[sapcmc]

Prometheus Watch Company Ocean Diver GMT

Sales Price:
€640.09 (approximately USD844.92) VAT sales tax included
€529.00 (approximately USD698.28) Price valid outside European Union

Watch specs in a glance:
• Diameter: 44.00 mm (measured from top ring)
• Length: 51.40 mm
• lug width 22 mm
• Swiss Automatic ETA 2893-2 movement
• C3 superluminova
• 2 years warranty
• sapphire crystal
• Swiss Made
• 300 meters water resistant
• Silicone strap

A review of the Ocean Diver GMT made by Eric L.

Prometheus Ocean Diver GMT Review:

I have recently been fortunate to acquire a Prometheus Ocean Diver GMT. The transaction was flawless and Prometheus owner Carlos Carvalho was first class to deal with. This is a Swiss Made timepiece with a rather interesting history - the primary design came from a forum member here at WUS, and initially the plan was to produce the watches in Asia with Chinese movements, to keep the price affordable. When the samples came back, they were not up to specs, so the watch was completely redesigned and production moved to Switzerland and using ETA movements. The result is a much nicer watch, and the prices were still kept surprisingly affordable. There are not too many nice internal bezel GMT dive watches below the $1000 price point nowadays, so I thought this timepiece warranted a brief photo review.

Here are a few initial thoughts I have about this watch - I usually don’t write reviews and I don’t assign ”scores” either - the only comparison I will make will be if I find one aspect of the watch particularly outstanding (or particularly poor) to other dive watches that I’ve owned. I’ve also attached a few pictures, please forgive the dust - thats what I get for snapping pictures before I’ve had my caffeine in the morning.

Case:
The case of the Ocean Diver GMT is 316L stainless steel with a very smooth satin bead blasted finish. This is different from other blasted watches I’ve owned - for example the Korsbek is a little more shimmery, and the Zinex Trimix is a little more matte in color. About the closest I can describe the finish on the OD is that it feels like a Sinn U1 - it has the same refined smooth feel. The size is about the same as a U1 too. The lugs use screwbars, my favorite type of arrangement. Springbars tend to break or weaken over time, and hex lugs, while novel, are not as easy to switch out because I have a screwdriver set I always keep on my desk but the hex wrenches I tend to store with the box the watches come in.

One interesting aspect of the case is that the bezel area is actually slightly flared outwards, a nice design addition which adds a little flash and character to the side profile of the OD. There are eight drilled “portholes” along the circumference of the bezel area too which add a little more unique style to this watch. I feel they add to the character of the watch rather than detract from it. The slightly thicker bezel of the watch also affords the crystal some protection for clumsy people like me who accidentally bash their wrists when walking though through doorways.

The caseback uses Rolex style coin edge impressions with a slightly raised center area on which the various specs of the watch are engraved. Part of the caseback has a polished finish, to give the engraving a contrasting appearance - its very unique and helps the watch cling to the wrist a little more firmly. I randomly got # 77/500 - a pretty cool number I think since 7 is my favorite number.

Bezel:
Ok, everyone knows I’m a fiend for impressive bezels (the Korsbek OE, Zinex Trimix come to mind), so I thought, this internal bezel take some warming up to. How would I adjust to not having a giant cogwheel on the wrist? Well, the moment I took the watch out of the box, I started spinning up the top crown to find out how the bezel works - and it feels great! The 120-clicks are distinct and there is little lash or freeplay - you can literally count out all 120 clicks as you turn the crown, which is more precise than some 120-click external bezels I’ve owned. This was probably the pleasant surprise I was most impressed with. The bezel crown doesn’t screw down, yet is good to 300M WR, so one also doesn’t have to worry about the bezel moving when screwing the crown like on some other popular internal bezel dive watches.

The arrow of the internal bezel is lumed and lines up perfectly with the dial markers. I especially like how the bezel is fully indexed on every minute marker. Honestly why do some dive watches stop the markings after 15 or 20? With the fully indexed bezel, the OD’s bezel ring looks very substantial and has a nice tapering angle to the edge of the large crystal.

Crowns:
Both crowns are large, easy to grip, and have a nice crosshatched pattern on the flat surface. The winding action is very smooth with the second crown, and the bezel clicks are firm and distinct with the first crown. I am so glad the bezel crown is on the right side - easier for right handers like me to turn it with the watch on the wrist.

Dial/Hands:
The highlight of the OD has to be the cool dial - I love how the GMT markers are shown in darker red text towards the outside of the ring, so that they do not crowd the inner part of the dial. The 12-9-3-6 markers are a nice breakup from the multitude of hash marks on the dial, and the round dots on the other markers match well with the round index marks of the bezel. Overall the dial is a very cohesive design where the markers match with the bezel without being monotonous. I also like how there isn’t a ”Ocean Diver” text in the middle of the dial like on the non-GMT version - it would have been too crowded here.

The hands are very easy to read and distinguish from each other - the hour hand isn’t too stubby and the minute hand is long enough so that one can easily tell hour from minutes. The red second hand is a nice touch since matches the color used on the bezel and GMT markings. I also noticed the length of the hands are well matched to the dial. The hour hand reaches almost halfway up the hour markers, the minute hand reaches about halfway into the minute markers, the second hand reaches just to the edge of the minute/second markers, and the GMT hand is a little longer to reach the GMT ring. This is much nicer than stubby GMT hands and a crowded center dial. Overall, there is a lot of information on this dial, but it doesn’t appear any more crowded than the non-GMT dial.

Lume:
Ok, lume is *the* make-it-or-break-it criteria for me. I’m not a fan of poor lume, ”white” C1 (who cares if its white if it doesn’t glow well in the dark), ”blue” BGW9 (its weak compared to C3) - so its C3 or bust for me. The OD GMT does not disappoint in this regard - the dial and hands use C3 lume, and its thickly/well applied. Here’s a comparison shot with two other lume champs - the Halios Bluering and Korsbek Oceaneer. The OD GMT is right up there. The lume triangle on the bezel isn’t quite as brightly lumed, but its very easy to read in the dark since its an arrow and not a dot. Good job, Prometheus on the lume.

Movement:
What a nice surprise to find an ETA 2893-2 GMT movement in a watch at this pricepoint - this is the same movement used in many high end GMT watches, and definitely an upgrade over the conventional ETA 2836-2 GMT variants. This movement has everything I like in a dive watch - winding, hacking, a high beat - I can’t think of any negatives to say about it. When setting the GMT hand, the intervals jump in 1hr increments - this makes it easier to set than the 2836-2 which requires setting the GMT hand to exact minute - on the 2893-2 the minute it already synchronized with the actual time. Simply put if you want a GMT movement, this is the one to get.

Crystal:
Being an internal bezel watch, the OD GMT has a rather large crystal. I’m glad the crystal is sapphire glass and that it uses only an inner AR coating (outer coatings scratch and pick up fingerprints, ask any Sinn U1 owner). I have no problems reading the dial even at an angle. I can detect no defects or distortions, and I am glad the company resisted putting a dome crystal on an internal diver watch - the dome often distorts the edges of the crystal and thats where reading the internal bezel would be an important consideration. Overall, a well done crystal that I have no complaints about.

A video with the Ocean Diver GMT in action

Price does not include shipping and eventual import taxes.