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The ultimate Bambino is finally here...or at least that’s what you’ve been telling me! Indeed, since unveiling this watch on my unboxing channel, a ton of you have told me this is the one you’ve been waiting for. The Bambino Orient should have released years ago!

And I’ve got to say, for the most part, I agree with you.

So, what is this watch? Well, it’s the Bambino Small Seconds V2, the latest in a line of revered budget dress watches from Japanese brand Orient, a sister company to Seiko. The Bambinos already ship in a variety of styles and sizes and are generally considered the go-to choice for those wanting to add an affordable and attractive dress watch to their collection.

The new Small Seconds V2 essentially takes some of the best elements of previous Bambino watches and combines them into probably the most refined and visually pleasing variant to date. However, it also comes with a catch...a price tag that Orient fans may not be too pleased with!

Now, we’ll go more in-depth on pricing later on, but first, let’s see what you’re actually getting with the Small Seconds V2.

Orient Small Seconds V2 Review

So, the watch comes in this newer-style Orient packaging. Shout out to Tom at TUS Watches for sending me these for review. He’s sent me all four colors to look at today, of which I can keep up to two if I want. But yeah, the box is nicer than the previous Orient boxes, but it is substantially larger. I’ve always preferred more compact and practical packaging.

Nevertheless, I’d say this is, for sure, the best-looking Bambino to date, both stylistically and proportionally. Design-wise, this pulls primarily from the Bambino V2, Bambino sub-seconds and Bambino 38mm; the standard version, that is. I know the naming scheme is very confusing!

According to several sellers I’ve spoken to, the V2 is the most popular of the original 40.5mm lineup, so it’s no surprise to see it repurposed. It’s always stood out from the others in the range, with its thin hands, pocket-watch-like chapter ring, and Roman numerals providing a distinctly vintage appearance. The only thing that didn’t sit right was the size. 40.5mm is hardly huge by modern standards, but for a watch with this styling, it always looked a little unwieldy.

The same could be said of the lesser-known ‘sub-seconds’ Bambino. This has always been a hidden gem in Orient’s lineup, packing a surprisingly classy champagne dial and an attractive minimalist design. Once more, though, the size did reduce its versatility.

To address this issue, Orient finally introduced the long-awaited 38mm variant in 2022. The size reduction was an improvement for most wrists, and they looked...decent. But, they were quite plain, leading many of you guys to hope Orient would redo the more character-rich Roman numeral version instead...which I guess is what we now have!

The Small Seconds V2 has the flagship features of each: the styling from the regular V2, the subdial from the champagne watch, and the case size from the 38mm model.

Individually, these changes are subtle, but when combined into one watch, the results are surprisingly effective. In fact, the new Small Seconds V2 is so pretty that I think it makes those three, and many of the older Bambinos, completely obsolete despite being no better on the spec front.

Dimensions

On the wrist, it looks and feels like Goldilocks’ perfect porridge. Unlike the original Bambinos, whose crystals were tall and dials expansive, this new version boasts a more streamlined appearance without sacrificing the character that made the Bambino a fan-favorite. If anything, these new designs offer up an even more convincing vintage illusion, thanks to the more period-appropriate dimensions. You’d almost be forgiven for thinking this watch was vintage in the flesh, which is only aided by the fact that it’s also marginally thinner than the previous 38mm Bambino, at 12mm, including the crystal, rather than 12.5mm.

That slight difference is actually tangible on wrist, I could tell straight out of the box that it was a touch thinner, which is always appreciated for a dress watch. Of course, because of the boxed crystal, it’s still far from the flattest watch ever, but it undoubtedly fits me worlds better than the earlier 40.5mm versions. My wrist is only 6.25 inches, but I’d say the same applies to 80% of you reading.

As you can probably tell, all of the dial detailing sits a touch closer together than on the larger Bambino V2, and while the markers are nothing special, the whole arrangement just feels much better positioned. The hands, too, stretch all the way out to their respective marks, a minor frustration commonly found on the original Bambino lineup.

Specifications

Now, Orient isn’t advertising this as a ‘next-gen’ or ‘pro’ version of the Bambino or anything, so it’s no surprise that the materials and specs are much the same as before.

The case has the same slim, brushed flanks, with simple polishing on the lugs and bezel. The caseback is only snap-on, securing the watch to a mere 30m of water resistance, which sounds good but, in fact, means the watch is splash-resistant at best. This baby will drown if you submerge it for too long.

Movement

You do at least get a glimpse of the movement within. This is the Orient F6222, the same automatic as you’ll find in the original, larger Bambino Small Seconds model. It’s very similar to the F6922 used in many other Orient watches, so you still get decent accuracy, hacking, and handwinding, giving comparable results to the Seiko NH series and Miyota 8000 series movements you’ll see elsewhere. While you can see it, a quite cool feature if you’re newer to watches, the movement lacks any meaningful decoration, resulting in a rather plain appearance.

Overall, the movement is solid, but it isn’t a standout inclusion by any means, with the smoother Miyota 9000 series available in some similarly priced Chinese-made watches.

Dial Design

That said, the smoothness of the seconds hand isn’t of great concern anyway, given its diminutive profile here. The subdials are very nicely proportioned, and each have a radially engraved finish that comes equipped with a sunburst in three out of the four cases. The odd one out is the cream dial model, which ships with a completely matte subdial and ridges that are consequently completely invisible to the naked eye.

I’d say overall that’s probably my least favorite design of the four, partly because the plain dial inherently looks less sophisticated than some of the others, though I will say I definitely prefer it to the last cream dial 38mm from Orient, which looked far cheaper in the flesh; perhaps aided by the much slimmer handset. As with the last one, it has a slightly green tinge, which isn’t representative of the peach-hued stock images.

The silver-cased white dial is probably the most versatile of the bunch, although the gold version has been catching my eye from the start. The case rear, unfortunately, isn’t matched, but it is a very, very good-looking piece overall.

Up close, the subtle sheen of the two lightest models makes them look the most premium, and I think the more detailed marker array also elevates them slightly above the previous Bambino 38mm models in the visual department. Not so clean, but arguably a touch classier. If the last Bambino 38 was a 7/10, this new version is more like an 8.5 for me.

Logo and Date Wheel

While the look of these pieces does seem to have garnered widespread acclaim, there are a few things people don’t seem to like, notably the logo and the date wheel.

Personally, I’ve always been quite partial to Orient’s logo. Perhaps because I’m British, I’m more receptive to this coat-of-arms-style regalia, but this could be a turn-off if you like cleaner-cut branding.

The date complication, on the other hand, could be eliminated and I do think the watch would look better for it. I’ve always preferred no-date watches, especially dress watches that will inherently see less frequent usage. Ideally, I don’t want to have to tinker with every aspect of the watch every time I do decide to wear it. Nevertheless, the tiny window isn’t very intrusive, so I can’t say it particularly bothers me. At this point, I doubt we’ll see a no-date version of this watch, but never say never.

Crystal

On the quality front, the obvious pitfalls carry over from previous Orient watches. The crystal is only mineral, and the straps aren’t particularly special.

A few years back, I would have immediately lamented Orient for the crystal move, given how bad it looks on paper versus some other brands, but I’ve learned quite a lot about crystals since my scratch test video, which has changed my perspective on this.

For flat crystals and even standard lower-domed crystals, there would be absolutely no excuse. Orient would be getting rinsed right here, right now. Sapphire is dirt cheap in those configurations, and it would be a no-brainer for most designs; I’m guessing why Orient now ships these on their flat-crystal diver models.

Nevertheless, these super tall bubble-like crystals are somewhat of a different ball game. Even on AliExpress, a sapphire version of this tall boxed crystal is pretty expensive. You’re talking north of £70 or cracking onto $90 per unit, not including import fees. Obviously, it would be slightly less when purchased in bulk, but you get the picture.

Obtaining this sort of look, the retro flat-top look, requires starting with a substantially larger block of material (in this case, sapphire), followed by a much more extensive grinding and polishing process to achieve a clear final result; ballooning the cost in the process.

You wouldn’t see this difference on a spec sheet, it would just appear the same as a low-dome or flat sapphire crystal, but in reality, it’s many times more expensive to implement.

$70+ dollars spent on a single component of a low-cost watch is a big commitment, so while mineral is not great at this price (and the Chinese brands could probably find some way to do it), the use of mineral crystal here isn’t altogether surprising.

Now, Orient could have gone with a more reserved dome or a flat crystal to use sapphire at the same cost. However, that would significantly alter the visuals of the watch, an area I don’t think needs touching. What I will say is Orient could have at least considered a sapphire-coated mineral crystal, which I found in my scratch test did improve scratch resistance to a surprising degree. That stuff is also cheaper than sapphire, so it could have been a viable substitute.

Shockingly, I think I may owe MVMT an apology for this, too. I blasted them a few years back for using a near-identical boxed mineral crystal on their Arc Automatic, versus standard domed sapphire fitted to a Chinese clone, and while the Arc was still too expensive and sucked in other areas, I did jump the gun on that one.

Watch Strap

The strap situation is more straightforward. The croc-effect calf leather has a plasticky outer surface, like most Orient straps, which doesn’t look or feel great straight out of the box but is just about serviceable after it softens up.

Frustratingly, it lacks quick-release spring bars, meaning you’ll have to jostle with a spring bar tool and risk scratching the lugs to change it out. I wouldn’t say a replacement strap is essential with this Bambino, but it will probably be worth your while. Thankfully, the lug width is a nice round 20mm, so you should have plenty of options.

Price

Arguably, the biggest concern is still pricing. The challenge with dress watches is they see less wrist time. Your money doesn’t go as far. The cost per wear is higher.

As such, when Orient comes in with a $400 RRP for these Bambinos, it raises eyebrows. Now, even Orient directly has already slashed the price to just under $300, and in isolation, this seems like a fair deal. The watch certainly has the air of a 4 or 500-dollar piece in the flesh; it also looks darn good on images, as you can see.

Nevertheless, a few years back, older Bambinos were available from grey market sellers for far less than that, closer to the $100 mark. Now, COVID and inflation were already making those prices a thing of the past, but if you haven’t shopped for an Orient in a while, $300 will feel like quite the jump.

Well, what’s also been happening is that Orient, and other big brands have been massively cracking down on grey market sellers, who may (or may not have) been sourcing watches from naughty leaks in their production chains. I can’t go into further details because I don’t know the specifics, but yeah, Orient watches were never meant to be that cheap. As a result, you’ll now see that many grey market sites either have far less competitive pricing than before or simply have no Orient stock available to sell.

This current $300 price tag is very similar to the previous Bambino 38mm. Still, out of the standard-looking Bambinos, this (and the recently released braceleted Bambinos) are just about the most expensive to date.

Final Thoughts

Do I think this watch looks more expensive than that price tag? Absolutely. This is Orient’s most refined dress watch, for sure. They’ve done a great job with it, the gold one will be sticking in my collection.

Does Orient need to be careful that they don’t overstep the mark in future? Clearly, yes!

I mean, the fact that even Orient themselves have heavy discounts on these straight out of the gate suggests they got a little too Invicta-inspired with the pricing!