leewmeister
October 5th, 2006, 18:46
My Orient diver arrived yesterday. Thanks, Tony. :-) My first impression was WOW!!!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y224/leewmeister/orient/blue_diver01_tonyd.jpg
Photo by Tony Duronio
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y224/leewmeister/orient/diverback_colbypaperboy.jpg
Photo by colbypaperboy
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y224/leewmeister/orient/diverlume_baroesner.jpg
Photo by B. A. Roesner
This looks to be a heck of a watch. The blue dial is really impressive, alternating between deep royal blue - almost black - to an electric blue, depending on how it catches the light. All the markings are crisp and clear even under magnification.
I've been comparing this Orient to my 8926. The Orient case size is slightly larger by maybe a millimeter. It is much heavier than the Invicta, maybe 1.5 times. It is not as big a heavy-weight as a Tissot Seastar, but close. The bezel ring on the Orient is thinner than the 8926, making the dial face larger.
Its bracelet is even more burly than the Invicta's, if you can believe it. The Orient is 22mm at the lugs and tapers ever so slightly to 20mm at the clasp. The 8926, by comparison, is 20 mm tapering to 18mm. Button release clasp on the Orient with flip lock. No display back on the Orient, which I'm actually starting to prefer, especially when the movement is undecorated.
The crown on the Orient is far superior to my Invicta's. The Invicta always feels a little gritty and the thread tube seems short. The Orient crown is a full 5mm long and has plenty of threads on the tube to bite into. My only gripe about the crown, or the entire watch for that matter, is that it's not a winding crown. Like most Orient and Seiko autos, the only way to "wind" the watch is by shaking it.
Taking these two watches side by side and remembering that they are in the same price range, if I could only choose one I'd go with the Orient. That's not taking anything away from the legendary 8926 which I believe is a great watch value. The Orient is just that much better.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y224/leewmeister/orient/blue_diver01_tonyd.jpg
Photo by Tony Duronio
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y224/leewmeister/orient/diverback_colbypaperboy.jpg
Photo by colbypaperboy
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y224/leewmeister/orient/diverlume_baroesner.jpg
Photo by B. A. Roesner
This looks to be a heck of a watch. The blue dial is really impressive, alternating between deep royal blue - almost black - to an electric blue, depending on how it catches the light. All the markings are crisp and clear even under magnification.
I've been comparing this Orient to my 8926. The Orient case size is slightly larger by maybe a millimeter. It is much heavier than the Invicta, maybe 1.5 times. It is not as big a heavy-weight as a Tissot Seastar, but close. The bezel ring on the Orient is thinner than the 8926, making the dial face larger.
Its bracelet is even more burly than the Invicta's, if you can believe it. The Orient is 22mm at the lugs and tapers ever so slightly to 20mm at the clasp. The 8926, by comparison, is 20 mm tapering to 18mm. Button release clasp on the Orient with flip lock. No display back on the Orient, which I'm actually starting to prefer, especially when the movement is undecorated.
The crown on the Orient is far superior to my Invicta's. The Invicta always feels a little gritty and the thread tube seems short. The Orient crown is a full 5mm long and has plenty of threads on the tube to bite into. My only gripe about the crown, or the entire watch for that matter, is that it's not a winding crown. Like most Orient and Seiko autos, the only way to "wind" the watch is by shaking it.
Taking these two watches side by side and remembering that they are in the same price range, if I could only choose one I'd go with the Orient. That's not taking anything away from the legendary 8926 which I believe is a great watch value. The Orient is just that much better.