Orient Place

Orient Place

Thursday 16 September 2021

New Orient “Diver Design” Sports Watches With Gradient Dials

This style of watches, which Orient takes great care to emphasize aren’t truly ISO-compliant dive watches, are among the brand’s most popular models. Following the success of the likes of Mako, Ray, and recently the Kamasu, Orient announce some new models that emphasize the dial color.


Indeed, people do tend to love the colorful dials produced by Orient, which seem to fit these fun, inexpensive watches. Red, green and blue are always in high demand. With the new models, Orient hopes to deliver what its customers want – with a little extra in the form of gradient color.

The new watches are technically identical to the Kamasu – same movement, dimensions, and overall build – but will probably not be referred to as Kamasu due to the different markers, which in this version replace the rectangular markers with round ones (except in 3,6, and 9) and replace the triangle at 12 with a trapezoid.

So, you get the same case measuring 41.8mm across, 46.8mm lug to lug, and 12.8 thick, with a lug width of 22mm and identical looking bezel and bracelet. And the familiar caliber F6922 inside. Even the case back features the same engraved dolphins as the Kamasu – while the front crystal is sapphire.


Four versions of the new model are being introduced:

·         RN-AA0810N (RA-AA0810N outside Japan) with a gradient grey dial, and steel bracelet.

·         RN-AA0811E (RA-AA0811E) with a gradient teal dial, and steel bracelet.

·         RN-AA0812L (RA-AA0812L) with a gradient blue dial, and steel bracelet.

·         RN-AA0813R (RA-AA0813R) with a bronze-plated case and bezel, gradient red dial, and brown leather strap. This model is limited to 2,000 units worldwide, and only 100 in Japan.

The new models are priced at around 400 USD (with the limited editing slightly more expensive than the rest) – making them about 10% higher than the “regular” Kamasu.

15 comments:

  1. Another beauty I will add to my wish list. The gradient red first... Unfortunately once you have contracted the Orient virus the end is near. The cure doesn't exist yet. 😉

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    1. only if the LE came on a matching bracelet, that would do it for me....

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  2. The limited edition looks great, and even the diameter is not too big. Love to get my hands on that one!

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  4. I am confuse between grey and teal dial, what you all suggest ?

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    1. Grey is classic and versatile, and you'll never grow tired of it. But if you already have other watches with grey or black dials, then I think the teal would make a great addition of color to your collection.

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  5. Shalom, Eran. Thank you for your post. Happened to notice these on the front page of the Orient USA website. I was immediately attracted to them, but was not sure what to make of them until I came across your blogspot. I find them all quite attractive. I am trying out (have ordered) the teal and burgundy ones, as these are the colors I currently have in the regular Kamasu, and I am happy with them. I hope the lume will be as good. Ary

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    1. Hi there! I appreciate your commenting here. Please come back once you've received your new watches, and share your impressions of them!

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    2. Eran, some initial impressions, as requested.

      I received the new "Kamasus" in red (burgundy) and green (teal). They are beautiful. In real life, they look a lot like the above picture with the four watches. I think that if someone likes their look in the pictures, they will like their look in real life. That said, in real life the red one looks different. The combination watch case/bezel look darker overall. For comparison, the color of the dial is quite a bit darker than that of the original Kamasu. Also of note is that the color of the case looks a lot more like stainless (with a tinge of color mixed in) than rose gold or bronze.

      The green one is more similar to the picture in real life, maybe a bit darker since the watch in the picture has
      a light shining on it. For comparison, I would say that the color of the central part of the dial is quite a bit lighter than the color of the dial of the original Kamasu; and the green (teal) of the new Kamasu does not have the chameleon attribute of the original Kamasu, it stays the same color.

      I note that the sides of the case and sides of bracelet are now brushed rather than polished, so a bit more of a tool watch look. (The parts of the case between the lugs remain polished some reason.)

      A couple negatives. The lume is weak compared to the original Kamasu, (eyeballing it, the lume on the new Kamasu might only have about of the strength of the lume on the original Kamasu, presumably due to the yellowish finish (though when exposed to light the lume shines green--similar to the original))--a REAL downer. And the strap on the burgundy colored watch seems to me to be synthetic, as it's stiff and does not have the feel or smell of leather--a bit of a downer, for a "special edition."

      That's all I have for now.

      Ary

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    3. To be more accurate, the color of dial of the reddish watch is maroon tending towards brown, not burgundy.

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    4. Per Orient website: "burgundy gradation dial, bronze-coloured case, and brown leather strap."

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    5. Referring back to the above, the strap is in fact stamped "calf." (The reference was/is not so visible.) Notwithstanding, the finish still feels synthetic to me.
      My watch happens to be no. 666 out of 2000.

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    6. Thanks so much for sharing all this info! I guess the "vintage" lume is indeed a kind of a compromise, it looks very cool in daylight but less effective in the dark. Other than that, I'm getting an overall positive vibe, so hopefully you're happy with your purchase.

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    7. You're welcome, Eran. Still reserving final judgment, but I am pretty sure I am keeping them. I really like my original Kamasus, and these latest ARE beautiful.

      Noticed these couple recent videos on these two particular watch colors, the second one is silent:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZSz6vkBEbs

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQLlcR-Ra3c

      All the best.

      Ary

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  6. Eran, by the way, in case you did not see it yet, this video has some footage of the teal and grey ones.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4jxT80YKps&t=493s
    Ary

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