The History of The Citizen Aqualand, The Diving Icon Celebrating 40 Years

Traditional dive watches have never waned in popularity, despite modern diving computers and even smart watches pushing them into technical obsolescence. The dawn of early divers in the 1950s is defined by two brands and two watches – the Rolex Submariner and the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. State of the art at the time and able to withstand depths of 100 metres (91 metres or 50 fathoms for Blancpain), while a rotating diver’s bezel coordinated with the minute hand to track elapsed time underwater. For serious divers, diving computers now dominate, and it started with the Orca Edge in the early 1980s as the first practical (and affordable) commercially available option. In 1985, however, the Citizen Aqualand became the first quartz watch to feature an electronic digital depth gauge, adding significant technology/functionality to the traditional analogue setup. Now, 40 years on, this Citizen is still a beloved wrist companion for divers the world over. All the more reason to dive into the history of the Citizen Aqualand.

SCUBA Diving

Scuba diving (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) necessitated the use of dive watches to track available air underwater. It followed the similar and pioneering Aqua-Lung developed by Jacques Cousteau and Émile Gagnan in 1942, and became widespread in the 1950s. Dive watches needed to withstand water depths up to and over 100 metres to accommodate the growing activity, although recreational diving generally stopped at 40 metres. The scuba diving depth record is 332.35 meters, set in 2014, which required 13 hours of ascent and decompression after just a 15-minute dive. That kind of depth is otherwise reserved for saturation divers utilising specialised underwater chambers. It all highlights the need to track depth along with air time, as only 10 metres creates enough pressure to cause decompression sickness.

After descending below 9 metres, nitrogen can dissolve in the bloodstream, and if a diver then ascends too quickly, nitrogen bubbles will form in the blood and surrounding tissue. Known as the bends (as victims often bend over from joint pain), it’s potentially very dangerous and even life-threatening, causing anything from musculoskeletal pain to seizures and paralysis. The digital depth gauge on Citizen’s 1985 Aqualand provided accurate depth readings coupled with the familiarity of a traditional dive watch to track air time, and it was a true game changer. Prior to this, a diver would often wear a traditional dive watch and a bulky (and expensive) depth gauge separately.

Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Jean Reno as Enzo Molinari wearing a Citizen Aqualand in Le Grand Bleu by Luc Besson

No-Decompression Tables and Limits

These tables (and no dec limits) provide recreational divers with the maximum time they can stay at a certain depth without needing decompression stops during an ascent to prevent the bends. They were created based on scientific research that determined how fast nitrogen dissolved into the bloodstream at various depths and then subsequently released as a gas. The Citizen Aqualand with its digital depth gauge allowed divers to accurately plan dives according to the above dive tables with “no deco limits” clearly printed on the rubber watch straps to keep dives within safe limits.

Citizen Aqualand, Ref. C0023: 1985

In 1985, Citizen successfully integrated an accurate and affordable electronic digital depth gauge with an analogue quartz watch, creating the Aqualand, ref. C0023. Prior attempts to merge dive watches and depth gauges met with varying degrees of success. All-mechanical models from brands like Favre-Leuba and Nivada were complex and maintenance-intensive, and accuracy was questionable.

Aquadive’s now legendary Time-Depth 50 took an electromechanical approach, using an electronic movement and Bourdon Tube that moved a dial hand as pressure increased, but overall reliability wasn’t significantly improved. A few major brands still produce mechanical depth gauge watches today, like Blancpain and IWC, but arguably more for a technical presentation than real-world usability.

Calibre C020 and C022

Calibre C020 offered a digital LCD screen at the top of the Aqualand’s otherwise analogue dial, providing continuously updated and logged depth information, so depths and times could be reviewed after the dive. Calibre C022 replaced it in 1988, but actual technical changes are unknown, and it was likely to address a potential problem/shortcoming.

The aforementioned Orca Edge diving computer from 1983 and Suunto’s computer from 1986 (among others) offered more functionality – continuously updated no-decompression times, depth limits, ascent information and decompression stops with a myriad of alarms along the way – but many divers at the time wanted to retain the familiar analog dive watch experience while also benefiting from digital depth technology. Citizen’s Aqualand was the perfect middle ground between traditional divers and newer computers until the latter inevitably dominated the diving scene.

Depth Gauge and Matte Steel Case

The Aqualand depth gauge itself was a sizeable, asymmetrical extension of the left side of the matte steel case (at 9 o’clock). It used a water pressure sensor to provide accurate depth measurements down to 80 metres (with a maximum 3% deviation). The digital display not only relayed real-time depth information but also stored diving logs with the time and date, while an alarm sounded when predetermined depth and time limits were reached. There were also digital chronograph and alarm functions, which were common for digital quartz watches. The analogue part of the Aqualand included a unidirectional rotating diver’s bezel and oversized hands and indices with lume within a 200-metre water-resistant case. The screw-down time setting crown sat at 4 o’clock, while additional push buttons controlled the digital display.

The watch was inevitably large with the depth sensor pushing that case measurement to 50mm (around 44mm measured from 2 to 8 o’clock). Lug width was wide at 24mm, and a (notoriously stiff) black rubber strap came standard, again with vital no deco limits printed on it. A wavy section at the top did help with flexibility. Ref. C0023 was produced into the 1990s with or without gold accents, along with a limited black PVD-coated titanium model with gold accents that was seen in the movie Le Grand Bleu on the wrist of Jean Reno. If there was a design flaw, it was the relatively poor battery life, with three batteries used simultaneously, and user replacement was relatively difficult. The case back was secured with six screws (with a finicky seal).

Ref. JP2000 and Calibre C520: 1992 – Present Day

The next model was nigh identical to the original aesthetically, with some technical improvements and new ones are still available today (such as ref. JP2000-08E with the classic black dial). From 1996, the case back was modified to a screw down design from the six individual screws on the original, while three batteries were reduced to one. The more efficient C520 calibre brought additional alarms for depth and rapid ascent warnings, along with more memory for logged dives – up to four full dives. It also updated the calendar to reach the year 2099. Depths were again measured to 80 metres, and diving time could be tracked to 400 minutes. Like the original, the digital display automatically switched from time to depth information when submerged in water, although this could also be done with a long press of the lower left button.

New models found today are affordable (under USD 400 via many online retailers) and retain the iconic design of the 1985 original. If it ain’t broke, as they say. It’s now part of the Promaster line introduced in 1989 that expanded to air and land watches (air, land and sea), so Promaster Aqualand JP2000-08E is the current designation. Using the watch hasn’t changed over the decades, so it’s as familiar now as it was in the early 1990s. The button on the top right toggles through standard functions on the digital display, such as time, date and day, while the bottom left button operates the chronograph and alarm. Holding the bottom left button down changes the setting to diver mode. When the battery is low, the analogue seconds hand will advance once every two seconds. The Aqualand was even officially issued to the Royal Australian Navy Clearance Divers into the 1990s.

Ref. JP-1010, AL-0000 and Many More

Varied designs emerged in the years following ref. JP2000 with different aesthetics and depth gauge designs, but the same overall functionality. For example, ref. AL-0000-04E had a broadly notched steel diver’s bezel, a more compact depth gauge design and an analogue depth reading via a dial hand (no LCD screen). Ref. BN2029-01E, a current Promaster Aqualand model, has an even more radical design with no LCD screen, while ref. JP-1010 takes the opposite approach with dual LCD screens, top and bottom.

Functionality isn’t significantly improved with the latter, but you can take advantage of the extra screen real estate by having time at the top and date at the bottom, dual time zones and so on. There were many dial colours and variations among the smorgasbord of references, including full lume dials. As mentioned, the classic design remains available in many regions and, of course, online (ref. JP2000-08E), while other dial colours are also available. Most discontinued models can be found on the pre-owned market with a bit of research.

Final Thoughts

Although affordable and a quartz watch, the Citizen Aqualand C0023 and subsequent JP2000 (and the many variants) are among the most important dive watches ever produced. They masterfully combine vital diving information into an accurate, reliable and wearable piece that includes depth, dive times and warning alarms for unsafe or unexpected conditions, while also storing this information for later review. Although the Aqualand originally bridged a gap between pure analog dive watches and modern diving computers, it’s defied obsolescence and remains a vital tool that divers at just about any experience level rely on today.

No one would argue that watches like the Rolex Submariner or Seiko Tuna are iconic, but the Aqualand quietly sits at the top with multi-dimensional functionality and an aesthetic that’s instantly recognisable. Perhaps a bit of function over form compared to slicker designs, but it’s a diving tool unlike anything that came before it and even most that exist today. Purists may scoff at a quartz movement, but there’s no denying the technological advantage that the C520 calibre continues to provide after more than three decades. And with an overall accuracy of +/-20 seconds per month, it surpasses anything a mechanical movement can achieve.

Collectability

Just about every model since 1985 is available on the pre-owned market at (usually) attainable prices. An original 1980s-era Aqualand C0023 can be found for around USD 1,200 in pristine condition, while those from 1985 are often more. Most are otherwise south of USD 1,000, but early black PVD/titanium C029 models can reach well over USD 2,500.

The good news is that the majority were produced in large numbers that keep prices low, and even new JP2000 models can be had for less than USD 400 and offer the same look and experience as early 1990s counterparts. Other than very early models and rarities, I wouldn’t consider this a highly collectable series. That, however, is a good thing as there’s nothing wrong with an affordable icon. A “blue collar” diving legend that does it best.

For more information on Citizen and its legendary Aqualand, please visit CitizenWatch.com.