An Owner's Review of the Orient Tenbeat

About six years ago, I did a blog post on Orient's Tenbeat, the brand's rare and elusive high-beat model from 1970. In the years that passed since then, I know of three occasions when one such Tenbeat actually got auctioned for sale. One was ridiculously over-priced, another seemed not to be in working order, and the last one I only heard of after it was already closed.

And then, a few weeks ago, I was delighted to receive an email from a blog follower who had just acquired one of these rare beasts. Or rather, a part of it… it will all become clear shortly.

Anyway, the owner, Andreas was kind enough to share his review of the watch and some photos – revealing a case type that's different from the two shown in my original story. I am sure you will find his account of owning and wearing the Tenbeat as interesting and entertaining as I did, so I bring it to you in his own words.

My name is Andreas, and Mr. Orient invited me to share my first-hand experience of wearing an Orient Tenbeat, which I will gladly do. First of all, I must clarify that I only own 10,000 of the 36,000 beats per hour through timesharing. I think Pierre and I will rather settle on 100 and 360 days per year instead of 1/10s of a second. Pierre is the guy who spotted this beautiful timepiece we share. He searched much more thoroughly than I and found it listed as "10BEAT" instead of "TENBEAT" at JDirectItems Auctions in November 2025. That description was why no one else was even watching. Yet even with a ¥30,000 discount the minimum bid was ¥520,000 plus Japanese sales tax plus import sales tax – far more than my personal limit. I suggested time-sharing as a joke, but Pierre asked if I really would, and after some consideration I agreed.

So, how does it feel to wear such a rare watch? Great, I have to say! I like the idea that most likely I am the only person in the universe wearing a Tenbeat when it is night in Japan, where probably all the other owners of such a watch live. The case measures 36 millimeters in diameter and only 36 millimeters lug to lug. It’s about the size of the Orient Fineness from 1968, just one millimeter thicker. Thus it fits really comfortably. The band width is 19 millimeters with curved spring bars. This is due to the fact that the movement has diameter of 27.6 millimeters compared to the 25.6 millimeters of the Fineness’ Ultramatic caliber.

The high beat movement 9980 is equipped with 28 jewels, and they are not for decoration. There are combined settings for the escapement and the escapement wheel, for instance. The balance has an Incabloc shock protection system and a fine adjustment mechanism. The movement is not very decorative, but neither were Seiko's 6146 or Citizen's 7230 of that time. Speaking of those competitors – in 1970, Seiko had a share of 60% of Japanese watch manufacturing, Citizen still had 28%. Orient’s share was 9% – roughly a third of Citizen’s and not even a sixth of Seiko’s. I assume that also reflects the budgets of the respective development departments. At least I know Seiko had two – one at Daini Seikosha in Tokyo, and one at Suwa Seikosha in the Nagano prefecture. One should also consider that the high beat movements of many renowned Swiss manufacturers were based on rough movements manufactured by Adolph Schild SA. Orient developed and manufactured the caliber 9980 entirely in-house. It has this nice little pusher for setting the date at 2 o'clock to distinguish it from others.

Let’s have a look at the stainless steel case. Its brushed surface with its sunburst effect is a pure joy to me as a photographer. No strange reflections – I hate seeing my face distorted and half-covered by my camera reflected in the watch in my pictures. I like the curved outlines, not only at the sides but also at the cutouts for the bracelet. There are small cutouts for the crown and the pusher on the right side. Together with the acrylic crystal, the case is only 9 millimeters thick and has a screw-down back.

I love the sunburst silver dial and the rehaut. "ROMANES EVNT DOMVS!" (sic) – I usually don’t like Roman numerals on my watch faces. Among the baton indices there are fortunately only 3 of them at 6, 9, and 12. But I have to admit that in this case the Roman markers counterweight the large day and date window in a nice way. Ow, that large window- people who prefer no date watches will certainly hate this! But it is the most outstanding design feature of the watch. The day wheel is atop of the date wheel and has windows which allow the date to be displayed. It is really fascinating when the day and date change! The large window shuts and the date changes invisibly. The day of the week is displayed in abbreviated form in Japanese left of the date, and in full English below. The print is inverted for the Japanese and matches the black date wheel. The numbers on the latter are printed in silver, which makes them quite easy to read.

Taking a closer look reveals another unique design feature of the watch- the hands! Hands up who’s ever seen anything like those! I lack the words to describe them. Each has its own unique shape, and they all have a three-dimensional structure. And yes, no lume! I might have missed that back in the 1970s, but nowadays we have smartphones. And they have torchlights to illuminate the watch! Of course, the second hand displays the smoothest movement of all Orient watches.

The crown does not have a function in normal position. It has two click positions. In the first, the time can be set. Without a hacking function. I must also clarify that the watch does not have a quick setting for the day of the week. Setting the day of the week works in both directions, depending on whether you move the hands clockwise or counterclockwise. The date can be adjusted with the pusher at 2 o’clock. To wind the watch manually, the crown has to be pulled out to the second click position. So, this might not be the most user-friendly watch.

In summary, I can say that the Tenbeat is a typical dress watch of its time in terms of size. The design is very distinctive and the complete opposite of the design of King Seiko or Grand Seiko. Including the leather strap it weighs only 32 grams. What I love about this watch is that it is so photogenic, maybe the most photogenic watch I ever shot. But it will receive a full service before further use.

 

The blog would like to thank Andreas for sharing his experience. All photos are his, except the top one that is from a sale ad. Also, many thanks to both him and co-owner Pier for salvaging this piece from oblivion and bringing it to light!

A Meteorite Among The Stars

I was not ready for it, but it happened: the Orient Star M34 F8 Date Meteorite exceeded my expectations, as high as they already were. I mean, I often like the Orient watches that come my way, but usually I know what to expect. Having a few high-end watches in my collection, I usually stop short of comparing my favorite brand's products with those of the heavyweights of the industry. This one was different.

So, while I usually just post my review and move on, I thought I could do this timepiece justice and follow up with some comparisons to other high-end Japanese watchmakers, possibly ones better known for their premium models.

In my hand, pictured below, are watches that I think are worthy of admiration: Citizen's Campanola – mechanical model, deep-red urushi dial; Grand Seiko's iconic SBGR019; and next to the Orient is the slightly less famous but equally fantastic Divido, by Minase.

The first obvious comparison is Grand Seiko. The classic name that made us talk about Zaratsu polishing and dial textures. Just as its grandparents taught the Swiss industry about accuracy back in the 1960s, it returned in the 2000s to teach the world how high watchmaking craftsmanship and fine finishing can go.

Honestly, the level of polishing and accuracy of details are hard to distinguish between the Orient and the Seiko. The SBGR019 had some unique elements that aren't even very common among other (and newer) GS models. The "beehive" pattern on the dial is hidden until put in direct light. But then, the Meteorite dial is always there, and always gorgeous.

Looking at the bracelet, the Grand Seiko wins, with a design whose complexity really produces extreme comfort. But in all fairness, most current GS watches have lesser bracelets, and the Orient Star's bracelet will not feel underwhelming next to any of those.

Now the Campanola is a different story, a watch born out of a very different design philosophy. With no interest in minimalism whatsoever, this piece boasts layers of components, materials, and colors (and keep in mind that, as far as Campanolas go, this is one of the more restrained models).

Different but still comparable. The Campanola is the more expensive of the bunch, boasting the most amount of handcrafted effort and a Swiss movement with big-date complication. It is exceptionally eye-catching, and its dial also shines in the light, extremely so.

While there's no denying the unique flair of Citizen's premier model, even here the Orient does not look like it would be out of place in the same watch box. Yes, the hand-painted dial of the Campanola is a winner, but it wins even when pitted against watches costing ten times or more.

The Divido sits somewhere in between its bigger brothers. Featuring fine Zaratsu polishing like the Grand Seiko and complex, precise construction like the Campanola, it actually costs less than both (and roughly the same as the Orient Star) and is really a kind of hidden gem among Japanese manufacturers.

Minase takes pride in the Divido bracelet, which feels lighter than the Orient's and Seiko's. It is highly comfortable, and is well adjusted to the watch, which also has a very light and "roomy" case-in-case construction. Again, the Orient Star bracelet does not pale in comparison; rather, it seems chunkier – more appropriate for the M34 case.

This post mainly focuses on looks and craftsmanship, rather than movements and accuracy. I would not compare movements between watches of different ages that were never serviced; as of now, the Orient Star is the most accurate watch I have ever handled more than briefly, keeping about a second a week, albeit with a noticeable difference between rest and wrist-time. The Campanola is a close second, with its fancy (and nicely decorated) La Joux-Perret movement. The Divido and Grand Seiko are accurate enough, both gaining a few seconds per day.

There is no "bottom line" here; these are four fantastic watches, and I just loved to see the Orient Star feel at home among them. It's closer in spirit to the Grand Seiko, the latter obviously serving as inspiration and perhaps – target.