Review of The Citizen Super Tough Limited 4X4 Titanium

[jkchua]

authored by StratMan II

StratMan's expensive trip to the watch store........(watch pics + mini review)....>>>
....or alternatively it should be title "Leave the darned credit cards at home!"

  I recently noticed my SKA013P Kinetic diver was losing its charge by the   month. I had it on my wrist for seven day's straight while I was warded   at the hospital early this month. Put it back into the drawer for just   two days and the power reserve dropped to the 20 second mark.
 
  Following a phone conversation with Badern, who called me all the way   from Australia (thanks, Badern!) we discussed the possibility of my   watch's lithium ion cell was deteriorating. Fair enough, as my SKA013P   was an April 2002 production and I bought it only in early 2005. I do   remember the watch wasn't ticking when it was sitting on its display   case.
 
  Anyway, the replacement of the LiOn cell was done in just half an hour.   The store's technician was very skilled when he changed the "battery" -   he left absolutely no mark on the caseback (Yaaay!!!) .
 
  Here's my SKA013P, with the old LiOn cell in the foreground:
 
 
 
 
 
  Here's a closeup of the old Maxell LiOn cell as I had it expected to be.   It's  not a capacitor like the ones used in the older 5M4x Kinetics,   btw. Seiko makes its own disposable watch batteries but not rechargeable   ones, so it sources them from Maxell, a Japan based battery   manufacturer.
 
 
 
 
 
  Anyway, I was very happy with my rejuvenated SKA013P. It was fully charged when it was handed to me.
 
  And then, I looked at this NOS watch that had been sitting at the store   for donkey years...within 30 minutes the transaction was done and the   new watch was on my left wrist and my SKA013P on my right as I drove   home.
 
 
  Let's see what it is.....(I don't want to call this "Yet Another Unveiling Ceremony").
 
  This is the "yin & yang" fancy box that came with it. Some of you experts out there may already know what it is.
 
 
 
 
  I'll turn it around...and .....
 
 
 
 
 
  It's that lonely Citizen Promaster Tough 4x4 that had been looking for a home for years.
 
 
 
 
  Waitaminute....shouldn't it come with its Ti bracelet? Why yes it did,   but at the store I requested it to be swapped with a nice 22mm Morellato   Cordura strap. The lugs were 20mm so special 22mm spring bars had to be   fitted to secure the strap nicely. (It was also nice of the seller to   throw in the strap for free).
 
  Here's the original bracelet. I may wear that someday. Or I may keep it   in pristine condition, which is a plus if I decide to sell this beauty.
 
 
 
 
 
  Here's a closer look at the dial. The Citizen 4x4's are actually kissing   cousins with the Mission Antarctica (MA). They're both the same watch   except for the text and caseback engravings. I've read that The 4x4 is   released exclusively for the Asian market.
 
 
 
 
  The watch case is a monocoque design, i.e. a one-piece construction,   just like the SBDX001 Marine Master. You need to open the front crystal   and dial to access the movement. I'm also pleased that this watch comes   with Duratect Ti finish.
 
  One watch seller described the 4x4 as follows:
 
  SUPER TOUGH is the "super star" of the PROMASTER TOUGH series of   world leading outdoor sports watches. Citizen's own advanced   shock-resistance and durability technologies have been incorporated into   this watch over a two-year period involving numerous destructive tests.
  The watch is made with the "Parashock" construction, which provides a   truly amazing earthquake-resistant design. This revolutionary   construction allows for the watch to continue operating normally even   when a hammer is dropped onto the watch's face and sides from a height   of 3 meters.
 
 
 
  Well, that's indeed nice to know I've got a tough Citizen. But I won't   be dropping a hammer onto my watch from three metres to prove that   claim.
 
 
  Looking at the serial number, I think mine was made in August 2000.
 
 
 
 
  Here's a glamor shot of my Citizen 4x4. The thick and slightly domed   watch crystal is sapphire, although not indicated on the caseback. It   has an anti reflective coating on it and you can see the blue hues on   the crystal from some angles. The GMT hour hand appears to be yellow and   not orange as some people had suggested. (On the MA, the GMT hand   triangle is painted red).
 
 
 
 
  "Hey Strat! Where's the lume shot?"
 
  Ah yes. The lume shot. I adjusted my camera for a lume shot pose.   Firstly I would bathe the watch in ultraviolet light. I used my Inova X5   UV torch for this job.
 
 
 
 
 
  Turned off the lights, and I got this. Sure reminds me of a Marine   Master's lume. The hands and indices glow brightly but the indices fade   quicker than the hands. However the watch is very readable after hours   in the dark.
 
 
 
 
 
  I did another comparison lume shot with my present Nighthawk.
 
 
  The same procedure applies.
 
 
 
 
 
  And you can see that the Citizen 4x4's lume is very "diver" green. Quite a contrast with the Nighthawk's blue lume.
 
 
 
 
 
  My new acquisition makes friends with its peers:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Not wanting to be left out, my Citizen Promasters wanted to pose for the nice forum members out there too.
 
 
  Here's my silver Promaster E210:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  And my black E210:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Well, we come to an end and I part with a rather mediocre wrist shot.   This whole affair was done indoors with only two fluorescent table   lamps. I find natural lighting outdoors easier to work with.
 
 
 
 
 
 
  What do I think of the Citizen PMT 4x4? I never liked it at first. But   some watches really grow on you and all of my Citizens are of no   exception. Never liked the Nighthawk and E210 initially, either!) I   don't know how it wears with its factory bracelet, so I can't give my   impressions whether it's a hair puller or otherwise. In the meantime, I   like the 4x4 on the Cordura strap. I may switch that for a nice carbon   fibre band.
 
 
 
  If you've made it this far, as always I thank you for reading my post.
 
  cheers,
     
  StratMan

[DAHASCO]

That 4x4 is one hell of a watch, Congrats    I am officially jealous 

[jkchua]

That 4x4 is one hell of a watch, Congrats    I am officially jealous 

I just pulled the review from the old scwf sir 

[DAHASCO]

I knew I should have had my coffee before I jump into the forums    Still a great watch 

[BigMig]

I love the crown on that 4x4 Citizen!  Looks the mutt's nuts for sure!  Robust and still classic in function.   Thanks for sharing!

[Melissakis]

I am one of the few owners of the watch and I am really upset. Something has broken (I don't know how, it just did) and now the bezel rotates both left and right, it was supposed to turn only to the left. I communicated with Citizen Service Center in Germany, the only authorized in Europe to handle citizen monocoque cases. They told me that the watch is beyond repair due to lack of spare parts. The fact is that they tried their best and they were able to locate a case of a Mission Antarctica in Japan and offered me to change the whole case, because the replacement of the bezel only would compromise the water resistance of the watch. I declined of course, I don't want to be the owner of a Frankenstein...
How is it possible to create such a great watch, in such low production numbers (3000 only, counting the Mission Antarcticas in) and leave it without support? And it's been only twelve years after its production.
Now I have a broken watch that don't want even to look at. Right now two of them are sold on ebay for over $400, if I could afford it, I'd buy one of them just to cannibalize it for spare parts. All 4X4 owners, seriously consider to stockpile spare parts in any way you can.

[planatlas]

I love the crwon too, but is same to tauchmeister diver watch...