Under the premium line of Orient Star, there is a sub-line of watches called the Retro Future Series that is unique that set it aside from other lines under the Orient brand. Orient designers incorporate 1950′s industrial motifs, combining past and future into contemporary timepieces. This allowed the watches under this series to be designed outside the contemporary norm of a ‘typical’ wristwatch. Hence, the word “Retro” in the name that gives an insight to the philosophy behind the series.
Unfortunately, this freedom of design does produce some examples that do not conform to everyone’s taste. Nevertheless, this is the sort of reaction which the series was meant to get, a form of anti-establishment of a rebellious nature. What makes it more interesting is that it comes from a watchmaker from Japan, a country well-known for conformity.
Of all the Retro Future models available, I prefer the “Car Concept”. The most obvious aspect of this watch is its square shaped casing. The square-like shape is characteristic of 1950s design cars. Some other unique classic car-inspired designs on this model include the steering wheel-like skeleton eye, the speedometer-like seconds sub-dial, the automatic gear gauge-like power reserve indicator and the stainless steel band that recalls the textures of a whitewall Goodyear tire.
The model which I required is the blue chapter-ring version (there are two other versions available, red and black). Both the casing and the bracelet are made out of stainless steel with parts of it with either polished or brushed surfacing. The width of the watch, excluding crown, is 42 mm and its lug-to-lug width is 54 mm. Coupled with the height of the watch at 14 mm, this watch does have an obvious wrist presence. Its bracelet design, although standard in dimension to fit into the lug width of 22 mm, is unique enough to increase the wrist presence even more.
Unfortunately, this freedom of design does produce some examples that do not conform to everyone’s taste. Nevertheless, this is the sort of reaction which the series was meant to get, a form of anti-establishment of a rebellious nature. What makes it more interesting is that it comes from a watchmaker from Japan, a country well-known for conformity.
Of all the Retro Future models available, I prefer the “Car Concept”. The most obvious aspect of this watch is its square shaped casing. The square-like shape is characteristic of 1950s design cars. Some other unique classic car-inspired designs on this model include the steering wheel-like skeleton eye, the speedometer-like seconds sub-dial, the automatic gear gauge-like power reserve indicator and the stainless steel band that recalls the textures of a whitewall Goodyear tire.
The model which I required is the blue chapter-ring version (there are two other versions available, red and black). Both the casing and the bracelet are made out of stainless steel with parts of it with either polished or brushed surfacing. The width of the watch, excluding crown, is 42 mm and its lug-to-lug width is 54 mm. Coupled with the height of the watch at 14 mm, this watch does have an obvious wrist presence. Its bracelet design, although standard in dimension to fit into the lug width of 22 mm, is unique enough to increase the wrist presence even more.
