Orient Star Sports 200 meter Air Diver Blue Power Reserve Reference RK-AU0302L - Simplicity is Strength, A Review (plus Video)

When Orient announced in August 2019 the launch of their new Sports Collection under the Orient Star brand, I was intrigued. For the last few years, the corporate restructuring involving Orient and Epson has taken a toll on the company's ability to offer new models. Compared to the other two famous Japanese brands such as Seiko and Citizen, during that period, Orient's offering was rather pathetic. However, 2019 appears to be a change. A couple of interesting series have been launched which are very interesting. For this review, I will be looking at the Air Diver series.

At first glance, the Air Diver series which consist of five models appear rather basic. They look like many of the run-of-the-mill dive watches available in the market. However, on closer inspection, these watches have been designed to almost perfect dimensions, able to perform many other tasks beyond being just a dive watch. Of the five models, I chose the sunburst blue dial version with reference number RK-AU0302L.

Although the design is rather contemporary, for Orient, it is a departure from its traditional design philosophy when it comes to dive watches.


The Series

There are five models under this series. Of the two limited edition timepieces, one has a limit of 1,200 units but no information was given about the other. I suspect the other piece (the RK-AU0305B) is a limited production run model i.e. will only be produced for a short period.

RK-AU0302L MSRP: YEN80,000	RK-AU0305B (limited edition)  MSRP: YEN83,000
RK-AU0304L (limited edition; 1,200 units) MSRP: YEN90,000	RK-AU0301B MSRP: YEN80,000
RK-AU0303B MSRP: YEN75,000

In November 2019, the company has been awarded the 2019 Good Design Award (or GDA) for this collection. The design was recognised for its seamless craftsmanship and exceptional attention to detail, combining functionality with a fresh feel. The GDA Judges panel commented: “While designed in the continuous style of a diving watch, it features a large case with a face taking up minimal space, giving it a feeling of substantiality........The design reflects the watchmaker’s know-how in mechanical watches in a way that gives the watch a personal, familiar feel.”

The Purchasing Experience 

I purchased the watch from Solar Time in Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur. As usual, after giving some discounts off the price, I was also given some gifts. Unfortunately, not Orient Watch related but from Suunto (water proof bag) and Alan Delon (ballpoint pen).



The Watch

The primary material used is the SUS316L stainless steel. The window is a flat sapphire crystal. It measures 43.6 mm in width with a lug-to-lug length of 51.1 mm. It is a tall watch with a height of 14.0 mm and it has a lug width of 22.0 mm. Total weight of the watch is approximately 205 gm.



Most of Orient premier dive watches have crown located at 4 o'clock. These models also incorporate strong protection for the crown in the form of hard shoulders. Although the more basic dive watches such as the MAKO, KANO and KOMASU series have their crowns at 3 o'clock, at least their crowns have hard shoulders for protection.

Another important departure from the traditional Orient design for dive watches is the bezel. Usually, the bezel would be the focal point for any of the brand's designs. However, unlike other designs previously, the bezel on this Orient Star is very sedated. It does not flair out nor does it have any aggressive designed surfaces to grab attention.

The Dial

The dial colour is sunburst blue. The chapter ring is polished and straight walled. There is only one timing scale that has line markers for minutes and applied capsule markers for the hours. The hour marker for 12 o'clock is rectangular with rounded corners while the hour marker for 3 o'clock has been truncated to facilitate the addition of the date window.  



The date window is a squarish cut through the dial surface revealing a date wheel with a white background. Another complication provided with the watch is the power reserve indicator located near 12 o'clock. There is a small white hand for the indicator that sweep in a 120°arc that points to a scale from 0 hours to 50 hours.

This has been one of the more common complication for Orient which I think is very useful. It is a pity that most other manufacturers only sparingly add this complication into some of their offerings. A mechanical watch needs this indicator as it gives two important information to the user: firstly, when to stop winding if the user is manually winding the mainsprings, and; secondly, how much power is left in the watch so as not be be caught with a dead watch when you really need it.

The texts and logo is located at the bottom quadrant. All the words and logo is printed in white except for the words "DIVER'S 200m" which is painted in yellow. At the peripheral of the dial are the words "JAPAN" and some manufacturing codes in very small print.

Unlike the other two major Japanese brands such as Seiko and Citizen, all Orient watches (including Orient Star) are only made in Japan. The company's main base of operation for the premium watches is in Akita, Japan.  

The hours and minutes hands are also similarly designed like the hour markers except that there is a section where it is skeletonise. As for the seconds hand, it is thin with a ball at the forward part of the hand.



All the hour markers and part of the hands are painted with bluish Lumibrite paint for illumination in the dark. Another part of the watch that has the luminous paint is the triangle at 12 o'clock on the bezel.

Protecting the dial is a flat sapphire crystal that has been given an AR coating. On close inspection, the crystal is set a fraction of a millimetre below the top of the bezel. This help minimise possible glancing side blows to the crystal.



The crown is signed with the Orient Star logo. It has fine gear tooth serrations to facilitate grip. The crown is a screw-down. Once unscrewed, it has the standard 3-position to manually wind, reset the date wheel and readjust the rime. When readjusting the time, the seconds hand stop function (hacking) kicks in.



The lugs are curved downwards and rather short to minimise lug overhang especially those with smaller wrist. Note also the addition of pass-through lug holes to make it easier for strap replacement. The lugs are 22 mm wide and owners can easily find after-market straps that fit their individual tastes.

The case-back is a screw-down. A solid piece, it has a simple brand etching in the centre. As usual, basic information about the watch are stamped around the peripheral of the case-back. it is interesting to note that the ‘EPSON’ brand is also clearly highlighted on the case-back.



The Movement

Underneath the solid case-back is the in-house Caliber F6N47 automatic movement with manual winding capability. The 22 Jewels, 50-hour power reserve Caliber is expected to run at a daily error rate of +25 seconds per day to -15 seconds per day. Operating at a frequency of 21,600 BPH (or 3 Hertz), the movement has a date and power reserve complications.

Test1: Straight out of the box

Test2: After days of wearing

I was able to conduct an accuracy test using the Toolwatch app. Straight out of the box, the accuracy recorded a rather poor rate of just -18.1 seconds per day. After wearing the watch for a few days, I conducted the test again and in the second time around, it improved dramatically to -6.6 seconds per day. This is not something unexpected as it does take time for the mechanical movement to 'break-in' after assembly.

The Bracelet

The watch is paired with a 22 mm wide stainless steel bracelet. The clasp is the standard folding type with push-button lock and safety latch. It has a simple divers' extension system attached at the end of the clasp which extends an additional 30 mm to the bracelet length.



The links are attached by simple friction pins that are much easier to use than the traditional pin-and-collar system. For my 6.75 inch wrist, I had to take out three links and use the second last micro-adjustment point (there are four micro-adjustment points) on the clasp to have a nice comfortable fit. Due to the weight of the watch, I do recommend that you try to adjust the bracelet to fit properly without any looseness. Otherwise, the watch could flop around rather uncomfortably.



For a premium line, I am surprised that Orient decided to use stamped sheet metal as a bridge for the bracelet. In my opinion they should have used a machined bridge design instead. This would tie in nicely with the use of the higher end movement as well as the sapphire crystal for this watch. As it is, this 'cheapens' the value proposition somewhat.

The Wearing Experience

The simplicity of the watch is its strength. The addition of the power reserve indicator is much appreciated not only by myself but also quite of number of others as well. Sometime one forget that without power, however accurate your movement is, it will still die and when that happens, your watch becomes useless as a timepiece.



On my 6.75 inch wrist, the watch sits steady. It has the right weight to remind the owner that he or she has something attached to the wrist without being deemed as overweight.




Specifications

Reference: RK-AU0302L
Movement: Automatic Caliber F6N47 with manual winding
Jewel: 22
Power Reserve: 50 hours
Accuracy: +25 seconds per day to -15 seconds per day
Material: SUS316L stainless steel
Glass: Flat sapphire crystal with AR coating
Strap: SUS316L stainless steel bracelet with push-button lock and safety latch clasp
Functions: Power reserve indicator, quickset date, diver bezel
Dial: Sunburst blue
Bezel: Unidirectional with 120-click for full rotation, aluminium insert
Dimensions: Width 43.6 mm; Length 51.1 mm; Height 14.0 mm; Lugs 22.0 mm
Weight: 205 gm
Water Rating: 200 meters, ISO6425 compliant
Antimagnetic: Type 1, ISO764 compliant up to 4,800 A/m (60 Gauss)
Warranty: 2 years
Launch Date: August 2019
MSRP: RM3,500, YEN80,000
Purchase Date: 12 December 2019
Purchase Price: RM2,625
AD: Solar Time, Mid Valley Megamall


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