Orient is a Japanese watch company with a history dating back to 1901. Orient offer excellent quality watches at very reasonable price points. In September 2008 Seiko Epson announced its intention to take full ownership control of Orient. Prior to that it had a 52% equity stake in Orient.
The Orient 300m Professional diver watch is one of the larger watches in my collection. It is a real saturation diver rated to a depth of 300m. It differs from the usual Swiss design for saturation dive watches in that the Helium escape valve is omitted.
The watch measures 45.7mm in diameter without crown and the lug to lug distance is approximately 55mm. At the side the watch measures 16.6mm thick. As can be expected from its dimensions the watch weights a hefty 233 grams with the steel bracelet. In case you haven’t noticed this is not a watch to be worn to the office unless you wish to risk denting the expensive office furniture or ripping your shirt cuffs off.
The crown is signed and is located at the 4 o’clock position, which helps to alleviate the problem of excessive wrist contact as is commonly experienced with 3 o’clock crown positions, especially with large sized watches. Crown guards curve out gently from the watch casing to protect the crown.
The matt finished orange colored dial is protected by a 5.3mm thick AR coated sapphire glass. On the dial the hour, minute and second hands, together with the hour markers are coated with a generous amount of luminous paint which provide excellent luminosity in the dark. The date window is located at the nine o’clock position instead of the more conventional 3 o’clock position. As this watch is obviously not meant to be elegantly concealed by shirt cuffs, the date window position does not represent a problem. The thick and wide bezel rotates in only the anti-clockwise direction in 60 solid clicks.
Between the 12 o’clock and 2 o’clock positions is the power reserve indicator. This is not a common feature on dive watches. The indicator swings in a 120 degree arc to indicate the amount of energy reserve in the barrel spring in 10 hour increments.
In addition to the stainless steel bracelet Orient has supplied an additional polyurethane strap. For those who find the watch a bit on the heavy side can always strap on urethane strap for an instantaneous weight loss. As a nice touch, Orient has also provided a strap changing tool to simply the task of switching straps. The bracelet is equipped with a cleverly designed gliding diver’s extension which can be operated without having to take the watch off the wrist. A push button release is provided to unlock the bracelet and a safety clasp prevents accidental unlocking of the bracelet.
Orient is known to utilize the “magic lever” automatic winding system in their movements. As such this self winds very efficiently. From a dead stop the watch can be easily restarted with a few swings of the arm, and once on the wrist the power reserve builds up with quickly and effortlessly.
Below are some pictures of my Orient 300m Professional Diver:
Frontal view of the watch face
Laser etched Orient logo on the crown. Notice the traditional lug hole design which simplify the task of strap changing.
Small date window at the 9 o’clock position
Laser etched Orient logo on the clasp.
Power reserve indicator has 10 hour increments.
The triangle marker on the bezel has a luminous pearl.
Cleverly designed gliding diver’s extension.
Details of the clasp locking mechanism.
Details of the clasp locking mechanism. Push lever for unlocking clasp.
Details of stainless steel bracelet with solid links.
Nicely engraved case back.
Detail of knurled screw down crown.
Close up of bezel and crown. Notice the knurls on the crown and coin edge on the bezel which provide firm grip.
Close up of dial. Notice the quality dial print work and the beautiful metallic borders on the markers.
As the pictures above testify the Orient Diver is a well designed watch with excellent quality build and finish. Orient could have put a much higher price tag on this watch but by not doing so have provided one of the best value for money dive watches available in the market today.
Technical specifications taken from Orient web site:
i) Mechanical Movement : ORIENT caliber 46N4A Made in Japan
ii) Self-winding movement (Does not hack nor hand wind)
iii) Enhanced shock proof
iv) 21 jewels
v) 21600/hour vibrations
vi) Power reserve indicator
vii) Stainless steel case and bracelet
viii) One-way rotating bezel
ix) Sapphire crystal with anti-reflection coating
x) Screw caseback, screwed-down crown
xi) Special extensible buckle for metal bracelet
xii) Water resistant to 300m
xiii) Diameter 45.7mm
xiv) Thickness 16.6mm
Additional specifications:
Reference no – CFD0C001M
Power reserve – 40 hours
Links and resources:
Reviews:
i) Review by Kew on Orientalwatchsite
ii) Review by Oldecrow on Orientalwatchsite
iii) Information Orient web site
Information on the Magic Lever winding system:
i) Post on Orientalwatchsite by Knightwatchman
ii)Article on Timezone by Rob Berkavicius
iii)Article on PuristsPro by Al
