The "Snorkeler" - Orient's Sub

We tend to think of the Mako as the iconic Orient diver. Nowadays, the Mako (and its various variations) is almost synonymous with the brand, with its easily identifiable design. However, it was not long ago that Orient was still producing homage dive watches, and one of these was the model also known as "Snorkeler", the "OriLex", or simply – the Orient Sub.

In fact, the watch was being manufactured around the same time as the first-generation Orient Mako. The model, an obvious homage to the Rolex Submariner, continued production up until Seiko completed the acquisition of Orient in 2009. It is said that after the takeover, Seiko wanted Orient to focus on original designs rather than homages. A very positive direction in my opinion, which compensates for what many see as the more mainstream approach taken by Orient designers since then.

Anyway, Orient's version of the sub was perceived as one of the better homages on the submariner theme in terms of value for money. With a decent movement, nice finishing, and good overall build quality (except for the very basic bracelet), it became quite popular. Nowadays, as mint samples are harder to find, it is even more sought after.

Orient originally released four versions, with black and blue dials, as well as two-tone versions – all in the spirit of Rolex's own models. While the addition of gold looks a bit tacky to me, the basic steel variants are solid-looking and quite nice, as homages go.

The Snorkelers, as some called them (sounds like an Orient USA nickname to me – not an original Orient name), presented a smaller alternative to the 41.5mm Mako, having a 39.5mm wide case, without the large day pusher. Indeed, it only had a 100m water resistance rating and not 200m like the Mako, but to many, this was good enough for practical use. Particularly as the Snorkeler did have a screw-down crown.

Toward the end of production, Orient released a second batch of these watches. This time, they received sapphire crystal, which the basic Mako divers did not have at the time. The updated version received new references, with some alterations in the dial to make telling them apart easier. Luckily Orient did not release updates for the two-tone versions…

Changes in the dial included the sapphire crystal symbol, removing the outdated jewel count in favor of the Orient Logo, and replacing "10 bar" with "100m". Which dial version you'd prefer, most likely depends on how you feel about the Orient logo.

Other than the dial and sapphire, all versions were technically identical, having the same case and caliber 48743 automatic, no-hacking and no hand winding movement. And most importantly, both mineral and sapphire crystals featured the "cyclops" magnifier over the date.

Perhaps not as well known, Orient also released a "lady-sub" model with a 33mm case. Having black, blue and brown dial versions, this model was properly cute and automatic as well, using Orient's smaller caliber 5574D.

Even more curious than the lady-sub model, is this variation – which seems like a legit Orient product, despite some fairly uncharacteristic dial text. The ad described this as a quartz movement, but the text "sunlight" on the dial seems to indicate this is a solar version of the Orient sub-homage design!

I was only able to find this model on Korean websites. If any reader can verify the authenticity of this watch, please let me know in the comments…

As most blog followers can probably tell, I very much prefer original designs to homages, even (or rather, particularly) when "original" in Orient's case can be quite leftfield. However, I do find this Snorkeler kind of cool – maybe because its dive-watch design is so classic, it's almost beyond the ownership of any single brand. In fact, if you took away the "Mercedes" hour hand, it would simply be… a dive watch.

Pictures that appear in this post were taken from old Orient catalogs and sale ads.