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.

  

The Orange Mako

Following up on the recent announcement of new watches from Orient, I received a nice bunch of samples to review. And while I guess the more intriguing ones are new models – such as the Mako GMT and the 36mm no-date Bambino – those releases will also require a bit more attention.

So, why don't we kick things off with the simpler, yet no less handsome, Mako! Specifically - reference RA-AA0826Y and its lovely orange face. 

Mechanically, this is not a new watch – in fact, it is identical to the "Kamasu" reviewed on the blog more than seven years ago in almost everything except the dial. So what has changed?

Well, first of all, it seems Orient has completely abandoned the Kamasu name in favor of the good old Mako. That has, in fact, been going on for a while now. Makes sense – it's one of the brand's most familiar names, and for a watchmaker that spends way less on advertising and branding compared to the likes of Seiko and Citizen, there's little point coming up with new names. Actually, it's wise even for wealthy manufacturers, just think how many years, models, and generations Volkswagen's been using the name "Golf"…

The dial is mostly the same here too – the markers, hands and overall dial design were useful and legible when it first came out, and they still are.

There are subtle changes in the dial text: the word "automatic" is now larger, and wider than the logo. The term "water resist" at the bottom was replaced with "water resistant" – proper English- to better fill the empty space and achieve a slightly better balance or symmetry between the top and bottom halves of the dial.

And of course – the dial color itself. All new Mako references seem to be nicely colored; and this orange is no exception. It features the smooth, subtle sunburst that Orient seems to be very consistently good at producing. If you like a standout color on your watch, you can't go wrong with this one.

Overall, there nothing new here, just more of what's mostly a good thing. It's not perfect – the bracelet is still the weak link (pun intended) here, luckily it is the part that is easiest to replace. This one, like other Mako versions now in production, are still the same old trusty watches, not professional divers but workhorse beaters for daily wear.

And what about the GMT…? Hold your horses! That one's up for review next, so stay tuned!

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

New Orient Star 75th Anniversary Watches Released

Orient has just unveiled three new watches to celebrate the 75^th anniversary of its Orient Star brand. These are new versions of familiar product lines.

 

M45 F8 Moon Phase

First up is this lovely new dial variant of the brilliant M45 F8 Mechanical Moonphase Hand Winding, a model reviewed on the blog last year.

The new watch, reference RE-BW0008B, looks just as fantastic as the one reviewed, while leaning less into clean simplicity and more into elaborate intricacy. In the words of Orient, the new dial captures the quiet beauty of “the moon drifting through clouds,” inspired by moonlight breaking through a clear autumn sky. Its richly layered dial combines nanoparticle metal multilayering, dimensional printing, and a three-layer moon phase display with mother-of-pearl, creating remarkable depth and the impression of moonlight naturally emerging through the clouds.

Mechanically, it is the same as last year's moonphase release: at its heart is the in-house caliber F8A62, a hand-wound movement with a 70-hour power reserve. The 39.5 mm stainless-steel case is paired with a black cordovan leather strap, while the caseback bears the Orient Star 75th Anniversary inscription and an individual limited-edition serial number.

The watch will be limited to just 140 pieces worldwide.

 

Open Heart Pair

In addition, a pair of matching open-heart Orient Star watches was introduced: a women's Classic Semi-Skeleton, and a Modern Skeleton. Both feature a similar dial finish, which appears bluish in the images but which Orient describes as a green-gradient dial inspired by the changing colors of the aurora, transitioning from a lighter center to darker tones around the edge.

The Modern Skeleton combines this gradation with expanded openwork, a larger small-seconds display, and a new sandblasted finish, revealing more of the mechanical movement beneath the dial. The more compact Classic Semi Skeleton uses the same aurora-inspired palette, complemented by rose gold-colored accents around the openwork, crown, Roman numeral markers, and Orient Star logo. Both models also feature the serial number and the 75th-anniversary mark on their case backs.

The Modern Skeleton, reference RE-AV0140E, features the cut-out design presented earlier this year. Mechanically, it is the same, 41mm case housing the brand's automatic caliber F6F44. It will be limited to 1,600 pieces worldwide.

The Classic Semi-Skeleton, ref. RE-ND0024E, uses the old (but apparently still fitting) small cal. 55C22. This automatic movement features a 40-hour power reserve. This one is limited to just 800 pieces.

 

New Orient Mako GMT, Bambino 36mm No-Date, and Mako 42mm

Orient today unveiled its Autumn/Winter 2026 collection, led by an entirely new Mako GMT family, accompanied by a new no-date Bambino 36mm collection and four colorful additions to the Mako lineup.

All three collections are being released under Orient's 75th anniversary celebrations. Interestingly, while the company has traditionally referred to 1950 as the beginning of the brand, the Orient name itself first appeared in 1951, as discussed in our recent article about the first Orient watch. So from the branding perspective, 2026 is indeed the 75^th anniversary.

 

The First Mako GMT

The most important release in this collection is undoubtedly the new Mako GMT.

While Orient has produced GMT watches before, this is the first model to carry the Mako name while offering GMT functionality. It is also the first entirely new GMT platform introduced by Orient in many years, and debuts a new movement developed specifically for the purpose.

The new caliber, designated F6P22, is closely related to the familiar F6922 found in many current Mako models. Orient removed the day display, retained the date display, and added a fourth hand together with a 24-hour scale, creating a cleaner dial while introducing dual-time functionality.

Like the movement's predecessor, the F6P22 offers hacking, hand winding and a 40-hour power reserve.

The new movement operates as a caller GMT rather than a traveller GMT. The GMT hand cannot actually be adjusted, and instead uses the rotating 24 hour bezel to track a second time zone.

The watches are slightly bigger than the regular Mako, and measure 42.8mm in diameter, 49.5mm lug-to-lug and 13.4mm thick. Like the regular Mako the GMT offers 200 meters of water resistance and comes attached to a stainless steel bracelet.

Five versions are being introduced:

·         RA-BC0001B – Purple

·         RA-BC0002E – Black

·         RA-BC0003L – Green

·         RA-BC0004Y – Orange

·         RA-BC0005L – Gradient Blue (Limited Edition)

The orange version is perhaps the most striking of the regular production models, while the limited edition combines a deep gradient blue dial with a matching blue-and-grey GMT bezel.

 

A New No-Date Bambino 36mm

The second major release is one that many collectors might find particularly appealing, as it is the closest that the Bambino range has come to the most canonic definition of a pure dress watch.

Earlier this year Orient introduced a no-date Bambino in 38mm. Longtime readers may also remember the 36mm Bambino introduced back in 2019. The new collection combines those two ideas, resulting in the first no-date Bambino in the 36mm case size.

The watches use the familiar Bambino architecture, featuring a domed crystal, slim bezel and elegant proportions. The dial follows the popular V4 Bambino layout, with simple applied baton markers and dauphine-style hands, now presented without a date window.

The case measures 36.4mm in diameter, 42.2mm lug-to-lug and 12.3mm thick. Inside is the F6524 automatic movement with hand winding, hacking and a 40-hour power reserve.

The collection includes four references:

·         RA-BB0101S – White dial with gold-tone case

·         RA-BB0102E – Green dial

·         RA-BB0103S – White dial

·         RA-BB0104Y – Ivory dial

Among the four, the ivory dial may be the most interesting, paired with blue hands and a warm vintage-inspired tone that suits the Bambino particularly well.

 

New Colors for the Mako

Completing the collection are four new versions of the standard Mako.

Unlike the GMT models, these watches are primarily a refresh of an existing platform. They retain the familiar 41.8mm case, F6922 automatic movement, day-date display, 200-meter water resistance and overall specifications of recent Mako generations.

The new references are:

·         RA-AA0824L – Blue

·         RA-AA0825S – White

·         RA-AA0826Y – Orange

·         RA-AA0827V – Purple (Limited Edition)

 

Stay tuned, as I was able to receive samples of all new models, and detailed hands-on reviews will follow in the very near future!