The Citizen Series 8 890 gives big Royal Oak vibes – and might be more practical

In recent years, the trending theme for the best watches on the market has centred around one thing – integrated bracelet sports watches. Popularised by models like the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and the Patek Phillippe Nautilus, the trend has captured the zeitgeist like very little before it.

While those models exist at the re-mortgage the house end of the pricing scale, they certainly aren't the only ones available. The cheaper end of the scale is popularised by the likes of the Tissot PRX, while the midrange is peppered with models from all kinds of brands.

Now, a new release from Citizen suggests they are looking to be a significant part of this conversation. The new Citizen Series 8 890 is an integrated bracelet sports watch which wears its heart on its sleeve and delivers, with a fantastic look and a spec sheet to boot.

The octagonal bezel sits as part of a larger case, with an angular design accented by alternate brushing and polishing. There are two model in the standard lineup – steel with a blue dial and warm gold PVD coated steel with a brown dial. Both are simply stunning to look at, though the gold and brown combo might just edge it for me.

Far from just being a pretty face, though, this is a watch with some serious spec sheet credentials. For starters, you'll find 200m of water resistance on board. That's despite not having a screw-down crown – a mighty impressive feat.

Inside, a calibre 9051 movement offers accuracy of -10/+20 seconds per day. That's pretty run of the mill for a watch in this price range, and – coupled with 42 hours of power reserve – should make for a really useful wearing experience.

Priced at £1,595 for the steel and blue and £1,695 for the gold and brown, this is a watch with a whole lot of credentials for the price. Like a hybrid of a dive watch and a stylish Royal Oak, this fuses form and function and the results are really compelling.