This Sub-$500 Diver Is Criminally Underrated..... 

It’s 2:00 am US central standard time. I have insomnia. Thanks for being there when I really need you Jody.

10 years back I bought a quartz titanium Orient diver for £60 in Cyprus. Not certified 200 metres. Dived the Zenobia shipwreck with it, along with my Suunto pro dive computer watch. Took it down to 42 metres, 2 metres over recreational dive limit. My Suunto went crazy with alarms etc, (literally saved my life) but I was expecting the Orient to not hold up to that depth but it did & still works to this day. Great purchase & superb value for money... Quality held up, working beyond a depth most people would never go...

Would really like to add an Orient Star to the collection, they just seem to be great value for money, but so do Orient so that's to be expected.

I'm a big fan of Orient, I own several including the Neptune aka Triton. It also has a sapphire crystal and a power reserve meter. It's powered by the Orient caliber 40N5A. The same movement that ran their original Pro Saturation Diver retailing around 1200 USD. I paid just over 400 for the Neptune. This one has similar specs for around the same price. It's a good looking watch for sure.

When Orient goes smaller on these slightly higher offerings.... As the trend is really starting to dictate.....I might have to get something like this.

I have to say, Orient is still my favourite Japanese brand for divers. They seem to offer incredible value for money, I love my orient triton/Neptune in black and gilt. Power reserve and all!

You know, I really like this watch!! And I’ve never heard of it until now!!😱 thank you so much for this review Jody!

Too funny, I was wearing this exact piece yesterday. It is a heavy unit, but then I'm a sucker for things that feel substantial also a power reserve. The dials appearance is stellar with it being evocative, because of the rounded indices, of a ships wheel. The symmetry of the dial is such my eye is always drawn to the center, meaning the less than perfect date complication is less of an issue. Always wanted an orient star in the collection and am super happy with this one. Love your work J.

Not just this watch but the whole brand Orient is criminally underrated and I really hope it stays that way because the last thing we need is their prices going the Seiko route!

I have two Neptune Divers, blue & black. Put an Angus J bracelet on the blue one. Wears really well.

Hey Jody. Just discovered your channel and love your take on watches. Plus you've inspired me to show some love to some amazing, but forgotten, watches that I have laying around. Watches that at the time meant more to me than anything else. Been fixated on my extreme luxury pieces and now see that the watches I loved more than 10 years ago can still be rewarding. Keep up the good work.

I like a lot of what Orient do, and I love my three Kamasu divers. They feel great on wrist, keep time well and are just great looking watches. The review has made me visit the Orient Star range. Great recognition given, Jody. 👍

Have many Orient automatic watches for many, many years & rotate them frequently. They run flawlessly & keep time within 20 seconds or less per day. They make some of the best value watches available. Still have my original Bambino from four years ago and what a Honey it is. Great Review Jody! Thank You!

Hey Jody! I almost bought an Orient Kamasu, but ended up buying an Aragon Divemaster 4 EVO for $179 US. Sapphire anti reflective coated crystal, Seiko NH35, 200M water resistance, bracelet with solid end links and what appears to be a mulled clasp (you can get a slide lock extension for $35 extra), and a screw down crown. You can get 43mm or 50mm in a variety of colors. It looked like a lot of value for the money to me. I’ll let you know more when I receive it.

That’s a very tempting watch! Thanks for the review. Shame about the pressed clasp, especially when watches like the Phoibos Eagle Ray have milled, but it’s a beauty!

Big fan of Orient have a bambino & a Ray II, Last year I picked up a Orient Triton RA-EL0003B00B( Black & Gold 40 hr power reserve) brand new from Jomashop for less than £250, really nice watch so nice haven't bought anything since

The orient mako iii was my first automatic, sold it, and then shortly regretted it. Haven’t had a good diver in my collection since for some reason, but I’m itching to get another orient diver. I think they’re just such a good watch brand and such excellent overall quality

Nice review, hope you do more Orient and Citizen. There's some new Kamasu's out there waiting to get the JOMW treatment!

Thanks for the review!!! Orient Star is underappreciated for sure. I have an Orient Star GMT and absolutely love it.

I think the simple, understated date window is a great feature this watch. Not everything these days needs a bell or a whistle! There's plenty of flashy divers on the market and I enjoy the fact that Orient stays true to function for this type of watch. They know their game! 👊

Great review. It puts another one on the 'to buy' list. I'm am an Orient fan. One of the most ignored of their line is the Kanno series. Excellent hand set and very accurate. For the price I am perfectly happy with the mineral crystal, too.

Look at that original dial and hands! I've either had my head under a rock or just not been paying attention, because this is very nice! Thanks Jody ❤ ⌚

Orient 40N5A is the champion of Japanese mid range movements. I have had several OS and M-Force with very same movement. They are much more stable than 6rxx type movements. Orient does a very promising job in the mid range. Great presentation, thank you.

I really like this. Not vintage but I'd call it retro-futuristic with the bulbous indices and hands, and the unguarded crown. Sizes out my skinny wrists I'm afraid but man is this cool! Sign me up if they ever do a 40mm version.

I would agree with you, that the date window would look better at the six position. And give it a bezel cut window with color matching background. But if that were to happen, they would have to size the font down, so it wouldn't look so crammed together.

I think the problem with the orient star is that it doesn't have the value proposition that the other orient have. I just but the orient small seconds, im super excited. You have to review the Tristar too! The website for orient almost hid the Tristar a year ago but they updated and it is an awesome looking watch

Thanks Jody I've been waiting for your review since the unboxing video. A few info-bits; Orient has used semi-skeleton hands in other diver models (SEL07 Delta & current M Force AC0L), All the Orient ISO compliant diver's models have had the P.R. meter, Orient's way of reminding divers to check & wind their watch before a dive. Your issue w/ the date window is well taken. I think Orient would have at least used a black background date wheel. Ideally, they could have extended the 3:00 indice to frame the date window. Picture that, 1/2 lume, 1/2 window frame, perfect. The weight; all the previous diver's models are tanks, the OSD, all M Force, and the Triton/Neptune over-built to a fault. If diver's were rated on the price/weight basis Orient would be the overall winner. The bracelet, in keeping w/ Orient's tradition of 'sticking w/ tradition' is still using the same 'not really a three-link oyster' bracelet for probably 20 years. Same w/ the clasp, it's sort of OK for stamped (they used the same clasp w/o the diver's extension on the new Triton). What I find frustrating is Orient uses milled scissor clasps on other OS models so why don't they pillage their parts bin for a proper milled clasp? Bezel action; I've had the same issue w/ the new Triton, rather soft action w/ backplay. The solution is to pop off the bezel and bend the click-spring to increase tension. So why isn't Orient adjusting the spring tension at the factory? The F6N47 movement, the timegrapher shows Orient's attention to accuracy in the OS line. My 40N5a M Force is my most accurate movement, it averages under 7 sec/day over several months. Orient puts more effort in regulating OS movements and IMO even more for ISO compliant models because they believe (rightly so) that a true diver's watch must be accurate in addition to meeting ISO standards.

I'm really tired of the green dial fad, but I just have to admit that the Orient green sunburst dial with gold accent looks absolutely smashing. It's the nicest green dial I've ever seen.

Beautiful watch! Orient/Orient Star are brands I want to get more into. Thanks for bringing some attention to them.

Jody thanks for getting this one out to us. That a great looking watch and the price is not bad. I really dislike pressed clasps on my bracelet but that is an easy upgrade. I may have to push some of my Black Friday $$$ in the direction of this beauty. Thanks again and Cheers!

I started my serious watch collection hobby with a few orients, kamasu, sun & moon, orient star outdoor. They are all great wathces. I still keep my burgundy dial kamasu with me as it's too hard to let go 😅😅. I have been eyeing for this orient star diver for quite sometimes. 'Almost' a perfect dive watch, only if the bezel material is not aluminium. I've been looking over the internet if there is any bezel replacement for orient star diver. Haven't found any, as yet. 😩. I love the pepsi-bezel version owned by shawn (relative time).

I love a power reserve meter. One of the best complications. You got a good one.

Finally an Orient Star! I'm a big fan of Orient, I own 4 Mako 2s and a Ray 2. All have been upgraded to sapphire crystals, some have new bezels and ceramic inserts. I reckon the Orient Star would look great with a color match date at 6 with a frame around the window. Orient Star is their top of the line, they should show off their skills. Anyhow, great review thanks Jody!

Yes I think the 6 o'clock color match date would be a nice touch.

Couldn't agree more. I have the blue and black dials. Beautiful watches, and keepers.

Love power reserve meters! Wish they made a smaller dive watch with it. And yes would have preferred a no date version.

I love the power reserve indicator; one of my watches has one. I once drove a car with a broken gas gauge, and I was a nervous wreck. I wish that more quartz watches had a low power indicator. I've seen two other reviews for this watch; Relative Time (like you) said it has a 120 click bezel, but the Watch Once-over review said that it had only a 60 click bezel, which helped to scare me off from buying one. (60 or even 90 clicks just isn't enough!) I'm also not thrilled that it's gray a market watch in the USA. I would have preferred a fully lumed bezel instead of just the pip. If I knew that I could get a fully lumed ceramic or sapphire bezel insert for it, I'd be more likely to get one. I probably should have gotten an Orient Neptune/Triton before it was discontinued. Long Island Watch has (had?) fully lumed bezel inserts for the Neptune. I also wish that it had a day of week indicator (but I'm probably asking for too much!) I've only seen two watches on Amazon that have both a power reserve indicator and a day/date indicator, and they're from brands that I've never heard of elsewhere. Orient is a very reputable brand!

Some of the newer Orient Star watches have a milled clasp. I recommend taking a look at the movement. You will be impressed.

You can tell this is a posh watch with some prestige. I really like the style too, Orient have it spot on. Love the power reserve as well. Sort of Oris Aquis Seiko Padi, most of the decent elements rolled into one but different enough in its own right. Very nice indeed and thanks for covering this one Jodi!

I get what you are saying throughout. There is just something about it that doesn’t light me up. I shy away from Orient for some reason and the only thing I can think of is the “X” factor. In other words I don’t know why! Another classic Jody vid! Well done and Merci!

I like it. I reached out to a Japanese dealer about a month ago in regards to reviewing one but of course I didn't hear back. I used to the the Orient 300m Saturation diver. I'll be looking to or really already have this one on my to get somehow radar.

Effectively an Orient Triton with an Orient Star dial and hands. JIS dive certified, excellent movement.

Great looking watch and good value. I completely agree with you about the date, but it could have been worse, with the day as well or even with cyclops 😖. I just wish Seiko would bring out a Turtle without the day/date, I would buy one in an instant!

Fantastic looking watch. I think a 6 o clock date complication would work but that dial really would be better without a date complication at all.

Huge fan of the Orient Star. Actually wearing an OS open heart small seconds. Love it and great price for all that you get.

Love the color scheme, and the watch in general. Would love to see your thoughts on the Orient Star Sports Outdoor as well. Shane at Relative Time and Dave at Just the Watch have reviewed that one - shares some similarities (like the date complication!) but also seems to really solid choice sitting around that $500 mark.

Hands and bezel are a 10! Love the look...if there was no PR. Just move the Orient Star Logo up there, and maybe give us a milled clasp and "muah"..chef's kiss. 😘

Nice review as always. I love it, however I'm interested on the field version.

very nice love that green and gold dial and hands on my next to get list.... cheers

Gorgeous watch! I have the orange bezel Mako XL.. love it!

I like this watch and I especially like the power reserve. You got it bang on when you said maybe the date should be at the 6 oclock.

Orient recently also released a new Kamasu sequel with a new dial. Looks pretty good (with some polarizing faux-tina), would recommend taking a look.

Definitely 6 o’clock colour match with date would be a home run on every level, especially with that power at 12 and it’s not hard to get an half tidy sound or feel to a bezel. Great vid watching from south wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Uk

great value watch, it could be called the paddle pop🙂 i ordered the open heart diver in blue from joma, cant wait.keep up the good work

I have had this watch, in blue, for almost a year. I rate it in the top tier of my collection (watches I would buy again, if I was starting from scratch and limited to 24 watches). My other Orients (in acquisition order): Ray II (blue), Triton/Neptune (blue), Orient Star GMT (white), Arena (white), Kamasu (green) and Triton/Neptune (black). My non-Orient divers: Bulova Oceanographer (Devil Diver-green), Citizen Promaster BN0191-55L, Glycine Combat Sub 42 Ambush, Islander ISL-72 & ISL-91. All my divers have good lume, but this Orient Star and the Neptunes are a step above everything else. The lume lasts longer and there are no un-lumed indices. I can read the time at night slightly quicker on the Neptunes, since they have a combination of round and trapezoidal indices. For daily wear, the Ray II, Kamasu, Citizen and Glycine are lighter and thinner. The Glycine wears the flattest with a 10.5 mm thickness and more lug curvature.

Had a look at Jomashop and this one is definitely the nicest colour option. Great looking watch. Cheers!

great review Jody! I have 4 of these. we call those hands ice-cream stick hands.

This is an interesting and good looking piece. Thanks for showing us Jody.

There's not a lot I can add to your very informative review Jodi apart from your question on the date. Personally I'm a bit of a nut for symmetry so if it had to have a date it would be at 6 however I think it would work even better without the date. The power meter looks good at the 12 unlike some of the 'where shall we put this power meter? lets try it at 7' then go home that we see on some expensive wintery style dial with really smooth seconds hand.

5:29 It’s an “s” for “star” inside an elliptical “o” for “Orient”.

I happen to own a Japanese Citizen Titanium dive watch available at or around £ 300 with a very nice milled clasp, with titanium swing arms mind you.

Fun surprise this one! Never gave it a thought before, but now… 🤔😁 Thanks for the review Jody!

A color matched date at the six would be outstanding. It's a sharp looking watch otherwise, and a great review as always, Jody.

That is a beautiful watch. I particularly like the power meter.

Well done Jody, i always enjoy your videos! I'm not the biggest fan of the rounded and oblong design scheme. Since it's there now, i would like the date window framed in the same color they did the indices and rounded to the middle of the watch thus giving it the look of a normal index marker. Also it would be a nice touch to have the date wheel fully lumed for a more "rounded" look in darkness. Technically i don't think they can put the date window at 6h. I guess the date wheel is mounted off-center to the right because if it wasn't it would hit the pinion of the power indicator. To mount the date wheel off-center down towards 6h, they would need to redesign parts of the movement.

Holy balls I'm in love with it, this watch is truly gorgeous and I love the design. Amazing video as always jody

A very good looking piece and good value for the quality ... But I have to agree that it would probably looked better as a no date dial. It wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me though.

I have the Pepsi bezel version (from Jomas). I insist that a diver's watch be a great tool watch. I think a date is important, and I'd like a day of the week too, frankly. The Kamasu handles the day and date with a nice frame (I have the red dial). I'm not sure that would look appropriate on this dial, though. In any event, a framed date might distract from the time and bezel on this tool watch. What is obvious from actually wearing it is that it is a tank, in the best sense. It is heavily reinforced to resist water pressure. Its lume will last throughout the dive, and the dial is extremely clear. The clasp closes very securely. The bracelet is comfortable and solidly built. A power indicator generally doesn't make sense in an automatic because movement keeps it charged (and a few winds of a dead watch will start it going). HOWEVER, underwater movements will probably not charge the watch (at least not efficiently), so without the indicator, one should probably wind the watch before entering. That is unnecessary because of the indicator. I like that. One thing I did not know is that the bracelet uses a pin and collar system. I needed to bring it to a jeweler to have it adjusted. That said, I cannot imagine the bracelet ever suddenly splitting apart. The links are secure. This is a real diver. I take it as a backup for my dive computer.

Very nice! Lots to like with this piece!

Sounds crazy but imagine it all shiny instead of the brushed finish...... makes me think of the aquis? Thanks Jody.

Review the Oceanus T200!!! Would love to see more videos on the Oceanus line as there only a couple videos out there. You’re my favourite watchtuber so it would help me deciding whether or not to buy it. Need your opinion man!

It is an amazing watch. I bought it as a thin watch for $500. Amazing. I did not expect the watch to be $500. Its specifications are strong.

Love my Orient Ray II, obviously a step down from this one, but its day/date window has a nice silver border and looks better integrated than this one. I think I'd prefer if they'd either skipped that feature or dressed it up a bit. Still a nice watch, though, and I love that green!

A very interesting well priced quality watch! Thanks!

Awesome watch, good to see such an original design

That's a really nice looking watch, it kind of reminds me of an Oris, not sure why, maybe it's the rounded bezel insert.

Well, I have bought a watch based on your review. And I love it. With that said your delivery is excellent and I just enjoy your programs and that is what they are .

Wicked review Jody! Almost picked this up but actually got the black Bulova Lunar instead. This might sway me however ;)

I was left a couple of hundred dollars out of pocket when Jomashop sent me the wrong watch and I had to send it back at my own expense and was never re-imbursed for postage despite the stuff up being 100% their fault. On top of that customs wanted me to submit a War & Peace application to get my GST back which ended up in their Xmas Party piss up fund no doubt. I will never purchase from Jomashop again.

The old discontinued Triton with power reserve was so much more charming. I would have liked to have seen that model bumped up to the Orient Star line with appropriate quality improvements to go with the flagship line.

The whole brand is underrated. Orient and Orient Star are always great value, I own a weekly auto orient, it cost me 250€, and I honestly don't see what I could find better in any other watch under 1000€.

2 weeks ago I bought my first orient, the "baby triton" or "baby Neptune" in green (RA-AC0K02) The bracelet is... awful, but I'm in love with this watch. I really would like to see Jody reviewing it

I like it and a no date is always my preference. I agree it’s good looking and might even rival the Tudor North Flag that held the crown of best watch with a dial power reserve, for me anyway. Good as it is it’s not as good looking as the Kamasu but probably streets ahead for build and movement. If I were a diver though and had to depend on an auto, I would take this or a Helm.

Nice, Orient do have some good sunburst colour options.

I own three Orient watches . A Orient Triton, Orient Mforce Bravo, and the latest new 2020 Mforce watch . I’m very interested in this new Orient Star diver .

Great review J. No date version all day and all night

Great awesome review again Jody 👍

is there any taper on the bracelet? If it's an 18mm at the clasp then there's a really good chance you could put the marine master clasp on it...

I've just put a toe in the water with an Orient. I won a mint Defender 2 on ebay for £70. I was surprised at how little interest there was. The amazing thing about it is its staying well within 5 seconds a day.

I'm very intrigued by orient star. They have discontinued a few very nice dive watches recently but I like this one.

I love my orient star. It has amazing finishing. They are definitely underated

I've owned 1 watch with a green dial. It was great the first few months I had it, but then the novelty of the green started to wear off. It sat in my watch box for 11 years. A few months ago, I got it out, dusted it off, put a new battery in it and then gave it to my son. His favorite color is green. I don't know why I didn't give it to him sooner.

This watch ticks alot of boxes on my list. Love the green and gold as well.

I have the limited edition blue and gilt version.. an absolute stunner 😍 I have four Orient Star in total.. I'm a total fan

Thx for the video 👍 do you think this wears the same in size then the triton (lite) ?

Orient Star is the big forgotten of the Japanese watches. I recognize that your dials sometimes are very overdone but your quality are very good and the relation with the price unbeatable

Yup, the world needs more Orient watches. ...and Vostok watches 😉👍 ...keep the great video rolling! Cheers

Great watch, It is in my wish list but in Europe is quite expensive (around 700 USD) so I am looking for a used one,

I've owned a Ray Raven II, and for the money, Orient delivers. My RRII was running at +2 per day. Going upmarket in the US requires some degree of advertising, which Orient really doesn't do. It's a shame because, as you said, it's as good, if not better, than a Seiko at the same price (yes, I know they both fall under the Epson umbrella).

I do wish it didn't have a date but, if it was at the bottom it would be nicer. They could not only have done it color matched but, made the 6 o'clock indicator with the date rectangular to match the 12 o'clock. Then you could have a very symmetrical watch east to west. I really like the oblong hands and indices I don't remember seeing that before.