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Dive watches. We all love them - some more than others. But, the title of "perfect diver" depends on who you're talking to. Some will say the classic Seiko Turtle or Rolex Submariner, some the Tudor Black Bay, and some the Doxa 300. One thing is certain; the choice in divers these days can be overwhelming. There's every size, dial color, and finish imaginable.

Unsurprisingly, most dive watches sold worldwide don't see any 'bottom time.' We colloquially refer to these as "desk divers"; watches that can hold their own when submerged but usually just need to look decent on the wrist with casual or professional attire. Fitting comfortably under the cuff of a button-down shirt is a good indicator of this. So, perhaps the definition of a "perfect diver" is one that always feels right and performs flawlessly, whether you're checking emails in the office, exploring the Andrea Doria, or anything in between.

Orient Kamasu Review

With all this in mind, my interest lies in divers that can satisfy the "every day" since my scuba years are far behind me. The main criteria being that they are well-built and allow many years of trouble-free daily use without breaking the bank. Seiko, Citizen, and Casio are the usual suspects in this category, but recently, I thought I'd give Orient a try; specifically, the Orient Kamasu in green (RA-AA0004E19B), which has received nothing but positive press since its release a couple of years back.

I must admit this dive watch gives the wearer much more than its price suggests. Its combination of excellent finishing, materials, agreeable sizing, and dial configuration make it a strong contender for a "keeper" watch that you can eventually pass to your children, at which point it will still be as classic-looking as it does now.

Price & Availability

The continuous availability of these models has allowed the price to remain at the $200 mark. Too often, I've seen great watches released by microbrands via a limited production run, forcing latecomers to purchase through Kickstarter campaigns or second-hand websites, often at hugely inflated scalper prices.

*Examples of Orient Automatic Watch Models: Left -* *Orient 38mm Bambino* *Right -* *Orient Open Heart*

Now obviously, I wouldn't classify Orient as a micro brand. Being a subsidiary of the Seiko Epson Corporation, Orient avoids this issue, which often occurs when there is a frenzy for a particular model. They've also enjoyed a long watchmaking history of over 75 years, offering a wide variety of watches for all tastes and wrist sizes, which I'm sure allows their tooling and production to continue at full throttle. Orient also produces its movements in-house; more on that later.

This particular one was bought directly from Jomashop around a year ago for $197, so this review goes much deeper than first impressions. In fact, I received this watch the day before I snapped my Achilles tendon. Yes, you've probably guessed I'm getting old! Timing my 10-minute icing sessions with the dive bezel and keeping track of my Tylenol doses was a breeze with this Kamasu, though I can say that the six months of recovery certainly were not. Of the ten or so watches I keep in my personal rotation, this watch has probably spent the most time on my wrist this year. I can tell you now it's definitely staying in my collection.

CONSTRUCTION

Made entirely of 316L stainless steel, this Orient is certainly capable of years of use and abuse. This material, coupled with the very favorable sizing, makes for a weight and feel that is just right for just about any wrist. With polished and brushed elements, it also fits the "everyday" bill. The case is just right at 41.5mm, with a lug-to-lug of 46.7mm. Sized for my 6.75-inch wrist, it weighs in at 154 grams.

The case sides have a mirror finish, while the top has a circular brushed effect. The bezel also has an attractive polish and subtle Submariner-esque knurling. The screw-down, guarded, and signed 6mm crown is also polished, and the grip and threaded feel is reasonable but not the best I've encountered. I wouldn't change the crown, however, as it visually compliments the rest of the watch rather well. If you have banana-like fingers, the crown action may be more challenging versus most typical diver watches. The flat, albeit slightly raised, screw-down case back is subtle enough as well. The middle shows a smoothy etched "dolphin yin yang" shape, which doesn't affect the on-wrist comfort. Throughout the rear you'll find the usual info: WR 20 bar, Stainless Steel, Sapphire Crystal, Movement Japan, SN/Movement info, and EPSON. In keeping with the mild sizing, this case back permits a total case thickness of 13mm.

MOVEMENT

Inside the Kamasu, you'll find the in-house caliber F6922 automatic movement, which contains 22 jewels, beats at 21,600 vibrations per hour, and exhibits a power reserve of 40 hours. Hacking and hand-winding are also welcome additions. No, this is not a Seiko NH36, but being a division of the Seiko Epson Corporation, perhaps there was a "non-compete" meeting where the engineers at Seiko and Orient agreed not to one-up each other, kind of like Kia and Hyundai.

I've gotten a surprising accuracy of +2 seconds per day overall. Judging from the photos I've seen of the actual movement, it appears that it can be regulated if you wish. Like comparable offerings from Seiko, this movement seems to come installed in MANY other Orient dive and dive-style watches, if not all of them. Many hours of research and development must have gone into this movement if Orient is confident enough to use it so widely. Count me as a satisfied customer when it comes to this automatic!

CRYSTAL & BEZEL

I'm happy to report this is a very simple, flat sapphire crystal. No curvature or doming and thus no distortion of the indices when read from an angle. This sometimes results in strong reflections, but I don't mind it; performance-wise, it's still an improvement on the mineral used in previous Orient dive watches like the Ray II and Mako II. So, the crystal is one step forward, one step back. If Orient applied more anti-reflective coatings to this crystal, it would be a total winner.

Furthermore, the bezel insert sits slightly above the crystal. This gives the watch a little less height than a traditional tool diver, which usually have more pronounced crystals. The aluminum bezel insert shows full minute marks, with notches at 5, 15, 25, 35, 45, and 55, which is interesting but not distracting or unpleasant. The insert also has a shrouded lume pip, and a very pleasant dark green that doesn't "throw" too much color. So many watches from our favorite brands have such nice designs, but sometimes they apply either too much color or apply it in the wrong places. How often have you looked at a watch and said, "Gee, such a nice design, too bad it's burning my eyeballs"? But hey, if neon pink is your thing, I'm not here to judge. In low light situations, the bezel insert can appear black (dial too), giving the watch a fun two-face characteristic. Orient certainly paid attention to the colors on this model, it's tastefully done.

The bezel has a 120-click unidirectional action with adequate grip; albeit it is polished, so may be trickier to adjust with wet hands. I found the bezel to be rather tight when I first received it, but it settled in after a month or two, and now the action is perfect and sits solidly on the marker of choice. The lack of back play and the alignment are excellent as well. I often wonder with watches whether the bezel action will "wear out" and degrade over time; that’s not the case with this Orient.

Dial Design

Yes, let's talk about this beauty of a dial! Probably the first thing we notice about any watch; the first characteristic that grabs our attention! It's like walking into a house as a prospective buyer and thinking either "I could live here for years" or "Nope, get me out of here!". The shade of green is perfect and behaves differently depending on the light. It has a pleasing sunburst effect, and although it is green, it often exudes teal hues. The texture under macro examination exhibits a subtle orange-peel texture.

The minute track is printed directly upon the dial, sidestepping the reliance on sometimes-misaligned chapter rings. You'll also find a polished rehaut ring between the crystal and dial, which often introduces further ambient light upon the dial while providing depth to this relatively thin diver.

It's also a spotless dial, with little clutter or specification text to distract you from the wonderful bursts of color. At the 12 o'clock position is the polished and applied logo, with 'Orient' and 'Automatic' text both printed below. At 6 sits "'Water Resist' and '20 Bar'. All the printing is in a white, small, and thin typeface which is a great relief, especially for an understated dial design like this one.

Movement info is stowed away at the bottom, with 'Movt Japan' plus the F6922 movement coding. Again, this is minimally printed in white.

Appendages

This movement comes standard with a day/date complication. Both wheels have a white background with black lettering. The day wheel features additional red text for Sundays. Centering of the day and date within the window is spot on. Speaking of which, the day/date window features a very crisp but thin polished border that matches the indices and hands.

These aggressive markers do not disappoint either. With the polished border and decent wells of lume inside, these stick-style indices hold their own considering their diminutive width. You also get a triangle at the 12'o'clock for easy orientation of the dial in the dark.

The polished spear-type hands give sharpness and elegance to this watch which steers the aesthetic away from 'tool' to 'every day.' The second hand is thin and polished with a subtle counterbalance at the rear with a red (and lumed) pointed arrow tip. Said red neatly matches the red accents applied to the Orient logo and the Sunday printing. The hour hand tip just reaches the edge of its marks, while the minute and second hands easily stretch to the minute track at the circumference. I've found that this layout and sizing allow for much quicker time checks. This watch will probably be just as easy to read when I'm an even older man with worse eyesight (and even worse Achilles, haha).

The lume used throughout is all in matching green. While it may not be the same luminescent formula, Orient could have fooled me into thinking I was looking at a Seiko with C3 at first glance. Longevity is acceptable with the lume, and although it's not going to win any lume wars, it is miles better than many other, lesser watches you could find at this price point.

BRACELET

The steel bracelet is 22mm, tapering slightly down to the clasp. It works very well in balancing the weight of this watch, eliminating any top-heavy feel you may have experienced with other dive watches. The link pins are simple friction type, so you won't struggle to remove links at home if you have some basic tools. I've found this bracelet is the best option for the green Kamasu; the dial/bezel coloring is pretty distinctive. Thus, it's not a strap monster. I tried many different colors and Nato straps that don't work aesthetically. Perhaps the only viable alternative I've found is a light/chocolate brown leather strap.

You could say this watch is best suited to wear to a wedding, the steak house, the study, or the office. But not to pair with an orange strap for a paintball field. Save your EcoZilla or G-Shock for that! Changing the steel bracelet diminishes the whole feel and aesthetic, so I'd advise against it.

Although these are hollow ends links, they work just fine, giving an almost vintage feel to go with the classic look. I believe the end links and the pressed Seiko-esque clasp, with 4 micro-adjusts, actually aid in keeping the heft of this watch to a minimum. You still get solid links elsewhere, which are the single "mock 3-link" type, and the articulation is sufficient for even the most petite wrists. Branding aside, the clasp is 100% identical to the clasp on my Seiko Turtle (SRP775). So in short, you should get a perfect fit with this bracelet without any unwelcome surprises.

PACKAGING & WARRANTY

Packaging is the standard fare you'd expect for around $200. Glossy, thin cardboard outer box, decent rigid square fold-open box, pillow, tags, and compact manual. There was plenty of plastic to protect the finish, but I didn't have to wrestle to get it all off; no dull knives needed (Pagani Design!).

The Good

Great finishing
Even better dial
Dependable and accurate movement
Excellent weight, balance, and feel
Passes the macro-test with the highest marks

The Marginal

• Hollow end links (personal preference)

• Stamped clasp

The Bad

• Nope! No bad points for this price range! It's an excellent value! This is an ideal, versatile gift watch.

If you're currently browsing Orient dive watches, I'd recommend clueing yourself up about the recently released Orient SK Diver Reissue. You should avoid that at all costs

Orient Kamasu Review (Mako III) | A Must Buy For Dive Watch Enthusiasts