Not many microbrands (in my book) can claim that they have been in the market for 10 years and also boldly create a new collection based on this achievement too. Today, I will be reviewing the 10 Years Anniversary Edition Eagle Ray by Prometheus, where I was lucky enough to get it off the hands from someone else on Prometheus Group page and to help another brother clearing his watch collection. The watch I bought was a prototype version, not mass produced as confirmed by Carlos Carvalho (brand owner of Prometheus) but he did mentioned that the only difference would be the bracelet. Hence this review is as accurate as it could be with the mass produced (sold out) version.
Prometheus, established since 2008, is a Lisbon based company that does not produces many models but each of their produced models are sold out, and often very fast as they are limited in quantity and built with high quality expectations. Carlos is also very connected in the facebook community as he spends quite some time with the watch community that includes customers, interested buyers and many more.
Technical Specifications :
- 316L Stainless Steel Case with Brushed and polished finish
- Blue Date Dial with Swiss Made RC Tritec C3 X1 lume applied to indexes
- Swiss Made ETA 2824-2 Automatic Movement
- External 316L Stainless Bezel unidirectional with 120 clicks with ceramic insert and applied Swiss Made RC Tritec C3 X1 lume
- Internal Brass Bezel with 12 hour scale and fully lumed with C3X1 lume
- Custom made 316L solid stainless steel bracelet with diver extension clasp
- Case diameter: 42.00 mm without crown
- Lug to Lug length: 49m
- Total thickness: 14.75mm
- Lug width: 22 mm
- Signed screw down crown with Prometheus logo for time keeping at 4 o’clock
- Signed screwed down crown with Prometheus logo for operating internal bezel at 2 o’clock
- Water resistance: 300 meters / 1000 ft or 30 ATM (caseback mentions wrongly 500m correct water resistance indicated in dial)
- Sapphire glass with anti-reflective coating inside watch
- Watch hands filled with Swiss Made RC Tritec C3X1 lume (hours, minutes, seconds)
My first impression…
- If it’s a prototype, it’s a damn good nothing-to-fault version I had. I can’t see this go any worst than the production version. I was advised by Carlos that the only difference between the prototype I have now against the mass produced version is only an enhancement to the metal bracelet.
- OMG… the lume is amazingly bright and cool… Afterall, it’s filled with C3X1 which is one of the better lume material in the market today.
- I really like the dual crown concept, similar to a Supercompressor and also to my brand – Jubileon Superellipse Chrono where 1 crown is to wind the time and the other crown is for the inner bezel, which can be used as a 2nd timezone (eventhough it’s not a GMT movement).
- Love the size, it’s not too chunky neither too small. Fits my 6.5″ wrist nicely as a divers as well as a dress watch too.
So, here’s my detailed review…
Case : As I have mentioned, I like the 42mm diameter size. It’s the perfect size for me in terms of my wrist. I like how well-built it is (even for a prototype version). On the top, it comes with a slight domed sapphire crystal with AR coating and enclosed with a 120-click uni-directional rotating ceramic bezel. I like the structural of the bezel where it’s easy to rotate but yet feels firmly attached. The dual crown are screw down, which fits the diver’s requirement and I like how large it is made to allow proper gripping onto it when un-screwing it.
Dial : I just love the simplicity of the dial, and the use of matte instead of sunburst effect. I didn’t like the hands though, wish it was a bit different and bolder like their previous model – Poseidon 3500m with thicker version of hands. The inner bezel is definitely a plus point here as it’s what some people might call “a poor man’s GMT” to a non-GMT movement watch. It has 12 hours index that can work as a 2nd timezone by using the existing hour hand. To me, this is kinda handy if I am travelling elsewhere with a different timezone. To sweeten the package, the hands and inner bezel is filled with C3X1… it totally light up the darkness as shown on the pictures…
Caseback : I was rather disappointed with the design of the caseback with a Maori style Eagle Ray in the center. Too simple to match the brand’s 10 Years Anniversary edition. There should be more to that design, probably a mix of exhibition caseback & an Eagle Ray design ? As mentioned on the technical specs, there is a mis-match in the water resistance rating where it’s supposed to be 300M but instead it was engraved as 500M.
Overall Conclusion To My Purchase…
For the pre-order price with such material used, quality established and a swiss eta 2824 heartbeat, you can’t go any wrong with this purchase. I had no regrets buying this off-the-used market but would have love to get my hands on the GMT version. I will continue to look out for bargains and if I came across any, I dont think I will be any hesitant to buy it again… That’s my conclusion and lastly, congratulations to Carlos and Prometheus for successfully celebrating 10 Years in the microbrand industry and looking forward to a 15 Years or 20 Years edition in future.
