My eyes slowly open. Laying in bed, I take a deep breath of humid August morning air. The sun filters through the blinds. The cacophony of chirps from the wildlife outside my open window is not as deafening as it occasionally is. I lie in bed, assessing what I should do today. The trees outside are fairly quiet, leaves barely rustling due to nonexistent winds. The river, I ponder, must be calm. I sense that it might be a perfect morning to go kayaking. I get up and nonchalantly reach for my Citizen Promaster Diver. Having recently decided that I need a reason to buy any new watch, I settled on it as my kayaking/outdoor activity watch. When unused, it sits in the darkness of my drawer. I haven’t called on it recently, but the solar cell in the E168 EcoDrive movement keeps it going for up to six months. Knowing that it will display the correct time and date when I put it on my wrist confirms that it was the right choice.

Having dropped off all necessary accessories in my car, I head to the shed to grab my boat. At 24kg and 348cm long, it’s an unwieldy load to walk with, and load onto the car. Will I scratch my watch handling the kayak? Yes. Do I care? Yes. A better question is will I be ok when I scratch the Citizen Promaster Diver? Again, yes. It’s slim, solid build is very light and unobtrusive even at a 44mm diameter. The brushed steel case is crowned by a black PVD bezel. Despite models with different colours for the aluminum insert in the bezel, the green one had to be mine. It’s not a Kermit or Starbuck homage, but depending on if you want to be argumentative, one could debate that it is influenced by some of the Submariner models. So be it.

With the boat securely fastened, I drive to the water’s edge. I smile to myself, feeling lucky that I live so close to the water. As I unfasten the straps, the metal clip flails around and clinks on my watch. The mineral crystal on the Citizen Promaster Diver takes the blow easily. I may have cursed wearing something else, but not with this one. My watch smacks the boat a few times as I carry it to the water. The river is like a mirror, my bow slicing it cleanly. Ah serenity. Birds are my only companions. The Barton Bands Elite silicon strap holds the watch securely to my wrist. The original strap is a quality item, featuring metal tubes where the spring bars go into the case, but is too stiff for my liking. I prefer softer and more pliable straps.

I use the bezel on the Citizen Promaster Diver to note what time I start paddling. It clicks easily, but has too much play for my liking. The sun glints off that green aluminum better than ceramic ever could. I love that bezel. Paddling, water streams down my arm. I’m not worried: 200m of water resistance and a screwdown crown is more than sufficient for splashes, or a swim should I fall in. The crown’s placement (aligned with the date) at 4pm ensures that it does not dig into my wrist during various activities. (I must highlight that I once thought the threading tube connected to the case had “sunk” in the watch. I had to compare it to a new model to determine that it had not, and that it was simply very short.) The large handset is reminiscent of other Citizens, and permits referencing the time at a glance.

Some may say that an EcoDrive/quartz is soulless (as recently discussed on a Rob and the Regulator podcast) and I don’t disagree. It did however make me wonder if every watch needs to have soul? Can’t some just be purpose-built products? Most would agree that McDonald’s is a soulless company with soulless products, but most would also agree that there’s nothing better on this planet than a bacon and egg McMuffin when one yearns for it. Or after a long night of drinking… Maybe soulless products have a place in our lives after all.

As I near the shore again, I realize that I haven’t had breakfast yet. I wonder where I’ll end up.