Like many people who fall deeply into the watch hobby, I went through a period where I bought a lot of watches, and by “a lot,” I mean an abnormally high number. Once I had a little bit of watch knowledge, I wanted one of each. Through this, I learned what I liked, what I didn’t, and what I ultimately wanted to collect. Most of the watches I bought in that initial frenzy have since been sold; the ones that remain are the watches I genuinely love, the cornerstones of my collection. Among them is my Citizen Promaster Diver BJ8050-08E, or as we watch nerds call it, Ecozilla. I reviewed that one way back in 2013. So, imagine my delight when the good folks at Citizen asked me to write about the new Promaster Diver BJ8059-03Z Godzilla Limited Edition. It’s big, it’s bad, and it might even be cooler than my own.
The Ecozilla nickname arose from the simple fact that the BJ8050x Eco-Drive series is huge, and Citizen is Japanese. It’s not complicated, but it is fitting. So much, in fact, that the watch is now listed by that name on the Citizen site and has inspired this limited edition for the 35th anniversary of the Promaster line and the 70th anniversary of the original Godzilla movie produced by Toho Studios.
It would be sacrilege for a Godzilla-themed watch to be anything other than a diver, and this one goes deep. It’s rated for 300m and has a screw-down crown, a high contrast dial, and that wild ashtray bezel. Inside is a B873 Eco-Drive solar quartz that will happily hum along on its 180-day reserve, soaking up its power from any decent light source along the way. The crystal is mineral glass, and while that might seem odd in a world where every microbrand offers sapphire, I’ll remind you that mineral is less likely to shatter, and I’d note that the tall bezel does a fine job of protecting it from casual scratches.
Like the rest of the Ecozilla line, The Promaster Godzilla LE is a brute. Its bowl-shaped, nearly black, stainless steel case is just over 48.2mm wide and a whopping 18.5mm thick. This watch is as chunky as the King of the Monsters’ thighs. When I strap it on, it doesn’t just make my wrist look small; it makes my whole life seem small. “I AM WATCH,” it cries, “HEAR ME ROAR!”
Despite all this, I have always found these watches easy to wear, even on my comparatively spindly 6.75″ wrist. This is due in part to its crown, which, while sufficiently large and easily grippable, screws down to near invisibility between a pair of stubby guards at 9 o’clock, away from your hand. An even greater factor is the lugless design. True, a 48mm case is large by any standard, but it feels less so when it is also a tidy 48mm long.
Another factor that helps balance out its prodigious girth is the dial-to-bezel ratio. Watches with large dials tend to appear larger than they are. Most pilot’s watches fall into this category. By the same token, watches with comparatively small dials appear smaller. Such is the case with the original Doxa SUB300, for example, and the same trick works on the ‘Zilla, shrinking its visual footprint even as the depth at which the dial is set in the case reminds you of how thick this watch really is.
Flipping the watch over, you can see how the strap vanishes into it. Those four screws do not hold the case back lid but a ring that locks the strap ends in place. The backside is the one aspect of the Godzilla LE that disappointed me. My old Ecozilla has a lovely image of a diver’s helmet rendered in high relief. The LE’s Godzilla footprint is lightly etched, offering little contrast on the satin surface.
Enough of the back. That’s just going to be pressed against your wrist, right? The real action is on top. Citizen decorated both the base and dial with a novel Godzilla pattern. There are two models in the LE line. One is black and incorporates an image of a standing Godzilla. The other, pictured here, is red and features a close-up of a roaring Godzilla head. The pattern is laser-etched into the upper surface of the case and printed on the dial. Citizen says the idea was to emulate the creature’s skin while hiding him in plain sight. It’s a great idea that could have easily turned into pure camp, reducing this tribute watch to a cartoon novelty. I’m pleased to report that this is not at all the case; it works beautifully.
The pattern presents a dense camouflage or mineral appearance. Finding Godzilla turned into more of a “Where’s Waldo” game with my wife and kids, all of us taking turns to squint at it. Mrs. Time Bum finally saw the image on the much larger surface area of the watch’s box. When I finally brought out a loupe, I found the beast’s open jaws on the case.
With that reference and the magnifier in my eye, I could identify the head repeated on the dial. You can, too, if you look to the left of “300.” When Citizen says “hiding in plain sight,” they really do mean hiding, and the sight is of someone with sharper eyes than mine.
This is not a bad thing in the least. Godzilla, the movie creature, is many things to many people. Yes, it is a giant monster that destroys Tokyo. Still, depending on the movie, it is also a metaphor for nuclear weapons, the fury of nature, the United States, or the militarism of Imperial Japan. An obvious Godzilla would have ignored this complexity and ruined the watch. Instead, we are treated with a delightfully complex structure rich in color and shape variations. And yes, the beast lurks deep within, but you must hunt for him.
The other elements on the dial are identical to those of other Ecozillas: The fat sword hands, prominent markers, and the potent white lume on the dial and bezel pip.
The polyurethane strap is the same as on others in the Ecozilla collection. It is a comfortable and functional unit with an “EcoDrive” buckle and stainless keeper (both color-matched to the case) and a separate extension that buckles on for use over a diving suit. It fits the watch’s character and will serve for years. I only wish it did not have such obvious mold-release lines.
The Citizen Promaster Godzilla Limited Edition is available for purchase now at citizenwatch.com for $900. According to my last visit to the site, plenty of black BJ8056-01E models are still left, but the red BJ8059-03Z is in short supply. That is considerably more than the standard Ecozillas, but Godzilla only turns 70 once, and it is one of those rare media-themed watches that does justice to its subject without becoming a parody.
Get the red one, strap it on, unleash a primal roar, and then settle in for a movie. I’d suggest a double feature of Godzilla (1954) and Godzilla Minus One (2023). You won’t regret it.
