Orient Star F9 Skeleton

Normally, I'd stack new Orient Star announcements onto one blog post, but seeing this beast of a watch, I knew it had to receive its own dedicated item. This is the new Orient Star fully skeletonized watch, and it is an absolute beauty.

Orient has been making good-looking skeleton watches for many years, ranging from the feminine, ornate "Mon Bijou" in 1991, through the highly technical (and incredibly rare) 2010 Royal Orient WE0011DU, until the most recent F8 Contemporary Skeleton with its silicon escape wheel.

With the new Orient Star RE-BR0001N, the brand has taken this concept to a whole new level of execution.

At the heart of the watch is a new hand-wound movement, caliber F9B82, which features a 72-hour power reserve and the best accuracy of any Orient watch: +10/-4 seconds per day. This comes very close to COSC standards (+6/-4). Like the F8, it also uses a silicon escape wheel.

However, it's the movement design that makes it truly unique – see how most components of the movement are packed in a circle (which is normal), yet the balance wheel is located just outside the circle, and then, see how the skeletonized dial reflects the movement design. This is major league watch design.

Attention to detail is obvious in every corner of this watch (or rather, in every arc; there's hardly any corners here), as is the level of fit and finish. It really looks like Orient Star wanted to gift itself with something very special for its 75^th anniversary.

The result is a gorgeous, quite legible dial for a skeleton. The blued hour and minute hands stand out nicely; the seconds hand, not so much, but then it makes sense in a watch that, while maintaining excellent accuracy, is not intended for people in a rush. And there are no second (or minute) markers, anyway.

The case is also distinctive, boasting an outline unlike that of other Orient Star watches. It is slightly larger than the F8 Skeleton, measuring 40mm wide and 46.8mm long (compared to 39 x 46.5), yet noticeably thinner at 9.5mm (vs. 10.8). Lug width is 22mm.

Bundling this very airy case with a light leather strap results in a watch that weighs only 64 grams. The only downside to this watch is the modest 3 ATM water resistance.

The price fits a flagship model: around €6,000, making it one of Orient's most expensive models ever, if not the most expensive. Is it worth it? Stay tuned, as a hands-on review is definitely in the works!

 

Orient Star Sakigake

A brand new Orient Star model was just announced – the "Sakigake" (Japanese for forerunner, or a pioneer). At first glance, its design is remarkably simple, making this one of those watches where the small details and quality of execution will ultimately make or break it. So let's dive into the details…

First of all, it's easy to notice what's not there: No date window. No power-reserve indicator. And just minimal dial text – the Orient Star logo, and "automatic". Compare this with the Orient Flusso, also recently announced, and a clear trend emerges.

What we do get is a time-only watch with rather elaborate, three-dimensional hour markers and nicely shaped hands to match, placed inside a smooth-looking case attached to an equally slick bracelet.

The case is 39mm wide, 47mm long, and 11.8mm thick – pretty standard and versatile proportions. Orient seems particularly proud of the bracelet, which has been designed for maximum comfort.

The movement is a new F7 variant, caliber F7542. It features the standard F7 specs of automatic winding and 50 hours of power reserve, and, most importantly, is accurate to within +15/-5 seconds per day.

At this time, we are getting four references: RE-BQ0001G with a yellow gold dial, RE-BQ0002L with a blue dial, RE-BQ0003S with a silver dial, and the limited edition RE-BQ0004Y with a copper dial and black-plated hands and markers.

Pricing is €880 for the standard models and €960 for the limited edition. Which means the Sakigake is now the lowest priced Orient Star with the improved accuracy.

Whether or not the design works can only be judged after seeing the new model in person. If it really works and turns out as comfortable and well-made as Orient promises, it could become a very attractive watch.

 

Orient Flusso

Orient just announced a completely new model – the Flusso! Named after the Italian word for "flow," it is indeed the brand's attempt at a flowing, sporty, integrated bracelet design.

It does make sense for a brand that already covers two corners of the classic triangle with an entry-level dress watch (Bambino) and a diver (Mako) to go for the third – the integrated-bracelet sports watch, which, at the basic price level, is currently dominated by the Timex PRX. Is it likely to be successful? Let's see.

The Flusso design is not revolutionary in any way – essentially, it combines a fairly basic outline (not unlike the PRX) with some Orient DNA, specifically the old SK model, in the shape of four round notches around the dial, and a little bit of case asymmetry as the rounded contour of the case is cut flat at the base of the crown.

The dial is very clean and legible, with only the logo and the word "automatic" appearing on it. In line with a certain trend that's starting to form among recent Orient releases, it does not even have a date window.

Case dimensions are a fairly reasonable, versatile 39mm width, 47mm length, and 11.5mm thickness. It is clearly built for practicality with a sapphire crystal and 100m water resistance.

Orient presented six references: RA-BB0101S (Gold colored case and bracelet, and a white dial), RA-BB0102E (Grey sunburst dial), RA-BB0103S (Blue), RA-BB0104Y (White), RA-BB0205R (limited edition featuring deep-red stripes inspired by the SK), and RA-BB0206E (dark Green, exclusive to the European market).

The movement is a new caliber, F6522, which seems very similar to the F6524, the automatic time-only movement used inside the new no-date Bambino watches. Both movements share the 40-hour power reserve and +25/-15 seconds per day accuracy.

No word on pricing just yet, these watches are set to be available to order next month, and to be delivered starting in November.

As is usually the case with simple designs, the success of this watch would depend very much on the quality of execution. And naturally, for this type of watch, on the quality of the bracelet. While nobody expects a Rolex bracelet at this price point, it needs to be better than the Mako, as it is integral to the watch and therefore unlikely to be replaceable by aftermarket products.