The new Orient Star divers seem to be creating a buzz on some of the forums the last few weeks. They are already being compared favorably to some other more expensive high-end designs. Since it seems to be such a “hot” watch right now, I thought it would be fun to look at and discuss one on GMT+9.

With the arguable exceptions of the old 600M and 1000M Orient Kingdivers from the 1960’s, this new offering from Orient is their most ambitious dive watch to date. While many may dismiss this watch due to the $1000.00 plus price tag (for an Orient!) I wouldn’t. Based on my experience with some Orient Star Royal dress watches, I know Orient is capable of producing a competitive high-end product worth it’s asking price.

Instead of a straight up review, I thought it’d be fun to do a light comparison of this watch to a competitor. The natural choice was the Seiko Marinemaster, but that’s too obvious. I wanted to have fun with this one and as such, I thought it would be great to look at another yellow “sleeper” dive watch out there: the Baume & Mercier Capeland 1000M diver.

The B&M is a personal favorite of mine. I have a lot of respect for this watch and it has much going for it. My favorable opinion of this watch is primarily driven by the fact that B&M went out on a (design) limb with this one. There are styling clues all over this watch that demonstrate an attention to detail that you rarely see from the mainstream Swiss houses today.

Everywhere you look, you see how the B&M designers stepped out of the (parts) box, and created a diver with none of the “me too” styling that is too prevalent today. The yellow kevlar/carbon fiber dial, the beautifully sculpted bezel, and hands with a polished Grand Seiko-like surface and a case to bring it all together demonstrate considerable thought by the designer and are unique to this watch. I’ve never seen the hands, case, bezel, or even the date wheel of the B&M diver used on another Swiss watch. All too often, this is not the case.

Even the strap sold with the B&M is unique. While there is a standard “sailcloth” kevlar strap included with the watch, the B&M also comes with a unique NATO-like rubber strap that allows the watch to be worn and sized over a broad range. While many have criticized the complexity of the rubber strap, I think it’s just another aspect of this watch that tells us that whoever created this timepiece spent considerable time thinking about how to make a better dive watch.

But this isn’t a review of a B&M diver and we are after all on a Japanese-themed watch blog, so let’s move on to the Orient for some comparisons.

Although it’s only about 1mm wider without crown, the case on the Orient feels significantly larger than that on the B&M. The oversize bezel and heavy stainless steel vs. titanium construction account for this. The case on the Orient is actually pretty traditional and Seiko like. It (the case) feels like an SKXA35 on steroids, except in place of the sometimes rough brushing of the SKX lugs, the Orient sports a smooth satin-like finish.

The B&M case has that signature titanium look. It’s significantly more modern looking than the Orient with organic curves throughout culminating in a crystal that follows the angle of the beveled bezel to create one of the larger domes you’ll see on almost any watch today. For what it’s worth, the B&M has a helium release valve. Both watches have screw in crowns. The B&M’s is notable with it’s extra smooth engagement. The Orient has the drilled lugs we all love on our Seikos. The lugs on the B&M are screwed.

The flat crystal on the Orient is recessed just below the bezel in stark contrast to the super domed B&M crystal. Both are surrounded by first-rate bezels. On the Orient, it’s all business, designed for super legibility and functionality. The bezel on the B&M couldn’t be more different. Monotone with a frosted 15-minute section, the B&M scores low points for legibility but high for style and uniqueness. I can’t imagine any real diver preferring the B&M bezel. However, if you put them both side by side, it’s not hard to notice the B&M’s bezel is certainly much more interesting and undoubtedly more expensive.

Now let’s talk about the dials because that’s where the real fun is with these watches. The B&M dial is characterized by the only yellow carbon fiber watch dial I’ve ever seen. It’s a fantastic look and different than traditional black carbon fiber dials in that it doesn’t have an inky, liquid appearance. The dial does project a fuzzy three dimensional effect. As I mentioned, the hands have a high polish that is matched by the applied steel markers. Lume is excellent and leaves nothing to be desired.

The Orient dial is a surprise in person to those who’ve only seen Web photographs. All shots I’ve seen, including mine, present the color as a flat, almost matte, yellow. It’s not. The dial has a metallic glow and can change to a very orange-like hue. There’s considerable lume on this one and the markers appear to be raised from the dial itself, similar to the arrangement on Seiko’s 600M Springdrive diver. The hands are painted a glossy black.

The Orient’s dial layout is tough for me. The configuration is opposite that of my Springdrive diver, and as I look at the watch, my perception is skewed because I’m seeing things (the date window and power reserve indicator) in an unusual place. It’s going to take some getting used to. Also, the large power reserve dial creates an optical illusion for me in that it “pushes” the main hands down away from the center. Having more lume than the B&M, the Orient certainly appears to glow more.

Turning the watches over, we see pretty typical casebacks. No special engravings or pictures on either, but still fun to look at.

For those who’ve stuck with this review up to this point, I hope you weren’t hoping I’d pick a winner. I don’t think you can. These are two very different watches and I can’t equivocally pick one over the other. I think it’s pretty obvious the design of the B&M lends itself more to being a elegant desk diver while the brute size weight and more traditional design of the Orient certainly places it more into the typical diver watch category. And with that, I’ll let the reader decide the rest.

petew 2007

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 31st, 2007 at 4:45 pm and is filed under Orient. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.