Ocean Diver Watch Blog

I thought I'd share the excellent review posted by Worn & Wound of my Prometheus Ocean Diver watch design. It is a very thorough review with some incredible photos. Full review here . Snippet from Worn & Wound Review "Turns out, not everything we lionize from our past holds up so well today. A few things, however, transcend their era and are worth returning to because their qualities aren't reliant upon the culture that bore them. I'd place the Ocean Diver in this category, while fully acknowledging the irony that its creation is intrinsically linked to watch collection culture of the late aughts. There is an indefinable quality about the Ocean Diver that sets it apart from its contemporaries, such as the Ocean 7 LM-2, early Christopher Ward divers, and Seiko's SKX watches. The internal bezel, the design of the hour markers, including the oversized numerals at 6, 9 and 12 o'clock, the porthole shaped case design and its bead blasted texture all add up t...

Check out this watch/strap combo. How cool is that! 

Cool little video clip of the Ocean Diver GMT model being used during a diving expedition in Portugal, with the Haliotis Padi Dive Center. Enjoy!  

From left to right: Ocean Diver day/date, Ocean Diver GMT, and Ocean Diver Chronograph

I just received an Ocean Diver Chronograph and I have to say that I'm blown away by how well it has turned out. It's not available for a little bit longer yet, but wanted to share a few quick (sneak peak) photos with you ahead of the weekend. The pushers not only look awesome, they work perfectly with good firm movements. Enjoy!

Another great review of the Ocean Diver, this one by Paul Hubbard at Watch Report that actually references this blog- ha!  Paul gives some good feedback about the design of the watch hands too, which actually reflect the original design of the hands. Full review here . "In my opinion, the Internet has been a godsend for the rise of small, independent watchmakers. They can find customers, actually converse about design, and foster a closer connection to far-flung fans. The Ocean Diver takes this collaboration to the next level."

Another great review of the Ocean Diver by Ariel Adams of ABlogToWatch . Check out the full article and the nice video review below. "In all, the Ocean Diver delivers on its promise, a nicely made, highly functional, true diver's watch with a Swiss movement for a reasonable price. At $495 (339 euros) it is hard to beat what you get here . Plus, the watch is a limited edition of 500 pieces giving it an addition level of exclusivity. For all that I give the watch an aBlogtoRead.com good value award. You can get an Ocean Diver watch directly from Prometheus's website here."

Great review of the Ocean Diver by the very well known and respected watch blog site Hodinkee . You can watch the video review below. "This watch, which retails for around $500 US, features a well-made case and also an ETA Swiss Automatic movement. Essentially, it does everything the Enzo Mechana does for less than half the price, and more than what the Deep Blue does for just about the same price."

Active Watchuseek forum member and avid collector, JitteryJim, posts an in-depth review of the Ocean Diver . A very well written review with absolutely beautiful photographs. "At the end of the day Prometheus has produced a worthy entry into the mid-priced range diver category. It is a sold, well built watch with a lot of attractive features: the classic compressor style case, easy to read dial, well thought out design, sapphire crystal, good luminescence, and a complimentary strap. With the watch being Swiss made it will be more attractive to a wider audience, I believe, as many watch enthusiasts have not yet entirely warmed up on all Chinese built watches, especially at this price. For those that enjoy dive watches I believe you'd be quite pleased with the Ocean Diver. I am looking forward to the release of the other two Prometheus Ocean Diver models, the GMT and chronograph, which should be available sometime in 2010."

As you may have already read on my blog, last summer the manufacturing of my Ocean Diver watch design was stopped because the quality of the watch samples that we received from the original manufacturer partner were just not up to our expectations.  It was extremely disappointing and frustrating for myself, Carlos the Prometheus Watch brand owner, and all of the avid watch collectors out there that had placed pre-orders with us.  As tough as it was to make that decision, it was the right one. Swiss Made Deliciousness... The original Ocean Diver watch line was going to be Chinese made and use the very best Chinese movements we could source, but it just didn't work out that way despite the vast improvements in the quality and reputation of Chinese watch manufacturing in the last several years. Now, almost a year since we had hoped to be in full production, we are back on track with a new Swiss manufacturer with the goal of being in full production by later this summer. Below a...

Those of you who follow my blog will know that as well as being passionate about everything to do with hiking and backpacking, I am a huge watch geek. I have been into watches for as long as I can remember and my personal collection is pretty significant :)  I'm also an art major specializing in usability and have for the longest time wanted to see my own watch designs put into production. That almost happened last year with my winning watch design going through the engineering process and being turned into a prototype with the intention of going into full production late last year.  Unfortunately it never worked out, for various reasons that I won't go into the original plan of having the watch manufactured in China using Chinese movements didn't work. We were so close... Fast forward to today, and the announcement that the Prometheus Watch Company will be releasing not one but three of my watch designs into full production and they will all be Swiss Made using Swiss move...

So, late last night I drove to my local UPS depot to pick up the Ocean Diver watch prototype that had been expressed shipped to me from the manufacturer. UPS tried to deliver it in the morning but no one was home and rather than wait for Friday (Thursday is Thanksgiving for all you non US folks) I decided to go pick it up. I waited until after the kids were tucked up in bed before opening the package and was so excited I could barley stand it. The watch looks so amazing in person it's hard to describe - seeing my design in the flesh and holding it in my hands was exhilarating and unbelievable at the same time. It's so cool. The pictures don't really do it justice, but here's a bunch I took today just because I could :)

Amos, the watch manufacturer, has just sent me and the Prometheus brand owner a series of pictures of the fully assembled Ocean Diver prototype. He's also express shipped us both one of the prototypes shown in these pictures which should arrive Thursday or Friday - not sure because Thanksgiving holiday is Thursday. I'm told I'll be getting the prototype with the polished case back, which was finished that way by mistake - the final versions will all have brushed case backs to match the finish of the rest of the watch body.  There are some other small details that are being adjusted before production so these pictures should not be considered final - there just to show how the assembled watch will look. I love it! Of course I'm biased as I designed the watch, but it's hard not to get excited about seeing your own design put into production and be so incredibly well accepted and desired by serious watch collectors. We just received our first request from a watch deal...

Front and back views of the complete watch :)

Here is the first picture of the fully assembled (but unfinished) Ocean Diver prototype. There's quite a bit of work remaining to be done and all of the parts have to be carefully finished/polished and cleans before final assembly - but this at least shows all the pieces put together :)

It's still going to be another couple of weeks before a full prototype of my Ocean Diver will be ready, but below is an early picture of the main components assembled to show how it will look. I know I'm bias but I don't mind saying it's a nice looking watch :) Excuse the poor picture quality...

I've just received the first pictures of the actual dial of my Ocean Diver watch design. It looks amazing and if you look closely you can see a huge amount of luminous material on the hour numbers and indicies. This bad boy is going to light up a room with all that lume! We've used the same luminous material that Seiko uses on its dive watches. Here's a picture of the internal rotating bezel. Notice how the 12 o'clock hour marker have luminous material applied. I can't wait to see how the watch looks when it is completely assembled with hands and day/date dials. Getting closer to having that first prototype ready :)

I've just received the first photos of some of the components of my Ocean Diver watch design from the manufacturer! The pieces are in their raw (unfinished) form and will need to go through several final finishing process before being ready for assembly, but even so it's very exciting to see my initial design turning into a reality. Enuf said, on with the pictures... Here is the case back with lettering - #000/500 that's gonna be a rare one! Here is the watch body with internal rotating bezel in place and strap attached. Here's a shot from the back! I'll post more pictures as I receive them.