*Come follow me on WatchCrunch.com* - a new discussion platform for watch nerds: bit.ly/BWCWatchCrunchPage Android: bit.ly/WatchCrunchAndroid iOS: apple.co/3MM31lb Thanks to WatchCrunch for sponsoring this video. ⌚ Affiliate links to watches featured in this video: *Use code "BWC" at checkout for an additional 10% discount at TUS Watches.* White/Silver ➡ www.tuswatches.com/product-page/orient-bambino-38mm-small-seconds-white-dial-ra-ap0104s30b-automatic-men-s-watch?ref=BensWatchClub White/Gold ➡ www.tuswatches.com/product-page/orient-bambino-38mm-small-seconds-gold-ra-ap0106s30b-automatic-men-s-watch?ref=BensWatchClub Black/Silver ➡ www.tuswatches.com/product-page/orient-bambino-38mm-small-seconds-black-dial-ra-ap0101b30b-automatic-men-s-watch?ref=BensWatchClub Cream ➡ www.tuswatches.com/product-page/orient-bambino-38mm-small-seconds-cream-dial-ra-ap0105y30b-automatic-men-s-watch?ref=BensWatchClub
A quick note on watch crunch. Im autistic and when I releaved this on watch crunch a user started creating new accounts to bully me. Watch crunch staff did nothing despite me reporting. I reached out to Max several times and he didn't even respond. I'll never use watch crunch or watch any of Max's videos again.
$400 is insane. Also wish Orient would try to compete with the marlin and make a smaller ~35mm manual wind, no date bambino line. Would be great for their vintage vibe
Excellent take, I would love a good mechanical 35-36mm watch with that vintage look it would be a very elegant piece and I'm sure they would make more than alot sells on it
No they are not, you just got used to grey market prices at a time when the grey market was flooded because watch buying dipped. Now thanks to Social media watches are more popular however marketing and customer acquisition cost is expensive not to mention all around inflation globally and lastly these watch brands have to go upmarket to distance themselves from fashion watches / smart watches. Just wait to buy something on sale a year or two after release if you think it’s ‘crazy’
I bought a Kamasu recently because of channels like yours. It's an amazing watch for the price and I threw a nato strap on it. It makes me happy every time I look at it, and it was a fair price.
I appreciate the nuance on the crystal aspect. Not only does it help me judge the watch in question, but makes me a more informed customer in regards to other watches as well.
What I don’t like is that it’s price is significantly lower in Japan than in Thailand despite being made in Thailand (the factory is literally a few drives from where I am).
TUS watches are excellent for Orient. Got a great deal on a Star diver and the customer service is outstanding. Best deal I got was a £600 M-force for £165 on Amazon warehouse. The higher end models are all made in Japan.
Why would anybody think that taking a second-hand off and replacing it with additional clutter on the face of the watch is superior, I don't understand.
Kudos on the comments about the crystal. Unpopular opinion in these parts, but I'm completely fine with the date window. It's useful and unobtrusive, especially on the white dial. The white version with blue hands looks fantastic on a navy blue strap.
I bought mine for $250 WITH a watch winder. I was thinking about the silver model but it was sold out. Ended up picking up the gold version, and oh man, never have I ever been more stunned by a watch dial before. Totally worth it!
looks great, I definitely like Orient's logo. As far as the crystal goes, while I used to demand Sapphire, I now think acrylic actually looks the best and it's especially great if you want a cheaper watch
A no date version will need them to upgrade the movement to the seemingly more expensive F6B24 movement then maybe having to mess around with the case to make this movement fit. They could just not have a date window and make the wearer have to deal with a ghost position. These things sell so well that I don't imagine Orient feel they need to change anything right now but I do agree that it would look a lot better without the date on the dial
In my opinion, these watches have no right to look this good. I absolutely adore the gold version, and the black one is gorgeous too. Small secods just suits dress watches much better than center seconds for me. If I was in the market for a Bambino, I'd buy this is a heartbeat. The higher price does not bother me, Orient deserve to be paid more for such great products. Like you said, Ben, I also would prefer a no-date dial. Also, I'd get rid of the display back, not the most attractive movement. But overall, a fantastic package.
Thanks for the nice review Ben! I actually prefer the design of the original small seconds Bambino. Cleaner, with more of a mid-century vibe. Just wish that version came in a 38.
I do like this, but I'm more than happy with my preferred Golden eye. What are your thoughts on SWC's new logo btw? personally I like it. I find the move to Thailand very interesting. if more brands follow suit, combined with Wise, Thailand might become a big player in the watch industry
Would be nice if Seiko group, once a millennium, had some real design chops and released a no-date automatic. How much MORE expensive and bold would this look without that mandatory date window? I'll keep shifting my pennies to Ali Express where they get it....
Orient are great value, but they seem to have raised their prices by 30% across the board. TUS sold me my Mako III for for £244 in May 2023 and they now price it at £361, which I feel is more than the effects of inflation. They're still worth it though.
Despite my watches are from high end brands like JLC, Cartier, and Rolex. Orient will always have my heart. I hope they will make a Gold version with no date, stick markers, and champagne dial. Still hoping.
My grandad gave me his watch. It’s vintage and wondered if you know anything about them. It’s called west end watch sowar prima, and has green emeralds
I purchased but then sold a gradient dial Kamasu a while back precisely due to the highly noticeable rotor noise upon light wrist movement. It felt and sounded like the old wind-up rubber band propellers on toy balsa wood airplane gliders that you would toss in the air. I guess the Orient engineers need hearing aids.
For me, the perfect small seconds would be the original bambino small seconds but in a 34-38mm case. The cream dial is just... i dont know... different from others bambinos
The thing about Orient is the faux discounts. Every time I check the model, it is almost always going to be discounted. I do see issue there, despite this practice not being as, say, egregious as Invicta or Sturhling.
I gotta say you get more for your dollar with a Sugess, Baltany or San Martin. I have the original Bambino, similar to this buy without sub seconds. What really bothers me about this dial is the 2 sets of minute markers. It kills it for me.
Thanks for the review.... beautiful watches.. but $500+ Aud? Hard no, for a couple hundred more I can get a cocktail time Presage or even better the new Citizen Zenshin's which have better specs.
Being an owner of the 40mm i can say that the new one is tooo much like everything else. The tall glass bambino is the most distinctive bambino and i love that. This one looks like its pretending to be swiss and i am sorry , THAT is a bad thing for fans and the brand
Back in the heyday of Singapore's finest resellers, I could barely muster any interest at £80. And now they want what? Presumably Orient is selling at RRP elsewhere in the world, but they're surely not in Europe. As a JDM fan, it's an odd occasion when I say that we've been reprieved. The Japanese watchcos really do need to try harder in the non-domestic markets. Maybe they've just given up to smart watch competition.
Not a fan of the painted embossed indices, which look like they are trying to fake applied indices. I think it would be cleaner to just make them flat and remove some of the extra unnecessary indice text and lines around the perimeter. No need to busy up a watch like that, and especially no reason to have a watch show info with no useful purpose.
If not sapphire they should have gone with an acrylic crystal, as its far easier to repair it!! For a $400 priced watch however, you should be getting sapphire though!!
Really enjoy the content of your videos but finding it increasingly difficult to listen without being irked by the delivery. I hope you don't my mentioning that when speaking you consistently inflect seemingly every other word giving the impression you are constantly trying to emphasise what you are saying. A more even tone while you are speaking would enhance my listening experience.
Everyone complaining about Seiko & Orient getting pricy are part of the problem. Y’all shouldn’t have complained about Seiko being a “cheap mall brand” and now this is the result. Seiko getting expensive and chugging out watches with misaligned chapter rings and Hardlex crystals at $600. You reap what you sow.
Seiko haven't raised their prices as some sort of indignant gotcha to people that complained about them. Seiko raised their prices because people praised them to no end and showed they'd still buy them at continually higher prices.
@@Wahlrusberg Well as I know it, Seiko is trying to upscale itself to get rid of that mall brand stigma it has surrounding it. It’s definitely trying to compete with the big boys like the swiss. Hell, give them a couple more years and they will completely phase out the Seiko 5 line.
