Another new offering from Orient Star under the Sports series is the Outdoor group. Consisting of seven models, this group caters to adventurers. The design is not as aggressive as a dive watch but more substantial than a standard wristwatch. In fact, the design of the crown is more in-line with a pilot watch.Orient describes it as a field watch. However, at first glance, what most people would notice (me included) is the strong “Flieger” or German pilot watch design of the Second World War that has dark matte dial, brightly luminous sword hands and equally bright Arabic and line-shaped markers. The onion crown is also another give-away to its aviation-style DNA. Nevertheless, what sets it apart from a pilot watch and to be in-line with the brand's official definition is the size and the fact that it has a power reserve indicator. More about these later.
I chose the PVD green model with reference RK-AU0208E. This particular model comes with a black painted casing, green dial and thick double-layered leather strap.
The Series
When the Orient Watch Company launched this series under its premier line Orient Star, a lot of interest was shown by the watch collecting community. The bold dial face that is bigger than any seen before and designed as a tool watch under the auspices of Orient Star has always been a wish by many fans. The ‘Sports Outdoor’ series is something that I have proposed to Orient for quite some time.
Although the design looks like a "Flieger" watch, Orient was correct to define it as a field watch instead. The size of just 41.0 mm and the addition of a power reserve indicators are definitely not part of the standard specification of the German "Flieger" watch or B-Uhr watches (B-Uhr in German stands for Beobachtungsuhr or observation watch). Below is an image of the original design of a "Flieger" watch. Some notable specifications are: (a) at least 55 mm wide; (b) has black dials with white Arabic numerals and flame-blued sword hands covered in luminous material; (c) either two types of dial design, the A- and B-dials. The A-dial has large Arabic numerals (1 to 11) with all numerical markers filled with luminous material. The B-dial is slightly complicated as it showed 5 to 55 minutes markers on the outer rim and an inner circle with the typical Arabic numerals (1 to 12).
Clearly, the Orient Star Sports Outdoor does not fulfil any of the key 'Flieger' watch requirements as stated above.
This series consists of seven models. The watches come with differing dial colours either polished surface or black PVD with the option of either nylon NATO or leather straps of varying colours.
 RK-AU0206B YEN78,000 |  RK-AU0207L YEN78,000 |
 RK-AU0208E YEN78,000 |  RK-AU0209N YEN78,000 |
 RK-AU0210B YEN68,000 |  RK-AU0211L YEN68,000 |
 RK-AU0212S (Limited Edition) YEN78,000 |  |
The Watch
This particular example, the RK-AU0208E is made out of stainless steel and protected with a black PVD treatment. Measuring 41 mm wide, 12.1 mm thick and 48 mm lug-to-lug, the watch comes with a screw-down diamond-shape crown. The watch casing gets a satin-brushed and polished finishing, the back of the watch features full polishing while the semi-concave bezel gets the satin treatment. Paired with a double stitching leather strap, the whole timepiece weighs in at 91 gm. The use of a the flat sapphire crystal reinforces the premium feel of the watch which justifies the Orient Star branding.The Dial
The Orient Star Outdoor model I chose has a matte dark green background. The chapter ring is a vertical wall coated in black paint.
There is only one timing scale track that consists of minute markers in short white lines and applied Arabic numbers and capsule-shaped hour markers. At the outer edge of each capsule-shaped hour marker, a white dimple was added.
Located near 12 o'clock is the fan-shaped power reserve indicator which tracks the power available in the mainsprings of up to 50 hours.
The date aperture is located at 3 o'clock. I am pleased that Orient's designers kept the 3 o'clock marker intact. A squarish beveled cut was made through the dial which allows you to see the white date wheel. All texts and logo are located on the lower half of the dial. The logo, the words "ORIENT STAR" and "AUTOMATIC" are painted vintage cream directly on the dial. Near the minute track, the words "JAPAN" as well as other manufacturing codes in small fonts are printed in white.
All the Arabic and the capsule-shaped hour markers are painted in vintage cream Lumibrite for illumination in the dark.
The broadsword-like handset bears the same vintage cream color-tone luminous with the hour markers. The Lumibrite is painted within a thin white border on both the hours and minutes hands. Both hands are semi-skeletonised in differing degrees (the hours hand is more skeletonised compared the minutes hand) and painted black to facilitate ease of referencing. The seconds hand is not painted with Lumibrite but with just white paint. Despite the addition of the power reserve indicator as well as the lines of texts and logo on the dial, visually, the dial remains balanced and uncluttered.
Capping the dial is a flat sapphire crystal with AR coating. The crystal's top surface slightly extends beyond the fixed bezel. Although this would make it visually appealing, from a safety and protection point of view, it increases the likelihood of side impact damage to the crystal.
The screw-in diamond-like or onion-type crown is typically found on military style watches such as a 'Flieger' watch. The 7.5 mm wide crown is signed with the Orient Star logo. The crown is large and has gear-tooth sides for grip. Once unscrewed, the crown has three positions: position one is for manual winding; position two is to change the date, and; position three is to readjust the time with seconds hand stop mechanism (hacking).
Displayed through the screw-in case-back is the in-house 'Made in Japan' Caliber F6N43, one of the brand's top of the line automatic movement fitted solely on Orient Star watches. The Caliber F6N43 is rated to have an accuracy of between +25 seconds per day to -15 seconds per day. It operates at 21,600 BPH (or 3 Hertz) with a power reserve of approximately 50 hours. The 22 jewel movement has two complications, the power reserve indicator and a quick-set date wheel. It can manual wind and has a seconds hand stop mechanism.
The date aperture is located at 3 o'clock. I am pleased that Orient's designers kept the 3 o'clock marker intact. A squarish beveled cut was made through the dial which allows you to see the white date wheel. All texts and logo are located on the lower half of the dial. The logo, the words "ORIENT STAR" and "AUTOMATIC" are painted vintage cream directly on the dial. Near the minute track, the words "JAPAN" as well as other manufacturing codes in small fonts are printed in white.
All the Arabic and the capsule-shaped hour markers are painted in vintage cream Lumibrite for illumination in the dark.
The broadsword-like handset bears the same vintage cream color-tone luminous with the hour markers. The Lumibrite is painted within a thin white border on both the hours and minutes hands. Both hands are semi-skeletonised in differing degrees (the hours hand is more skeletonised compared the minutes hand) and painted black to facilitate ease of referencing. The seconds hand is not painted with Lumibrite but with just white paint. Despite the addition of the power reserve indicator as well as the lines of texts and logo on the dial, visually, the dial remains balanced and uncluttered.
Capping the dial is a flat sapphire crystal with AR coating. The crystal's top surface slightly extends beyond the fixed bezel. Although this would make it visually appealing, from a safety and protection point of view, it increases the likelihood of side impact damage to the crystal.
The screw-in diamond-like or onion-type crown is typically found on military style watches such as a 'Flieger' watch. The 7.5 mm wide crown is signed with the Orient Star logo. The crown is large and has gear-tooth sides for grip. Once unscrewed, the crown has three positions: position one is for manual winding; position two is to change the date, and; position three is to readjust the time with seconds hand stop mechanism (hacking).
Above is the photo taken of the dial in complete darkness. I was only able to charge the luminous paint for a few seconds before taking the picture but you can still see clearly the markers and the two primary hands.
The case-back is screw-down and is not in PVD black. Instead, it is polished stainless steel with a display window in the center protected by a mineral glass crystal. Standard information about the watch is printed around the edge. Interestingly, the shape of the case back is not flat but domed. Where the crystal starts, a small fixed bezel was added to raised that section higher.
I am not sure why Orient made this particular design for the display section of the case-back. Intuitively, this could make it less comfortable for wearers as the domed section would pressed into the skin more instead of a flat surface. However, after wearing this watch for over a week, I do not find it any less uncomfortable than other watches with a flatter case-back.
Based on a quick accuracy test using the Toolwatch app, I was able to record an accuracy rate of +15.4 seconds per day immediately after un-boxing. Although this is within the manufacturer's accuracy range, I suspect the movement would be more accurate once it has 'settled in'. I conducted a second test after two days and I was able to record a 33% improvement in accuracy rate to +10.9 seconds per day.
The casing is water rated to 100 meters. However, I don't recommend you swim with this watch despite having a screw-down crown.
The Strap
The watch is paired with a double layered brown leather strap with white stitching. The locking mechanism is a black PVD metal folding clasp with push-button lock.
Both the leather and the clasp are signed with the brand name.
The leather is stiff straight out of the box. Due to its thickness, it takes some time before it has softened enough to be truly comfortable to wear. Honestly, I would prefer to swap out the leather with a nylon strap instead.
The Wearing Experience
The dial design is one that I like most. Having a combination of both markers and Arabic numbers, it is easy to read and does not generate any confusion due its simplicity. The addition of the of the power reserve indicator is a plus to me as I cannot stress enough why I believe all mechanical watches should have this complication. I would also like to express my gratitude to Orient designers for placing the date aperture in an area that does not displaced anything important like an hour marker for example.
The size of the watch makes it comfortable to wear for my 6.75 inch wrist. Despite the dark colour of the watch, the light coloured markers and and hands contrast clearly with the dark green dial. Coupled with the black casing, the focus is squarely on the hands and markers which makes for excellent time referencing.
As highlighted early under The Strap section, the thick leather strap is stiff. I am not sure what is the styling strategy Orient's designers were thinking about. As consumer, I want to have a leather strap that is somewhat pliable and comfortable on the wrist. The leather strap provided with this watch does not even come close to this requirement. Even after wearing it for a week, the strap remains stiff.
Overall, a generally well designed watch with a lot of useful applications even with formal wear. Manufacturing quality is high as expected for a premium line (despite the leather strap being stiff, it is still high quality leather).
Specification
Type: Adventure watch
Reference: RK-AU0208E
Movement: F6N43 Automatic movement with manual winding
Accuracy: -15 seconds per day to +25 seconds per day
Jewels: 22
Power Reserve: Approximately 50 hours
Dial Colour: Green
Case: Stainless steel with black PVD coating
Bracelet: Leather strap with push-button lock
Crystal: Sapphire with AR coating; Display case-back mineral glass
Crown: Screw-down
Case-Back: Solid Screw-down
Water Resistance: 100 meters
Antimagnetic: Type 1
Bezel: Aluminium insert, unidirectional with 120-click full rotation
Dimensions: Width 41.0 mm; Length 49.0 mm; Height 12.1 mm
Lug Width: 21 mm
Weight: 91 gm
Functions: Power reserve indicator, Quick-setting date, seconds hand stop function
Warranty: 2 years
MSRP: RM3,400; YEN78,000
Release Date: August 2019
Purchase Date: 12 December 2019
Purchase Price: RM2,550
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