Orient Men's '2nd Gen. Bambino Ver. 2' Japanese Automatic Stainless Steel and Leather Dress Watch

Product Information

While Orient is a large watch producer, it doesn’t have the same recognition stateside as some of its contemporaries. Enthusiasts get it, but those outside of the watch world don’t know the name.

A reasonable sum for a Seiko watch, this is a steal with its classic premium piece heightened with hints of elegant touches. This marks the COURAGE and CREATIVITY of Orient to merge modern designs with traditional features of a watch. Seiko: A Classic That Never Gets Old There’s an outer ring which makes the watch easier to read as it marks the minutes passed. The watch comes with a slight sunray effect. Thankfully, it doesn’t eat up the outer ring. The first generation of the Bambino comes in three styles (called ‘versions’ by Orient) while the second generation comes in those same three plus an extra two versions. There is also a Bambino “Small Seconds,” which takes the second hand and moves it to a chronograph like sub-dial and adds some Roman numerals. And recently, Orient has released an “open heart” version, which takes design styles from both generations of watches and combines it with an open heart dial where you can see the internal mechanism. On a basic level, the Bambino 36mm’s pros far outweigh the cons. Sure, the 17-millimeter strap might be a pain, and maybe there aren’t as many variations as the larger Bambino.

As you might have guessed, the Bambino line is owned by Orient. What you may not know is that Orient is owned by the Seiko group. It wasn’t always, however. Orient came into being in the mid-1900s and was bought over and integrated into the group in 2017. This is ironic as the two brands are rivals now. In 2001, Seiko Epson became the majority shareholder of Orient Watch, effectively putting Orient under the Seiko Group’s control. In 2009, it became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Epson. It’s the mechanism that changed. The first-generation Bambinos had the Orient 48743 movement. By no means was it bad, it had a 21-jewel movement that let the gears run smoothly. The thing is, the F7T42 has 22 jewels, so it’s superior. Generation 1 Bambinos use a 48743 movement while Generation 2 Bambinos & the Small Seconds use a F6722 movement. The Bambino Open Heart uses a F6T22 movement and the Version 5 uses the F6724 movement. Beginner watch enthusiasts won’t really notice much difference and all are comparable in reliability and quality. The Gen 2 versions (and Open Heart) will allow you to wind your watch and stop your second hand while adjusting the time, but other than that, the differences shouldn’t be enough to sway you either way if this is your first dress watch. We recommend buying a color and style you will be pleased with rather than concentrating on what’s inside. Orient Bambino Watch Size

Also made of stainless steel, a great alternative would be the Orient Ray II or the Mako XL dive watch. The original Bambino measures over 41 millimeters, and it looks like it’s every bit of it. That’s too large for many guys, so the 36-millimeter case size is refreshing. The Orient Star collection has put forth some impressive features such as higher power reserve, power indicators, and advanced watch mechanisms. Orient vs Seiko: Comparison of Dive, Chronograph, Field, Dress, and Premium Watches Dive Watches

Let’s discuss these areas of both watch brands: #1 – Seiko Has Advanced Technologies and Innovations By 1951, Tama Keiki changed its name to Orient Watch Company and began producing the Orient Star, with more models to come soon thereafter. And, almost right away, Orient Watch Company began marketing its timepieces overseas. The market for high-end options behaves differently as it usually is unaffected by price nor product functionality. To this day, Orient remains a subsidiary of Seiko Epson. Although they have been a subsidiary for the last 2 decades, it hasn’t deterred them from making their own statement pieces and retaining their own identity.