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There are lots of dive watches out there – it’s perhaps the most ubiquitous of all the watch genres. Frankly, it’s easy to see why. In addition to being highly specialized for a very specific task, they tend to work incredibly well as casual, everyday watches regardless of what you happen to be doing with them. The reason for this is very much because of the design traits these watches share that make them so highly specialized: ultra clear legibility, robust water proof cases, and a generally nondescript design that allows the watch to be worn easily with a wetsuit and also blend into the fabric of our everyday lives.
But then there are a handful of truly unusual dive watches that give away their specialized nature even at a passing glance. They look less like watches and more like obscure devices or instruments that should only be used by people who really know what they’re doing, have received the necessary training, and perhaps have signed a liability waiver. The Omega Ploprof immediately comes to mind, as does something like the Singer Divetrack – these are watches that play with the form of what we understand a watch to be in the name of functionality. Citizen, for 40 years, has also made a watch that fits neatly into this category: the Aqualand. The name is a bit of an oxymoron, but the watch itself is less confusing. It has always been a uniquely specialized instrument tailored to the specific needs of divers.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Aqualand, and to celebrate Citizen has unveiled a limited edition version of the watch as a tribute. The key feature of the Aqualand is the bulbous depth sensor protruding from the case flank at 9:00. I’ve always felt that it looks like an ear, which makes me wonder what happened to the other one, but that’s neither here nor there. The depth sensor is electronic, drawing power from the Aqualand’s battery, which is what distinguishes it from earlier watches with depth sensors that operated mechanically (check out this article for some examples of contemporary depth sensor equipped watches that operate in a similar, non-electronic fashion).
A big part of the charm of the Aqualand, and a reason, I think, for its cross-over appeal among non-divers, is its ana-digi layout. Even without the fanfare of the 40th anniversary, there’s no mistaking this design for anything but deeply 1980s. Time is told via center mounted hour and minute hands, as you’d expect, but all of the other functions of the watch are managed through the small screen spanning the space between 10:00 and 2:00. These functions include a calendar, alarm, and a chronograph, in addition to the depth gauge. Another dive specific function of the Aqualand is its ascent rate alarm, which is designed to sound an audible warning to the wearer when it detects that a diver’s ascent speed has exceeded a recommended limit, an important safety feature for divers.
For this special edition, Citizen has opted for a traditional execution of the Aqualand that’s true to its heritage, while adding some well earned elegance for the big anniversary. What that means in practice is the addition of gold accents on the bezel, depth gauge, crown, and push buttons on the case, as well as a 40th anniversary engraving on the caseback. The case has a brushed finish, is matte gray in tone, and crafted from stainless steel. It’s fairly large, measuring 50.7mm in diameter, and is water resistant to 200 meters.
The new Aqualand 40th Anniversary Limited Edition will be made in 5,800 examples and available worldwide from Citizen beginning in July. The retail price is $595. Citizen
