Orient has been running its line of moonphase watches since 2017, making
it one of the brand's more unique offerings. Being the only major Japanese
brand offering a mechanical moonphase watch, maintaining an accessible price
tag, has earned Orient prestige and admiration.
The last time I did a hands-on
review of an Orient moonphase piece was back in 2019, and that was one of
the earlier models, which used caliber F7X62. The generation that followed, in
2021, made use of a new movement – cal. F7M63 – which extended the power
reserve from 40 to 50 hours.
Earlier
this month, Orient announced its latest moonphase movement, this time part
of the F8 family of calibers that use the brand's own silicon escape wheel. The
new caliber F8A62 now extends the power reserve to 70 hours, and – surprisingly
– is a minimalist hand-winding only, no second-hand movement.
I was happy to receive a sample of the non-limited version of this new
watch, Orient Star reference RE-BW0004S, for review, courtesy of the team at
Orient Europe.
How It Looks
This might just be one of Orient's most elegant releases in recent
memory. Hour and Minute hands, power reserve, moon. No date. No text on the
dial besides the logo. Not even running seconds. Simple, but far from plain.
The immediate appearance of the watch is so clean, one might be forgiven
for thinking this is the product of some Swiss brand or other. So much so that when
I met the Orient product manager I said "it's funny none of us is wearing
an Orient now" – whereas he was in fact wearing this watch!
The dial bears none of the leftfield quirks Orient often loves to add –
like an open heart apertures, complex textures or gradient colors. While such
elements often make for fun watches, the brand clearly aimed for something very
different here.
It takes a moment to realize how different a watch looks with no running
seconds. It makes the dial look more static, but at the same time it also helps
one admire little details, like when observing a still photo. And it fits the purpose
of a dress watch suitable for a gentleman, one who is not in a hurry to go
anywhere. You wear this watch when you meet your client for a two-hour lunch,
not a 15-minute Zoom call.
The hour and minute hands are leaf shaped, and well sized – with the tip
of the hour hand reaching just a tad short of the hour markers, and the
minute hand touching the minute track precisely. The hands are colored a lovely
blue, and while most likely not heat-blued (I'm happy to stand corrected here!)
they feature the same transition from nearly black to vivid blue in direct
light.
The Roman hour markers are particularly thin – I think thinner than in
any previous model, although I have obviously not been able to measure all of
them. This thinness enhances the clean look of the dial, working well with the
overall design.
The power-reserve indicator is of the understated kind, a simple pointer
moving between two points – no numbers or framing needed. It too has the same
blue color as the minute and hour hands.
The star of show, of course is the moon. Here it is made out of a piece
of silvery mother-of-pearl, shining against the dark-blue background. It's a
pretty thing. And while perhaps seeming unnecessary, I think the round frame that encircles the would-be track of the moon is a wise aesthetic choice – yes, it takes a bite off the 6 o'clock marker, but this circle within a circle also adds visual depth to an otherwise flat display.
It's not all dial of course (though it mostly is). The case of the watch
is relatively simple but well-made. With a slightly rounded profile and neatly polished
on all sides, it matches the style of the dial. To be honest, while I appreciate
Orient's "contemporary" cases and how their sharpness works well for
sportier watches, I feel the moonphase concept works better with the classic
case.
All in all, I consider the design of this watch a complete success. And
having seen the limited edition black-gradient-dial version, I think this
"white" (metallic, really) dial wins. The black one might be sexier
with its stealthy looks, but the white is truly the right choice for this sort
of timepiece.
How It Wears
Let's start with dimensions. The case of the hand-wound moonphase is
39.5mm wide without the crown, 46.7mm lug to lug, and 11.9mm thick. This is
considerably smaller than the "M45 F7 Moon Phase" – 1.5mm narrower,
2.3mm shorter and almost 2mm thinner – bringing it closer to classic
dress-watch proportions.
It's still not "easily hide under the cuff" small – it's
almost there but not quite. Then again, it is such a pretty thing, why hide it?
Still, the modest dimensions ensure a versatile case that should make the
watch quite comfortable, and certainly wearable for most wrist sizes. Weighing
just 79g, it is also light, adding to the comfort.
The black cordovan leather strap that comes with the watch is of decent
quality, not too thin, not too thick. It feels a little stiff at first, but
appears to be softening rather quickly. Note that the JDM version comes with a
genuine crocodile strap. Anyway, with its 20mm lug width, finding a different
strap would be easy; just stick with black please! That is how it's meant to be
worn…
Note that as this watch does not self-wind, there's no need to wear it
particularly tightly. While wearing a mechanical watch more loosely can sometimes
make the automatic winding rotor less efficient, this has zero impact when
discussing pure manual winding.
The watch is equipped with Orient Star's deployment buckle, which is
well made and adds to the wearability.
In terms of everyday usability, this is like most dress watches: treat
it gently, as this type of highly polished case makes scratches really
upsetting. And keep in mind the mere 30-meter water resistance, so just don't
get it wet.
How It Functions
One of the most immediate impressions one gets from this watch, is how
smooth and quiet its operation is. With no running seconds, the thing is so
quiet you can safely wear it on a recon mission behind enemy lines. Not that
you should wear a dress watch for recon missions, unless you're James Bond.
Winding is also super smooth, as is setting the time. You just watch the
power reserve needle move or the hands go round; again, with no second hand to start and stop, the whole experience is extremely laid-back.
Without running seconds, you also pay less attention to actual accuracy.
The model's specifications indicate a deviation of -5/+15 seconds per day, and given Orient's reputation, I assume the watch keeps time as promised. During my testing, it did well while being worn but went a little
slow when kept an entire day resting crown-side up.
It's worth mentioning the importance of the power-reserve indicator in a
hand-winding watch like this. Besides serving as a decorative element, it is
even more useful than in most Orient watches, considering the watch will not
wind automatically.
Legibility is good for a no-lume watch. The hands contrast well against
the dial, and both hands and dial reflect just enough light to keep visibility
in darker conditions – not total darkness of course. The front sapphire uses
Orient's excellent anti-reflection coating, so that in itself it hardly glares,
further adding to legibility.
Setting the moon phase is done using the inset button at 4. Obviously, you would need some sharp object to push it, but you would also not want to use anything that might scratch the case by accident. I used the tip of a dried-out roller pen; it would have been ideal if Orient actually bundled the watch with some kind of proper instrument, like a stylus. Yes, you'd probably lose it after a while, but at least it will get you started.
Orient advises not to change the moon phase between 9 and 3. Since
there's no real way of knowing whether the watch shows AM or PM, this should be
taken as referring to both options. Simply, don't use the push button when the
hour hand is in the top half of the dial.
Watching the movement through the back is cool, by the way – it's been a
long time since Orient has given us a manual winding watch with an exhibition
case back! In fact the only other example I've come across is this Royal
Orient from about 17 years ago. There is also the 60th
anniversary edition, but that one does not have a see-thru back.
Bottom Line
The M45 hand-winding moonphase watch is very hard to find flaws in. Orient
clearly aimed for no-nonsense elegance, leaving out any hint of the brand's
familiar oddities. And it has achieved its goal.
This Orient Star isn't for everyone. If you are one of many who need
their watch to show the date, or find life without running seconds hard, then
look elsewhere – and that's fine. You might find what you're looking for among
Orient's other moonphase models.
However, if this style of watch speaks to you, then you might have just found your perfect match. Yes, elegance comes at a price, and at over $2,500 USD, this is considerably more costly than other Orient Star moonphase watches due to the F8 movement. That's still less than what a similar watch from a more prestigious – though not necessarily higher quality – manufacturer would cost you.
The
blog would like to thank Orient – Epson Europe for providing us this watch for review.
