Orient Star F9 Skeleton

Normally, I'd stack new Orient Star announcements onto one blog post, but seeing this beast of a watch, I knew it had to receive its own dedicated item. This is the new Orient Star fully skeletonized watch, and it is an absolute beauty.

Orient has been making good-looking skeleton watches for many years, ranging from the feminine, ornate "Mon Bijou" in 1991, through the highly technical (and incredibly rare) 2010 Royal Orient WE0011DU, until the most recent F8 Contemporary Skeleton with its silicon escape wheel.

With the new Orient Star RE-BR0001N, the brand has taken this concept to a whole new level of execution.

At the heart of the watch is a new hand-wound movement, caliber F9B82, which features a 72-hour power reserve and the best accuracy of any Orient watch: +10/-4 seconds per day. This comes very close to COSC standards (+6/-4). Like the F8, it also uses a silicon escape wheel.

However, it's the movement design that makes it truly unique – see how most components of the movement are packed in a circle (which is normal), yet the balance wheel is located just outside the circle, and then, see how the skeletonized dial reflects the movement design. This is major league watch design.

Attention to detail is obvious in every corner of this watch (or rather, in every arc; there's hardly any corners here), as is the level of fit and finish. It really looks like Orient Star wanted to gift itself with something very special for its 75^th anniversary.

The result is a gorgeous, quite legible dial for a skeleton. The blued hour and minute hands stand out nicely; the seconds hand, not so much, but then it makes sense in a watch that, while maintaining excellent accuracy, is not intended for people in a rush. And there are no second (or minute) markers, anyway.

The case is also distinctive, boasting an outline unlike that of other Orient Star watches. It is slightly larger than the F8 Skeleton, measuring 40mm wide and 46.8mm long (compared to 39 x 46.5), yet noticeably thinner at 9.5mm (vs. 10.8). Lug width is 22mm.

Bundling this very airy case with a light leather strap results in a watch that weighs only 64 grams. The only downside to this watch is the modest 3 ATM water resistance.

The price fits a flagship model: around €6,000, making it one of Orient's most expensive models ever, if not the most expensive. Is it worth it? Stay tuned, as a hands-on review is definitely in the works!

 

Orient Star Sakigake

A brand new Orient Star model was just announced – the "Sakigake" (Japanese for forerunner, or a pioneer). At first glance, its design is remarkably simple, making this one of those watches where the small details and quality of execution will ultimately make or break it. So let's dive into the details…

First of all, it's easy to notice what's not there: No date window. No power-reserve indicator. And just minimal dial text – the Orient Star logo, and "automatic". Compare this with the Orient Flusso, also recently announced, and a clear trend emerges.

What we do get is a time-only watch with rather elaborate, three-dimensional hour markers and nicely shaped hands to match, placed inside a smooth-looking case attached to an equally slick bracelet.

The case is 39mm wide, 47mm long, and 11.8mm thick – pretty standard and versatile proportions. Orient seems particularly proud of the bracelet, which has been designed for maximum comfort.

The movement is a new F7 variant, caliber F7542. It features the standard F7 specs of automatic winding and 50 hours of power reserve, and, most importantly, is accurate to within +15/-5 seconds per day.

At this time, we are getting four references: RE-BQ0001G with a yellow gold dial, RE-BQ0002L with a blue dial, RE-BQ0003S with a silver dial, and the limited edition RE-BQ0004Y with a copper dial and black-plated hands and markers.

Pricing is €880 for the standard models and €960 for the limited edition. Which means the Sakigake is now the lowest priced Orient Star with the improved accuracy.

Whether or not the design works can only be judged after seeing the new model in person. If it really works and turns out as comfortable and well-made as Orient promises, it could become a very attractive watch.

 

Orient Flusso

Orient just announced a completely new model – the Flusso! Named after the Italian word for "flow," it is indeed the brand's attempt at a flowing, sporty, integrated bracelet design.

It does make sense for a brand that already covers two corners of the classic triangle with an entry-level dress watch (Bambino) and a diver (Mako) to go for the third – the integrated-bracelet sports watch, which, at the basic price level, is currently dominated by the Timex PRX. Is it likely to be successful? Let's see.

The Flusso design is not revolutionary in any way – essentially, it combines a fairly basic outline (not unlike the PRX) with some Orient DNA, specifically the old SK model, in the shape of four round notches around the dial, and a little bit of case asymmetry as the rounded contour of the case is cut flat at the base of the crown.

The dial is very clean and legible, with only the logo and the word "automatic" appearing on it. In line with a certain trend that's starting to form among recent Orient releases, it does not even have a date window.

Case dimensions are a fairly reasonable, versatile 39mm width, 47mm length, and 11.5mm thickness. It is clearly built for practicality with a sapphire crystal and 100m water resistance.

Orient presented six references: RA-BB0101S (Gold colored case and bracelet, and a white dial), RA-BB0102E (Grey sunburst dial), RA-BB0103S (Blue), RA-BB0104Y (White), and RA-BB0205R (limited edition featuring deep-red stripes inspired by the SK).

 

The movement is a new caliber, F6522, which seems very similar to the F6524, the automatic time-only movement used inside the new no-date Bambino watches. Both movements share the 40-hour power reserve and +25/-15 seconds per day accuracy.

No word on pricing just yet, these watches are set to be available to order next month, and to be delivered starting in November.

As is usually the case with simple designs, the success of this watch would depend very much on the quality of execution. And naturally, for this type of watch, on the quality of the bracelet. While nobody expects a Rolex bracelet at this price point, it needs to be better than the Mako, as it is integral to the watch and therefore unlikely to be replaceable by aftermarket products.

 

Orient Mako GMT Hands-On Review

Earlier this month, Orient announced the new Mako GMT – a first new GMT model by the brand in years. I was able to spend some time with this new watch, and specifically – with the limited edition, gradient-blue dial reference RA-BC0005L.

 

How It Looks

The watch is immediately recognizable as a Mako, or at least a very close relative of it. It shares the main design characteristics of the standard Mako, such as case shape, markers, and hands. That's not a bad thing, as Orient's classic diver-design model is quite handsome and, of course, enjoys considerable popularity and a good reputation.

The main visual differences are the addition of a 24-hour hand, and the removal of the day disc, leaving only the date indication. While day-of-week displays have their proponents, I don't think it's a major loss, and since the date window is roughly the size of the hour markers, it actually allows for a more balanced dial.

The 24-hour hand is deliberately and rightfully more subtle and does not stand out against the dial as much as the familiar hour, minute, and second hands. In this particular version, the watch face is painted in a deep, rich shade of blue, and the 24-hour hand is lighter blue.

The rotating bezel presents 24 hours, allowing the wearer to adjust the time pointed to by the 24 hour hand. It complements the dial colors with a very pleasing combination of blue for the upper half, and dark grey – titanium-like shade – for the lower half.

While most of the case and bracelet metal is left in its natural color, the crown and bezel sides are blackened. I'm not sure how much that enhances the look of this watch, but it is the sort of thing Orient likes to include in its special editions. I'd be happier without this black plating, at least on the crown, but it is not a big deal.

All in all, if you like how the standard Mako looks, then you will not be disappointed by the Mako GMT.

 

How It Wears

The Mako GMT is larger than the standard, non-GMT version. Case width is 42.8mm (instead of 41.8), lug-to-lug length grew from 46.8 to 49.5mm, and thickness grew from 12.8 to 13.4mm. It also feels proportionally heavier, though I do not have the exact weight at the time of writing.

Despite the size, it is still quite comfortable, but I suppose the extra dimensions might make it less attractive for people at the lower range of wrist sizes, for whom the non-GMT watch was still a good fit.

The bracelet was never the Mako's strongest point, and that has not changed with the new models. When you just hold the watch in your hand and play with the bracelet, it is noticeably rattly and even a bit squeaky. When worn, however, it feels fine, and the loose feeling nearly disappears.

Lug width is 22mm, so finding replacement straps should be easy. I do not think any aftermarket bracelets designed for the standard Mako (or other Orient models) would fit here, unfortunately, but until vendors come up with suitable end-links, a decent blue or black rubber band might do the trick.

 

How It Functions

The watch uses a new movement, caliber F6P22, which hints at its old relative that also featured a 24-hour hand, caliber 46P. The new movement still offers a 40-hour power reserve, automatic and hand-winding, and second-hand hacking. It's simple, and with most of the mechanical parts identical to the familiar F6 movements, expect workhorse reliability and easy maintenance.

As far as GMT watches go, this is of course a "caller GMT", which means you don't have a local time setting. Instead, you can use the second time zone, as indicated by the 24-hour hand and the bezel, to follow an "away time", presumably someone you need to call at their convenient time, hence the name.

Personally, I would have loved to see a true ("traveler") GMT functionality – but I guess that depends on how much one actually gets to travel in different time zones. The caller GMT, I believe, is more a stylistic feature than a very useful function. A 24-hour hand, however, helps when setting the time and date, ensuring one does not try to set the date close to midnight.

The screw-in crown works well here, and I had no problem locking and unlocking it. Other than not having a weekday to set, it all feels much like the non-GMT version.

Legibility, as with all Mako models, is excellent, in the daytime as well as nighttime, thanks to the good lume on the hands (including the GMT hand) and markers. The front crystal is sapphire, and together with the bulky case and reliable movement, you're getting what seems like a good everyday watch you can keep on your wrist no matter what work you need to get done.

 

Bottom Line

The last GMT watches made by Orient were some very fancy Orient Star models. This is not an Orient Star and does not need to be compared to those models. What it is, is a Mako – the good old beater watch we all know and (most of us) love, only slightly larger and with an additional GMT function.

As such, it does not disappoint. It is wearable, useful, and attractive, and priced roughly 15% above the standard Mako, it is still well within the value-for-money price range.

 

The blog would like to thank Orient – Epson Europe for providing us this Mako GMT for review.