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mingsta · 10 April 2010, 10:03 AM

Prometheus Ocean Diver

I was in the market for a beater watch which stood up to the following criteria:

- Less that £500 gbp
- Rugged and waterproof, preferably a divers watch
- Good wrist presence without being oversized
- Mechanical movement of reputable provenance e.g. ETA
- Saphire Crystal, solid caseback
- Swiss or German made
- Potential to look good with a wide variety of straps (oh yes, I'm getting in to the strap fetish!)

...and most importantly, it had to have a unique/original design. There are far too many homage watches or generic designs in this price bracket.

So all of that for less than £500, I didn't fancy my chances, but let the search begin!!!

Fortunately, there are many micro brands out there on the internet catering for affordable divers. But while many looked attractive at first glance, closer inspection would rule the majority out. Either they were 44mm+, 18mm thick whoppers or were let down by cheap movements and manufacture.

I stumbled upon the Prometheus Ocean Diver on the watchuseek forum and all the boxes were ticked. And the icing on the cake was that there's a great story behind its conception. The design was run as a competition among forum members and the winning design was then taken and turned in to reality with further input from the forum community. The whole process took nearly two years with the first batch of 100 being released towards the end of 2009.

First batch was sold out, so I had to wait a month to get my hands on #128.

Now that its in my hands, I am very impressed by how well its turned out. It manages to look militaristic yet retro at the same time, like the bastard lovechild of a Marathon TSAR and a JLC Master Compressor, yet it all blends together fantastically well! Its a substantial watch withsome reassuring heft, but at 42mm x 14.5mm, its perfect as a chunky-but-not-too-chunky watch for my modest sized wrist.

So hats off to Prometheus for a stunningly good value watch. Despite my bastard-lovechild references, I'd like to stress that this is a 100% original design, with all of the parts designed and built to spec from the ground up. Swiss made, with ETA movement. They deserve massive props for producing such a refreshing, high quality piece for the price.

I've got some custom straps from Toshi and Vintager on their way, which are really going to make this baby shine.

The production will be limited to 500 pieces, so best get in there if you want a piece of the action!

10 April 2010, 10:03 AM	#1
mingsta Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: UK Posts: 185	Prometheus Ocean Diver - Bargain!!! Prometheus Ocean Diver I was in the market for a beater watch which stood up to the following criteria: - Less that £500 gbp - Rugged and waterproof, preferably a divers watch - Good wrist presence without being oversized - Mechanical movement of reputable provenance e.g. ETA - Saphire Crystal, solid caseback - Swiss or German made - Potential to look good with a wide variety of straps (oh yes, I'm getting in to the strap fetish!) ...and most importantly, it had to have a unique/original design. There are far too many homage watches or generic designs in this price bracket. So all of that for less than £500, I didn't fancy my chances, but let the search begin!!! Fortunately, there are many micro brands out there on the internet catering for affordable divers. But while many looked attractive at first glance, closer inspection would rule the majority out. Either they were 44mm+, 18mm thick whoppers or were let down by cheap movements and manufacture. I stumbled upon the Prometheus Ocean Diver on the watchuseek forum and all the boxes were ticked. And the icing on the cake was that there's a great story behind its conception. The design was run as a competition among forum members and the winning design was then taken and turned in to reality with further input from the forum community. The whole process took nearly two years with the first batch of 100 being released towards the end of 2009. First batch was sold out, so I had to wait a month to get my hands on #128. Now that its in my hands, I am very impressed by how well its turned out. It manages to look militaristic yet retro at the same time, like the bastard lovechild of a Marathon TSAR and a JLC Master Compressor, yet it all blends together fantastically well! Its a substantial watch withsome reassuring heft, but at 42mm x 14.5mm, its perfect as a chunky-but-not-too-chunky watch for my modest sized wrist. So hats off to Prometheus for a stunningly good value watch. Despite my bastard-lovechild references, I'd like to stress that this is a 100% original design, with all of the parts designed and built to spec from the ground up. Swiss made, with ETA movement. They deserve massive props for producing such a refreshing, high quality piece for the price. I've got some custom straps from Toshi and Vintager on their way, which are really going to make this baby shine. The production will be limited to 500 pieces, so best get in there if you want a piece of the action!