New Orient Bambinos and Solar Makos

Orient has announced a few new watches today, expanding its range of solar models and adding more members to the Bambino 38 family.

 

Solar Powered Mako

It appears as though Orient has put more emphasis on solar-powered models recently. It makes sense that many buyers of watches in the lower end of the price range are looking to get more practicality for their money, and a decent solar powered movement can deliver just that, with both quartz accuracy and not having to replace batteries often.

So, with this in mind, Orient are presenting a bunch of watches combining their "diver design" (aka Mako) with their solar movement. This movement features a -20/+20 seconds per month accuracy, and about 12 months of power reserve on full charge.

Five references are being presented – of which four are in global distribution:

·         RA-WJ0001E (RN-WJ0001E in Japan) with a green dial

·         RA-WJ0002L (RN-WJ0002L) with a blue dial

·         RA-WJ0003S (RN-WJ0003S) with an ivory dial

·         RA-WJ0004Y (RN-WJ0004Y) with a brown dial

·         RN-WJ0005L (Japan only model) with a light-blue dial

Interestingly, these new models combine the case size of the Mako 40 with the dial design – including markers and hands – of the more classic Mako II (42 mm). Like their mechanical siblings, the solar versions feature a sapphire crystal, screw-down crown, and 200m water resistance. They are about 10% cheaper than the mechanical Mako 42 (which itself costs a little less than the Mako 40).

 

Bambino 38

Orient have also just added a couple of new references of the Bambino 38mm model, which now has more color options than the original Bambino case.

Five references are being presented – of which four are in global distribution:

·         RA-AC0M14L (RN-AC0M14L in Japan) with a light-blue dial, limited to 6,500 pieces (of which 50 are in Japan)

·         RA-AC0M15Y (RN-AC0M15Y in Japan) with a copper-colored dial, limited to 2,500 (of which 50 are in Japan)

Both models are bundled with a leather strap, and are generally similar to the existing models in the Bambino 38 range.