Citizen Professional Divers - 1300m, 800m and 300m

[andrema]

I have been on the hunt for a Citizen Titanium Professional diver from the early 1980's to 1990's for a while now and have had no luck. From what I have seen around the forums is that these aren't usually discussed and seem to be underappreciated. So.....I wanted to bring it up here to raise some awareness of these cool divers.

There are three model in the Citizen Titanium Professional line: 300m Professional Diver, 800m Professional Diver and their big brother the 1300m Professional Diver. The first of the "professional line" came in August 1982, when they were the first in the world to have pressure resistance, marketed with their Professional Diver 1,300 M watch.

***********************************************************
A little background that I found:

As far as I know Citizen made their first "Professional" diver, the 1300m, in the early eighties as a tour the force to show they could make a quartz watch with the highest depth rating in those days. These were made only a short time and are now almost impossible to find.

In the early nineties Citizen came out with the 800m and 300m versions. You will come across a handful of each on the Bay each year, but most are listed outside the USA and they are often in ratty condition. Since parts are very hard to come by it is usually not worth it to buy a non-working or incomplete watch, unless you intend to use it as a parts watch.

Both the 300m has the 5503 quartz movement with a 5 year battery life. The case is made of TIN coated titanium. The same coating can also be found on high end line guides for fishing rods and is extremely resistant against abrasion. This finish can be dented when knocked hard, but remains scratch free, giving the watch a very nice aged look over time.
***********************************************************
Here are some photos:

1300m Professional Diver –



800m Professional Diver –



300m Professional Diver –


***********************************************************
Here are some reviews of the different models for those who are interested:



800m - http://www.thewatchsite.com/index.php?topic=70.0 & http://forums.watchuseek.com/f366/citizen-800m-saturation-diver-review-1984-a-313011.html

300m –

http://www.network54.com/Forum/78440/thread/1111683448/Citizen+300m+professional+pics+and+review

***********************************************************

Some technical info on the Citizen 5503 movement -

http://www.watchuseek.com/seikocitizen/Citizen_Technical_Manuals/5503.pdf