It’s been some time since I took a dive in the Orient catalog, but I’ve seen one of their newer watches popping up here and there over the last few months, so I thought it merited a closer look.
The watch in question is the Orient Bambino (product page). If you’re at all familiar with Orient, you know that they put out some nice designs at rather affordable price points. This is one of their dressier pieces, and it’s an automatic, to boot. The movement is one of their own, a Japanese-made caliber 48743. I’ve not experienced this particular one up close, but people seem to be pretty happy with the watches. Frankly, with a power reserve of 40 hours and a date complication, it should be fairly reasonable for your local watch maker to service, should it be needed.
That movement is wrapped in a 40.5mm stainless steel case (just under 12mm thin), that, when combined with the domed mineral crystal will get you a 30m water resistance rating. No, you won’t want to swim with it, but this is a dressier piece – it’ll stand up to the occasional splash or if you get caught in the rain.
For me, what I really like is two fold – first, you have a very clean, almost classic, dress style; this itself has a bit of a vintage feel to it with the crystal. Second, this is really a fairly thin watch, given that it’s an automatic. Wrap that all up into a price tag of $260, and you’ve got a great option for someone looking for a dress piece. And, should you come across one of their ever present discount codes, of course, it becomes an even better bargain.
Now, what I’ve pictured here shows a white dial and polished case, but they do have other options. You can change over to either a black dial or a gold case – these combinations top out at $280 for cost; still a great value. If I was in the market for a dress auto, this is where I’d likely start my search for a very affordable piece.
