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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!

SeekerOfJustice · 24 April 2010, 11:00 PM

Very nice review. Great looking watch as well. I have put this one on my list.

mingsta · 25 April 2010, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeekerOfJustice

Very nice review. Great looking watch as well. I have put this one on my list.

Glad you liked it!

3 weeks on and I can't say enough good things about this one, just love the character of the watch, especially with some chunky leather.

Its now on a Toshi in havanna with green stitch;

Deyn Man · 2 May 2010, 01:24 AM

congrats buddy!!!!

excellent choice!!!!!

what can you say about its accuracy?

asadtiger · 2 May 2010, 05:04 AM

congrats Mingsta on the purchase of a very beautiful new diver...its original and yet classic...I love the Prometheus Recon 5 too...it is a great new company...plz share as many pics as you can...its lovely )

mingsta · 5 May 2010, 06:06 AM

Accuracy is good so far, can't say much more than that as I haven't been checking it properly. Certainly no noticable deviation a few days. Its an ETA movement thats not regulated to COSC standards, so I'd say that accuracy will vary between watches and its pot luck to a certain degree. However, the movement certainly is reliable enough to be regulated to a good accuracy if you have a mind to do so.

everose · 13 May 2010, 05:41 PM

Mingsta.....i really admire ALL your collection choices....Prometheus is a fascinating company.

Congrats and great photos!!

mingsta · 14 May 2010, 09:59 AM

Thanks everose.

2 months on and I'm still loving the Ocean Diver and giving it plenty of wrist time. It really is the perfect watch for bangin around with tshirt and jeans.

Prometheus also now have a GMT and Chrono model. The GMT's dial is a bit busy for my tastes, but the chrono is stunning with some superbly executed paddle pushers which really compliment the original case design. The second batch of 100 OD's is now sold out, so its good to hear that they're doing well.

Pics borrowed from official forum:

Deyn Man · 15 May 2010, 03:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mingsta

Thanks everose.

2 months on and I'm still loving the Ocean Diver and giving it plenty of wrist time. It really is the perfect watch for bangin around with tshirt and jeans.

Prometheus also now have a GMT and Chrono model. The GMT's dial is a bit busy for my tastes, but the chrono is stunning with some superbly executed paddle pushers which really compliment the original case design. The second batch of 100 OD's is now sold out, so its good to hear that they're doing well.

Pics borrowed from official forum:

no wonder they didn't reply to my queries (unlike stowa / sinn)...

they didn't need a sale from me...

mingsta · 15 May 2010, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deyn Man

no wonder they didn't reply to my queries (unlike stowa / sinn)...

they didn't need a sale from me...

Sorry to hear that Deyn Man!

I gotta say, that Carlos was very prompt in his replies. They were out of stock when I first enquired, I checked every week or so for a month and he always replied personally within 24 hours. Give him another go as it might just have been bad luck.

sapcmc · 2 June 2010, 03:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deyn Man

no wonder they didn't reply to my queries (unlike stowa / sinn)...

they didn't need a sale from me...

Apologies to chime in on a first post but somehow we may have missed your message.
I have checked email inbox but couldn't find any open query. We usually reply back in less than 24 hours.

Could you send it once more or drop me a private message?

Thanks,
Carlos

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!

24 April 2010, 11:00 PM	#2
SeekerOfJustice Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Real Name: JJ Location: OKC Watch: Tag Heuer Posts: 33	Very nice review. Great looking watch as well. I have put this one on my list.

2 May 2010, 01:24 AM	#4
Deyn Man "TRF" Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Real Name: Dean Location: Philippines Posts: 1,037	congrats buddy!!!! excellent choice!!!!! what can you say about its accuracy?

2 May 2010, 05:04 AM	#5
asadtiger "TRF" Member Join Date: May 2007 Real Name: Asad A. Awan Location: kabul, Afghanista Watch: Tissot PRX Posts: 2,698	congrats Mingsta on the purchase of a very beautiful new diver...its original and yet classic...I love the Prometheus Recon 5 too...it is a great new company...plz share as many pics as you can...its lovely )

5 May 2010, 06:06 AM	#6
mingsta Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: UK Posts: 185	Accuracy is good so far, can't say much more than that as I haven't been checking it properly. Certainly no noticable deviation a few days. Its an ETA movement thats not regulated to COSC standards, so I'd say that accuracy will vary between watches and its pot luck to a certain degree. However, the movement certainly is reliable enough to be regulated to a good accuracy if you have a mind to do so.

13 May 2010, 05:41 PM	#7
everose Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: World Citizen Posts: 593	Mingsta.....i really admire ALL your collection choices....Prometheus is a fascinating company. Congrats and great photos!!

14 May 2010, 09:59 AM	#8
mingsta Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: UK Posts: 185	Thanks everose. 2 months on and I'm still loving the Ocean Diver and giving it plenty of wrist time. It really is the perfect watch for bangin around with tshirt and jeans. Prometheus also now have a GMT and Chrono model. The GMT's dial is a bit busy for my tastes, but the chrono is stunning with some superbly executed paddle pushers which really compliment the original case design. The second batch of 100 OD's is now sold out, so its good to hear that they're doing well. Pics borrowed from official forum:

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