Orient's Early Dive Watches

Like every respectable watch brand, Orient too has a rich history of dive watches. And as the company continues to see divers as being very central to its current offering, Orient fans are well-advised to get acquainted with these early divers. Below we will look at the Orient divers of the 1960s.

Up until 1963, Orient had settled for referring to some of its models as "swimmer" and "showerproof", indicating that the watch case was waterproof to some extent. But then, as the demand for watches that can be actually worn in the wet grew both in Japan and overseas, Orient had no option but to dip its feet in the water (not too deep though, as back then 40m was about the benchmark depth rating for a dive watch).

Calendar Auto Orient Diver

Orient's first automatic diver was produced in a number of different versions between 1963-1968. It was driven by a robust movement, caliber 670, in either its 19 or 21 jewel version.

Calendar Auto's came in different dial colors (generally silver or black, and possibly a gold-toned version too), hour-hand shapes (arrow or pomme), and bezel (black or steel rotating, or fixed). They were generally around 38-39mm in diameter, and if in good condition should look great and be perfectly wearable today.

A fair asking price for one these Calendar Autos today would be around 1,200-1,500 USD for a watch in decent condition, depending on the specific version, not New Old Stock but not too shabby either.

Olympia Weekly Diver

Another model that arrived roundabout the same time as the Calendar Auto, was the Olympia Weekly Diver. This watch used caliber LCY, the latest version of the hand-winding movement introduced a few years earlier and used in non-diver Olympia models, to which Orient added a weekday wheel.

Slightly smaller than the Auto at 37mm, the Olympia was sized like a normal 60's watch. Two dial versions were made: silver, and black.

Being slightly smaller in diameter, these would usually sell for a little less than the Calendar Auto. Anywhere between 1,000-1,200 USD would make sense.

Weekly Auto Orient King Diver

This was perhaps the most classically yet uniquely designed diver of the '60s, which is why Orient chose to present a perfectly faithful reissue of it for its 70^th anniversary.

While not having a true compressor construction, the Weekly Auto King Diver was styled like a super-compressor with the winding and time-setting crown at 4, and the crown for turning the inner bezel at 2. It was a big watch, 43mm wide and 50mm long, which makes for a substantial wrist presence even by today's standards.

The Weekly Auto was being produced between 1965-1968. Inside was the very interesting automatic caliber 660. In the near future, I'll be posting a new article dedicated to this watch and movement!

Today, Weekly Auto Orient King Divers in good condition would sell for around 1,500 USD.

World Diver

Orient introduced the World Diver in 1967. This watch was intended for travelers, and so while it was made as water-resistant as some other Orient divers of that period, instead of a divers bezel it had an internal 24-hour bezel. This enabled the owner to tell the time in different time-zones. You can read more about this watch, and particularly the rare Map Dial version, here.

Versions of the World Diver were produced well into the '70s. There were different dial variations, and even the movement was updated, ranging from the older cal. 1942 to calibers from the 46xxx family with 21 jewels.

The older, black dial versions would normally sell at 100-200 USD. Newer or rarer variants could go higher, reaching 400 USD or more; and then there's that map dial. One of these sold for 3,000 USD earlier this year.

Orient Matic Skin Diver

This is one of the more mysterious Orient divers of the 1960s. It was quite an impressive piece, capable of withstanding 30 bars or 300m depth – way above other Japanese divers at the time. And yet it has no mention in Orient's historical records. It's not even clear when exactly it was produced, but the use of the lion logo indicates it was the late sixties – possibly 1967 or later.

One guess I can make is that this model was intended for export, with a 21 jewel version for Europe and a 17 jewel version for the US (where more jewels equaled high duties paid). The case might have been sourced from a Swiss case builder as it appears similar to Swiss Skin-Divers of that time (Titus is often mentioned in this context). It was around 37mm wide (38 with the bezel).

Lack of information leaves much room for guessing and this affects pricing as well – I have seen sellers asking for anything between 500 – 2,500 USD for decent looking Skin Divers.

Surfin Diver

As the new breed of Orient divers grew larger in diameter, the company understood it still needed to take care of customers with thinner wrists. So, in 1968 they presented the Surfin' Diver, a cool dual-crown diver, which was only 36mm wide and 42.5mm lug to lug.

What movement exactly laid inside of the Surfin' diver is hard to tell, so scarce is the information. It appears to have been a 25-jewel variant of an older movement, cal. 1323. That was a small, hand-winding only caliber, previously used for some Orient dress watches – where it settled for only 17 jewels.

The case back was decorated with an image of a surfing woman (which was an indication of the designated target market), and the reference started with 323 – usually indicating the movement family, but I'm not aware of any caliber 323…

Whatever movement was used, the Surfin' was a nice little diver. If you find one, be prepared to pay something in the range of 800-1,000 USD.

Full Auto King Diver

The full auto was presented around 1968 (the exact time is difficult to tell today… as are many other details on this watch), probably intending to serve as a simpler replacement to the Weekly Auto, while retaining its overall style. Personally I feel the Weekly, with the crowns located precisely at 2 and 4, looks better than the Full Auto with its crowns at roughly 2:30 and 3:30.

Interestingly, the Full Auto had what seems to be a twin brother, a watch named the Freshman Auto King Diver. Both appear to have used the same 17 jewel movement and the same 42mm wide case. However, the difference, other than the model name on the dial, is that the Full Auto's internal bezel has marks every 15 minutes while the Freshman's bezel is marked every 5 minutes.

Both versions of this diver configuration would probably cost today between 1,000-1,200 USD.

AAA Deluxe King Diver

Around 1969, Orient began fading out its dual-crown configurations and adopting a style more commonly associated with the brand: one where a crown at 3 would set the time, a crown at 4 would rotate the inner bezel, and a pusher at 2 provide a quick-set for the date.

One of the first models using this configuration was the AAA "Deluxe" King Diver. It was 42mm wide, again a perfectly modern size that was very substantial back then. The movement at first was automatic caliber 4951 with 23 jewels. Later a 30 jewel version emerged.

The AAA Deluxe would continue to sell in the early '70s when it would be accompanied by an ever more sizable brother, the 45mm Chrono Ace King Diver.

Today, early AAA King Divers in good original condition would fetch 800-900 USD. You might encounter a higher asking price for the rare 30 jewel version; the Chrono Ace King Diver would typically sell for less, around 500-700 USD.

AAA 1000 King Diver

While possibly skipping a few more minor variations on the above themes and models, we'll wrap up this post with one of the crown jewels of the 1960s line-up of Orient, the AAA Deluxe 1000 King Diver, a little beast built to withstand the 100 bar pressure at a depth of 1,000 meters.

For this watch, Orient used a 37.5mm case sourced from CRS, a Swiss manufacturer who back in the sixties had provided such cases for numerous brands, as very few had the capability of offering such a deep-diving construction. Inside, Orient had installed its caliber 4973 automatic.

Due to their rarity (and I suspect their Panerai-ish looks) this model can fetch quite high prices nowadays, exceeding 1,500 USD.

Photos in this review were taken from multiple sources, as no single source today can provide a complete gallery of vintage Orients… pictures were taken from the blogs of Watch Moichi Ichidai, Yeoman's Watch Review, La Relojeria Vintage (who has added a very nice Orient section), old Orient publications, and various old sales ads. Weekly Auto Orient King Diver and Map Dial World Diver photos, though, are mine.

Need For Speed: Orient Tenbeat

If the story of the rarest Orient of all has whetted your appetite for obscure, legendary unicorns from Orient's past, today we have another one for you. Today we'll talk about the Orient Tenbeat, a watch that we've actually touched on briefly in this old post concerning the Orient GM.

First, a little watchmaking history. The race for movements with faster frequencies heated up in the mid 1960's, as both Swiss and Japanese manufacturers were aiming for the 5 Hz, or 10 beats per second, goal. The benefit, presumably, would have been higher accuracy than the then-prevailing 2.5 or 3 Hz calibers; the cost, most likely, greater wear of the mechanical components.

While Girard Perregaux were first to hit the target in 1966, Seiko did not take much longer to come up with their own competitor, cal. 5740c, which in 1967 was placed inside the brand's Lord Marvel watch (which, by the way, I have as well – it's super smooth to this day).

Of course, other Japanese brands could not afford to stay behind. Citizen presented its caliber 7230-driven Leopard 36000 in 1969, and soon after, in 1970, Orient presented a 5 Hz movement of its own – the 28 Jewel, incabloc-equipped, cal. 9980.

Orient seems to have taken much pride in that caliber, mentioning it in many lists of historical achievements advertised by the brand. While there is very little "behind the scenes" information from that era in Orient, the movement does not seem to bear much visual resemblance to Seiko's 5740 or to Citizen's 7230, so it was likely all or mostly engineered in-house. If that is true, it is evidence of Orient's technical prowess.

The watch itself appears to have been quite nice, featuring a cushion case, a simple yet attractive dial, and the day and date presented one on top of the other in one large window. Both day and date had a quickset option, one from the crown and the other using the pusher at 2.

Like in the case of the "rarest orient" WE0011DU, there are hardly any real-life photos of the Tenbeat available. The only ones I could find were posted years ago by this museum shop in Japan.

Once again, this watch is beyond rare. Its footprint is so faint it almost does not exist at all. And yet, surely, some Tenbeats must exist, somewhere! So if you ever come across one – keep quiet, try not to scare it; take a picture of it, mark the place where you saw it, and move away carefully. Oh, and share all the details with me!

The Rarest Orient Of All?

We've covered some rare and unusual watches in the blog before, but the model we will be looking at today is probably the rarest of them all. It is the Royal Orient reference WE0011DU.

The Royal WE0011DU was among a few models released by Orient ten years ago, in celebration of the brand's 60th anniversary. It was, of course, the most exclusive (and expensive, by some margin) of the lot: a limited edition of just 12 (twelve!) pieces.

The specs of this beast were impressive enough, certainly close to the top of Orient's all-time releases, both in their mechanics as well as the esthetics.

The movement was caliber 48Z40, a uniquely skeletonized variant of the 48 family, similar to caliber 48B56 found in other, "standard" Royal Orient Skeletons (as much as these can be called standard). However, looking at the finish and unique bridge construction of the movement, it is obvious a lot of effort had gone into making this piece stand out.

Similar to other 48 calibers, the movement is hand-winding only, boasting 50 hours of power reserve and stated accuracy of +10/-5 seconds per day, at a frequency of 21,600 vibrations per hour.

The case of the WE0011DU was 38.5mm wide, 45.5mm lug to lug, and 10.1 mm thick. Both front and back were covered by sapphire glass, not surprisingly. The watch case and dial feature plenty of finely finished surfaces, both mirror- and satin-polished, achieved through much more manual work than even most Royal Orient models.

Looking beyond the specs, this unique Orient must have been quite a sight, and it's a shame that so little information and real-life photos of it are available! But it makes sense that costing close to 6,000 USD (roughly 2.5 times the cost of "regular" Royal Orient skeleton models!) and being produced in such a small quantity, it has become a safe-queen for most of its owners.

I do like to set some fairly tough targets for my collection, and as followers of the blog must have noted I have succeeded in acquiring some models that are very hard to get. But to be honest, I'm not even aiming at finding the WE0011DU! I'd be happy to even see some photos of this watch. Just to be sure the legendary beast even exists…

The 50th Anniversary Multi-Year Calendar

It is a time of anniversaries – the blog's second (as posted a couple of weeks ago) and Orient's 70^th – so why not look at one other anniversary celebrated by Orient a few years ago – that of the Multi-Year Calendar.

Remember the story of the multi-year calendar? It might not be the brand's highest watchmaking achievement or its most celebrated model, but it is definitely one of Orient's most recognizable designs, which has been associated with the brand since its introduction in 1965.

And that is perhaps why Orient chose to produce a special anniversary piece for this of all models. Reference EU0B005B (sometime listed as SEU0B005B or FEU0B005B) was released in 2015 as a limited edition of 2,000 pieces.

Largely similar to other references in the multi-year line up of the mid 2010's, the anniversary edition is characterized by the black IP plating of the steel case, the black dial with the yellow lower (daytime) half of the inner 24-hour ring, and the matching yellow-stitched black leather strap.

The caseback has a dedicated inscription, mentioning this being the 50^th anniversary model, and the watch's number within the 2000 units produced.

This is a fairly large timepiece. Officially the diameter was listed as 45mm wide, however it measures close to 44 and I'm guessing an extra millimeter was added in respect for the crown guard. The watch measures about 53mm lug to lug, and is a tad over 12mm in thickness. Add the black and yellow color scheme, and the impression you're getting is very sporty, almost aggressive.

The crystal is hardened mineral, and the crown screws in. The watch feels properly tough and well made. Water resistance is 100m. The hands are lumed and you also get lume-dots at the hour markers, so it's also quite legible.

Now, what makes this line of watches from Orient stand out is the very busy (some would say "interesting" or "informative"…) dial. It's all quite functional though. Let's take a look at what you actually get there.

The outermost ring is a classic GMT listing of main cities around the world, each representing a different time zone. While this is not a GMT watch and the 24 hour ring does not rotate, it can be used as a tool for quick time-difference calculations: using the crown at 4, the wearer can place the timezone where he resides next to the current time (on the 24-hour ring, not the actual hour hand). Then, look for a different city to tell the time in that timezone.

Then there's the star of the show, the multi-year calendar itself. Operated in this model via the push-button at 2, every click of the button advances the calendar one year. Simply place the year under the appropriate month at the top half of the dial, and you'll see that month's weekdays presented over the matching dates at the bottom half.

Of course, every new multi-year model needs to have the year wheel updated. This particular watch covers 2015-2036. So it's good for quite some time yet!

Inside the watch runs caliber 46D40, a reliable old-school Orient movement. It is self-winding only, no hand-wind option, and no hacking. It's got the time and date, and a 40-hour power reserve. Accuracy specs are -15/+25 seconds a day, as usual with most Orient movements.

So – there you have it, a nice watch with the limited-edition-cool-factor, which is sort of limited by the fact that it really isn't that limited, at 2000 units… But overall it's a solid watch that can serve as a proper beater, feels sporty and just tough enough without being too bulky. It's not particularly better than the regular unlimited multi-year calendars, and the above text is generally true to most of them.

If, however, you like the collectors' value of an anniversary edition, then this is a decent watch to look for. While it's sold out on most online shops, it is still quite easy to find sellers on Ebay and other sites offering this model, either used or new. An unused watch would be fairly priced at around 400 USD. Or just go for one of the unlimited editions, generally priced below 300 USD.