Phoibos makes a great line of well made and budget friendly watches. Dive watches are their specialty and I have been impressed with all the ones I have reviewed. Most have unique dials housed mainly in polished stainless steel, or bronze cases, but now there is this new one – the new Proteus 300M diver. What makes this different is the the case is done in aged steel. This is my first Proteus review, so let’s check it out.
The dial on this Phoibos Proteus diver looks mean with its blade-like hour makers and sharp blade hands. The seconds hand is a little “shocking” with its lightning bolt look. I am totally into the look of this dial. The dial is surrounded by a 120-click ceramic bezel, with a very solid feel. Protecting this dial is an AR-coated sapphire crystal.
Made from 316L stainless steel with an aged steel plating this case totally checks off the cool box for me. The patterns in the aged steel gives each watch their own character and adds a tough look. one of the nice parts of this kind of finish is that you can beat it up a little. The screw down crown and case back has the signature Phoibos octopus. Since this is a diver, the water resistance is a solid 300 meters so you could really use this on a dive, if you were so inclined.
Although being very thick, this Italian-made leather strap is very soft and comfortable. The signed pin and buckle clasp is done in the same aged steel finish as the case, and really looks great. If you plan on taking this out for a swim, you can also change out to the extra rubber strap that comes with this watch. I don’t know about you, but I love getting extra straps.
The lume on this Phoibos is fantastic. They used a both BGW9 and “old radium.” The BGW9(blue/green/white) is used on the outer ring of the dial. The “old radium” is used on the hands, indices, and bezel markers. The “old radium” is not the real old radioactive radium lume, but has the look of old radium. Seeing this mixed lume is a sight to see in the dark.
There are so many good thing going on with this Phoibos. For $299 USD you get a cool aged steel case, ceramic bezel, two kinds of lume, and a reliable Seiko NH35A automatic movement. As with of the Phoibos watches I have reviewed the build quality is excellent. If you like what you see go check them out at phoiboswatch.com.
Review Summary
- Make and model:? Phoibos Proteus 300M
- Price:? $299 USD
- Who?s it for? Divers and desk diver alike.
- Would I wear it? For sure.
- What I?d change: Nothing
- The best things about it: Build quality and looks.
Tech Specs from Phoibos
- REF.: PY028C
- Dial: Matte Black Grainy
- Caliber No.:SII NH35A
- Case:316L stainless steel with all aged steel plating
- Embossed Case Back and Crown
- Band:22mm width Vintage Italian leather strap (Made In Italy) with brown stitching & raw suede back (additional one replacement black rubber strap).
- Glass:Double Domed Sapphire crystal with 3 Layers AR coating
- Water resistance: 300M
- Case size: 42 mm dia. 49mm lug to lug 13mm thickness
- Bezel:120-click unidirectional ceramic bezel
- Crown:Screw-Down crown
- Lume: BGW9 on upper dial and Old Radium on hands, indices, and bezel marking.
- Weight:120g
- Warranty: 2 years
- Origin: Made in Hong Kong
