I go there once week and have a steak in his back yard. Play a little pool in his cellar, and watch the cityy lights down below. That watch is just to expensive.

I love this watch... Simple, classic, no frills, diver. Wish it had been one of their more recient Eco-Dive movements, and had the option/inclusion of a braclet. Those are my only "moans & niggles"

This watch seem NOT boring to me at all. It looks very interesting and very versatile.

Another great review, Jody. I’d probably have to be a hardcore Citizen fanboy to go for this one. At that price? No thanks. There are too many more interesting choices for that amount of money.

Beauty in simplicity. Great review though. For what you pay you do seem to get a lot of dullness with this Citizen; I can understand why Seiko fans would pass this over: the excitement of paying over a thousand dollars or euros or pounds for a Seiko with a misaligned bezel, rattling end links and an absurdly huge 44 or 45 mm case is one hell of an experience.

You're too young to appreciate the 70's vibe this one rocks. I friggin love it, black dial on Ti bracelet. Great lume, on the fly ajustable beautiful bracelet Guess you are more into the tacky stuff 😂 Disclaimer: video not sponsored by Citizen

YMMV, personally I think it's pretty cool that they made a homage to a classic diver with lots of horological history and made it into something that uses modern technologies and represents excellent value for money. A similarly specced Seiko diver is 2 1/2 times the price and probably uses a shitty and unreliable 6R movement. Personally I would pick this over most of Seikos new offerings and would even consider it over some of the more expensive Swiss offerings.

Seems like you've been handling too many fruity micro brands, cause this one is pure class.

For once Jody. I think you got it wrong this time 😅 This is actually fire

I love it. It is beautiful within the aesthetic proposal of a 70’s utility quasi military diver. Something that IDF or Roya Ordinance Clearing divers would use. I would buy it...

The thing with the packaging, the dealer decides which kind of packaging you, the silver bottle or yellow or even the plain cardboard box. This has nothing todo with the watch itself, you can get the $200 Promaster diver with the yellow bottle. The blue one with the titanium bracelet is still on my shortlist, hard fighting against the new Sumo GMTs. The movement is rather new, is it not? The 9051 is pretty well build movement from my understanding, runs pretty consistent unlike Seikos offering. I personally like that aggressive chamfer of the sapphire.

I like it & especially the lightness of the Ti case, in a world full of heavy chunky divers watches.

Well. Another one that disagrees. I bought it in the weeks after its release and currently is one of the handful I have not flipped. Has a great story to it and I think it’s a Seiko killer. No accuracy or QC issues. I love it so much, I bought the blue one’s bracelet for my black one.

Shoutout to Mr P for another watch loan and Jody for another fun video. I agree for the $$$ you'd expect some colour and the rotor noise is off putting but I really like the look although more colours would be welcomed! 👍

Hold on for a sec, Jody. C'mon man 😂 A Seiko 62mas or similar is equally boring, it comes with a terrible 3hz movement (for the price) and you have to face the true possibility of ending up with an expensive watch which bezel doesn't align properly. And this is a titanium watch with a reliable hi-beat movement in it. You can't even have that nowadays if you buy a Certina DS action diver or any Swatch group diver for under $2000. I understand this is your opinion, sure, and no one can be objective because we all have stuff influencing what we think about this or that, but I tend to believe you are being a bit too demanding here.

Not boring, classic! Love this watch ❤

“On wrist at least it does wear very nicely…” Admit it, you saw this angle and were like, “…ah, now I get it… the faithful execution is gorgeous.”

This watch is soon to be on my wrist! I have a 12 year old ecodrive promaster 200 that I love and this Titanium version seems better in every way. They really should use a slightly bigger crown and do something, anything, with the caseback.

Sorry, but this is indeed one of the prettiest skin divers I have come across!!! Honestly!

This watch is gorgeous, it's got a lovely understated, classic style, a combination of design elements that just comes together and works in that way that the most iconic watches do. Bit overpriced and I'd like the crystal to be a bit clearer though

I got the exact one , wearing like every day and it is super tough watch , super light weight, super accurate than Seiko’s 6R movement. Plus 5 years warranty. I fully recommend this watch

I think it's a generally good safe offering with some misses. As you mentioned, the case has an edge that's almost chamfered but not, the crown could be more functional... But as far as the overall package, you get a vintage style diver with real heritage in a titanium case, which really isn't bad at all at the 600 USD price point.

Actually I like it. I would go for the blue dial on the bracelet.

ooo a citizen promaster! i don't know that it's boring, the price has me gasping a bit!

I would be excited had Citizen recreated the original one on stainless steel and on the original H-link bracelet that would be vintage cool.

Thanks for the video - I still can't get my head around how they make the "Super Titanium" so tough. Crazy that more companies haven't invested into this kind of tech (I can only think of "Sinn" and "Seiko" with the Seiko's one not being that great to be honest)

I absolutely love it. It's a kick-a$$ tool watch. It's not going to win a fashion show, but who cares?

Getting a bit picky J ... I think it looks good !

I agree with you, somewhat. The black one looks quite “ordinary,” but the blue one looks great!! I happen to love titanium, and the crystal looks beautiful. Shame you don’t do blue, Jody.

Love mine; simple and very light on the wrist. It would perhaps feel boring if it was my only watch but it is a nice one to pick up day to day. Also enjoy rotor noise!

I think it is a great watch

Will have to disagree on this one. As a Citizen fanboy, I find the Challenge Diver (Fujitsubo) to be a great reissue of the original '77 150m Challenge Diver, that spent some years at the bottom of Pacific Ocean and then was found in 1983 sealed and ready to beat. It was a simple watch, with a simple design, with a Citizen Cal.6000 inside. So is this one. Later this year, I am planning to get the black dial Challenge Diver with the bracelet from the blue dial model :)

As someone who only buys really, really weird watches (e.g. bronze case Seagull, Antarctic special edition Vostok, Vietnam special forces re-issue Seiko), I love the idea of having at least one boring watch in the collection. Maybe this could be the one!

I usually like a bit of flair but I don't mind this one. It is boring but in a good way? also I don't mind the different metals for case/bezel gives it that bit of light play interest. Was it cadisen that used to do a tungsten bezel on a steel case?

couldn't disagree more😊

The ultimate tool watch, mate.

Its simplicity reminded me of the Duro. I don't mind it one bit. A bit pricey because of the titanium. I would prefer a bracelet, though.

Where'd you get that blue rubber strap that tapered out a little outside of the lugs before tapering back down ?

This guy is the biggest citizen hater out there 😂 would rather have that watch than anyother seiko, specially the blue one on the bracelet, best watch under $700 out there

Its not boring. Its a clean and classic design

Your comments? All accurate. But, it's a matter of perspective, really. I agree that the bezel is disappointing and the crown too small. Thing is; they stayed fairly true to their original inspiration. For better or worse. The way I look at it is that this is just the first salvo. Put a knurled or coin edge bezel on it, a larger knurled crown, maybe a gradient dial, and suddenly, I think you've really got something! Everything else is spot on! Boring? Maybe in a good way? Then, what's the competition? SPB143? A now legendary watch with a diehard following that costs ~$900.!! The Barnacle is thinner, equal if not better movement, titanium case. Suddenly, the Barnacle starts looking like the bargain it is! I've got a handful of titanium divers, including a Pelagos, a Phoebus, and a couple Helms, but if Citizen massages this just a little; I'd be down for the next interation. 👍

I like it - it is not as "edgy" as some designs and sometimes, like if you can't afford several unique pieces to rotate, that is a good thing. To me, it looks like a toned-down version of the Seiko SNZG which I considered, but finally decided was too "busy" in the design for me.