Thursday, April 18, 2013

Orient Mako Diver: going scuba diving?

EM65001B or CEM65001B Orient Automatic Mako scuba diver 200M


Regarding Orient Watch Company (Recited from Wikipedia)

Founded in Tokyo in 1950, Orient Watch Company is Japan’s largest producer of mechanical watches. In 2009, Orient became a wholly owned subsidiary of Seiko Epson Corporation. Orient sets itself apart from the other major Japanese watch companies by focusing on self-winding mechanical watches.Orient Watch prides themselves on the fact that they manufacture all of their movements in-house in Japan. Orient watches have been often lauded for their reliability, robustness, and tremendous value.



I fully agreed with the above statement; Orient Mako diver is really value for money and it is robust. This watch is real heavy, in fact too heavy for my liking. The watch has a stainless steel 41.5 mm case with brushed upper and polished side surfaces. This watch has a thickness of 13.3 mm. On the case is a signed, screw-down crown in the 3 o’clock position used to set the time and date. Above the crown is a screw locked pusher used to adjust the day. I can never understand why Orient can't incorporate the day, date and time setting into a single crown system.  




The black bezel is decorated with silver numbers and markers. The bezel is a 60-click unidirectional bezel that is rather stiff to turn. This bezel is more for diving purpose, it doesn't really protect the slightly raised flat mineral crystal.  



This watch has a very defined black dial with silver tone markers and applied numerals at position 6, 9 and 12. All the numerals and markers are filled with luminous material. The day and date display is at 3 o'clock position and is high-lighted using a beveled silver border frame. The hour and minute hands are sword-like with luminous paint and the second hand has a distinctive red arrow tip. The dial is relatively clean with only Orient's logo, names, automatic and water resist 200M. 


The bracelet is an Oyster style bracelet with hollow end links and Orient's stamped fold-over with double push-button safety clasp. I have read plenty of reviews and forums saying that the bracelet is pretty comfortable to wear and keep the watch on the center of the wrist.... I have a different opinion thou. I think no doubt this bracelet is solid, but pretty crudely made and cut with sharp edges. It is rather uncomfortable to wear. My wrist is about 8-9 inches in circumference, I still think the bracelet is too wide and thick. Its weight is also unbearable. 



Underneath the screw down caseback is an Orient Caliber 46943 automatic movement with a 40-hour power reserve. The in-house 46943 is a made in Japan 21 jewels non-hacking and non hand-winding movement with a vibration of 21,600 bph. The accuracy of this timepiece is quite marvelous for a watch of this price range. 



The Orient Mako is a great diver with really solid construction. If you like watch with a lot of mass, this is definitely one that you can consider. A great value for money and a good way to fall in love with mechanical watches.








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