Miyota Citizen Caliber 8204 8204a

Miyota (Citizen) Caliber 8204

Miyota Citizen Caliber 8204 8204a

Brand Miyota (Citizen)
Caliber Number 8204, 8204A
Movement Type Automatic
Linges 11 1/2”’
Diameter
25.6mm
Height 5.67mm
Jewels 21
Vibrations Per Hour
21,600 bph
Lift Angle
49 degrees
Shock System Parashock
Power Reserve
~42 hours
Rotor Winding Direction
Counterclockwise (uni-directional)
Hacking? Yes
Hand-Windable? Yes
Plastic Parts?
Yes
Hand Winding Direction
Clockwise (forward)
Functions Central hours, central minutes, central seconds, bi-lingual day/date calendar at 3:00
Country of Manufacture Japan
Known Brands
Citizen Promaster Fugu (Too many to list, add more in the comments below…)

The Miyota caliber 8204 (8204A) is a 21 jewel automatic movement, first introduced in 1977 (other versions as early as 1974). This movement is from the Miyota 8200 family (aka 8 or 82 series) of movements. This 8204 has been discontinued by Miyota/Citizen and is no longer offered in their catalog of movements. It has evolved into the current Miyota caliber 8205.

The movement pictured above was submitted by Kyle, found in a Citizen Promaster ref: NY0140-80E. Although it is a Miyota caliber (Miyota is owned by Citizen), it is signed Citizen Watch Co. Although Miyota is owned by Citizen, typically the two brands will use slightly different caliber numbers to distinguish between Citizen branded watches and movements sold by Miyota to other watch brands. As we can see with the Promaster, both Citizen and Miyota are using the same caliber number designation for the 8204A.

Miyota 8204 VS 8203:

There is a similar Miyota caliber 8203. These two movements are so similar that Citizen even combines them into one instruction manual. One main difference between the calibers is hacking (the second hand stops while setting the time, for precise time setting): The 8203 does not hack, whereas the 8204 does. Citizen officially refers to this as a second hand stop function.

Another difference is that the 8203 has a power reserve of 40 hours and the 8204 offers a power reserve of about 42 hours.

Accuracy of the 8203 is slightly better than the 8204 at -10/+20 sec/day vs -20/+40 sec/day for the 8204.

Interesting observation: There are some Citizen watches (such as the NY0040/NY0045 divers) that are supposed to have non-hacking caliber 8203 movements inside, but some collectors are reporting that their watches are powered by the hacking 8204 despite the dial (and possibly caseback) referencing the 8203. Please comment below if you have come across a watch like this.

Time and Calendar Setting:

  • You can hand wind the movement while the crown is in position 0.
  • Pull the crown out one click to position 1 to set the calendar. Turn the crown clockwise to advance the day of the week. Rotate the crown counterclockwise to advance the date.
  • Pull the crown out again (position 2) to set the time.
  • Do not set the date while the time is between 9:00pm and 4:00am.

Note: Although the 8204 has a quickset date, this does not mean the date instantly flips over at midnight. In fact, the changeover is not instantaneous, so do not be alarmed if you see a partial date when the hands are before or after 12:00AM.

Accuracy Rating:

As mentioned above, according to Citizen, the claimed accuracy rating of the caliber 8204 has an average daily difference of -20 to +40 seconds/day.

Replacement Prices:

The Miyota caliber 8204 has been discontinued, therefore replacement retail prices are not available. To find this movement, you will need to find a watch parts retailed with remaining new old stock, find a watch with this caliber inside, or possibly upgrade to a newer version.

Pros and Cons:

Pros:

  • Hacking
  • Long history of being built on a dependable movement framework
  • Affordable even when replacing with the newer version

Cons:

  • Some do not like the possible hesitating seconds
  • Discontinued so it’s not easy to find an exact 8204 replacement

Additional Images:

The example shown below is of a cal. 8204A found in this Citizen Promaster Fugu black and blue diver.

Citizen 8204a Fugu Movement Citizen Cal 8204a Fugu Movement Citizen 8204a Fugu Movement Rotor Macro Citizen 8204a Fugu Movement Balance Wheel Macro

Additional Resources:


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Mr T
Mr T
1 year ago

My NY0086-16LE bought late December 2021 came with 8204. Says 8203 on the dial, and 8204 on the caseback.

Sunny
Sunny
6 months ago
Reply to  Mr T

My NY0085-19e is also same..

Pawel
Pawel
1 month ago
Reply to  Sunny

You have caliber 8204, caseback says truth.

Dadou
Dadou
1 month ago
Reply to  Pawel

The movement says the truth. Not the dial. Not the caseback. Check the movement!

juan
juan
1 year ago

January 2022 NY0040-09E reporting here, 8204 on the back, hackable, says 8203 on the dial.

Jeff McKean
Jeff McKean
1 year ago

I just got a NY0040-17L and it also hacks, but still says 8203 on the dial. Nice bonus!

Jeff McKean
Jeff McKean
1 year ago
Reply to  Jeff McKean

Oh and it DOES say 8204 on the caseback!

Mike
Mike
1 year ago

My NY0085-19E (purchased Jan 2022) has the hacking 8204 movement. 8204 is printed on the case back, but 8203 is printed on the dial.

Nick Kafir
Nick Kafir
1 year ago

Purchased a Citizen Promaster automatic (NY0040-17LE )February of 2022 through Amazon UK. Has 8203 on the dial and 8204 on the case back. Given that it has hacking it appears to be the 8204 movement.

Scott
Scott
1 year ago

Yes, I also have a Promaster dive watch that hacks. The back says 8204. The front says N-8203-917165-EY. Not sure what the actual model number of my piece is. I don’t see an NY# anywhere on it.

Emil
Emil
1 year ago

NY0085-86EE, bought in March ’22 in Serbia, at a reliable dealer store (decade-long experience, many stores) front face says 8203, back says 8204… it is however hackable, so def 8204 My only explanation is that Citizen doesn’t care that much for such details in low-cost watches – I suppose they had a ton of produced dials, or didn’t care about changing the prepress data… 😀 whatever the case, I also don’t care that much… it… Read more »

Nunz
Nunz
11 months ago

Just got an ny0040-09w – it’s has 8203 on the front and 8204 on the back. It is hackable… so I guess it’s the 8204. Only had it a day… hopefully the power and accuracy stacks up to what you’re all experiencing.

Jeffrey Clement
Jeffrey Clement
10 months ago

Got an 8215 miyota movement in most of my collection and they are very accurate.

Logan
Logan
10 months ago

I recently bought the Promaster Diver Titanium with the green bezel (NY0071-81E), this is the Japanese version of the one Citizen has listed on their website with the black bezel. It says on the dial it has the 8203 movement but on the back of the watch, the caliber number says 8204. But, after reading the description you gave of the two calibers I think mine is actually an 8203 because of the time variance… Read more »

Anastazy
Anastazy
10 months ago

I recently acquired a citizen NY0086-16L made in January 2021, which in the dial refers to movement 8203, yet at the back engraved is movement 8204. The watch hacks, so there is definitely an 8204 inside.

Carpetcop710
Carpetcop710
10 months ago

Same story here. Bought an NY0085-86E in May of 2022. The dial says 8203 however the case back says 8204 and the watch is hackable. Kind of a neat factory mistake that adds to the charm of a great dive watch at an incredible value.

Jeremiah Leonard
Jeremiah Leonard
9 months ago

It says that the rotor wines in a counterclockwise direction. Is this if the back of the watch is facing me? And so, is actually clockwise if you’re talking about the face of the watch?

Diego
Diego
9 months ago

Same here. Bought me a NY0040-17LE last month (May 2022) in Germany. Dial says “8203” though it’s hacking and the back says “8204”.
Accuracy is +8sec/day at the moment, that’s okay for me.

Diogo
Diogo
9 months ago

Purchased a Citizen Promaster automatic (NY0040 )march of 2022 in Germany. Has 8203 on the dial and 8204 on back. Hacking works.

KyleR
KyleR
9 months ago

I bought a Citizen NY0140‑80e (2021 Fall Winter Collection) which has 8204 on the dial and caseback. If the movement is no longer in production as explained above, did Citizen release this model at the end of 2021 simply to deplete their 8204 inventory?

Andrew
Andrew
8 months ago

Am I the only one who thinks it’s strange that the movement is winding when you screw in the crown? Is that normal? What do others think?

Andrew
Andrew
8 months ago
Reply to  Caliber Corner

Ahh okay thank you for this! I just purchased the full lume dial NY0040 that on the dial has the 8203 marking but on the case back has 8204 and hacks (not so uncommon as it seems others have this as well). I was a bit shocked by the crown when I was setting the time because it still winds when screwing it down. It just doesn’t feel as smooth and easy as my skx… Read more »

PrettyNiceWatches
PrettyNiceWatches
8 months ago

NY0040-09w, purchased July 2022. Hacks, says 8203 on the dial and 8204 on the case back.

Norman Gremore
Norman Gremore
7 months ago

“The newly reimagined Promaster Dive Automatic men’s watch by Citizen goes deeper into the history of the original version of this diving watch that was released in 1989 for the new generation of dive watch enthusiasts. A design element that stands out is the distinctive, serrated bezel design that was inspired by a fugu, the Japanese name for pufferfish. Featuring a 3-piece, 44mm case, anti-reflective sapphire crystal and a two-tone silver- and gold-tone stainless steel case… Read more »

h3o
h3o
3 months ago

Citizen started putting 8204s in the NY0040 line-up in 2021. The case back is easier/cheaper for them to update than the dial, hence why the dial still says 8203.

Brett Friedli
Brett Friedli
3 months ago

My Promaster NY0040-17LE has the 8204 movement in it.

John
John
2 months ago

Citizen tends to use parts in its Promaster “fugu” series until they run out so it’s not uncommon to find one with brighter hands than the dial. All of them have a green pip on the bezel regardless of the lume color used on hands or dial and in recent years the pip is noticeably brighter and longer lasting than on the hands or dial.

Rachel
Rachel
2 months ago

It took me purchasing 2 Citizen NY0085’s and finally sticking with a titanium NY0100 to realise that the rotar (hope that’s the right word – I’m referring to the the metal ‘half moon’ in the movement that usually contains the maker’s name!) is not broken, it’s just really, really noisy!! I sent the NY0085’s back after just a couple of days wear. If I moved my arm too quick it sounded like a little helicopter… Read more »

Rachel
Rachel
2 months ago

I think this Miyota, or a similar hacking day-date one, is in the Expedition North Titanium Automatic 41mm by Timex.

That’s also one loud watch to wear!

Marty
Marty
2 months ago

can the 8204 be regulated/calibrated to be more accurate time keeping?

;
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