Orient Mechanical Revival Watch World Map Diver Forest Green Dial RA-AA0E02E (similar to RA-AA0E03L, RA-AA0E01S and RA-AA0E04Y) - A Modern Vintage, A Review (plus Video)

To commemorate the Orient's 70th anniversary, the Revival Collection has been created which offers modern reinterpretations of iconic Orient watch models from the brand’s past. At this moment, Orient has the King Diver, SK Diver, and the Retro Future Camera models issued under this collection. The latest offering is the World Map Diver.

In 1969 the first Orient Map Dial World Diver was created. The watch featured an eye-catching multi-colored world map and a 24-hour time display.

In February 2021, Orient launched the World Map Diver to honour the 1969 iconic design under the Revival collection. There are four models to choose from and I chose the green dial RA-AA0E02E for the collection.

To be honest, I wanted the limited edition RA-AA0E04Y model as this is as close to the original in design. Unfortunately, all were sold out before I could get my hands on one.

Grand Seiko Sport Collection Automatic GMT SBGM247G (similar to SBGM245G) - The Right Size, A Review (plus Video)

I love GMT watches. The practicality of that specific complication is very useful to me especially when travelling (which I do a lot). At last count, I have 19 analogue GMT watches in the collection. Out of those, three are from Grand Seiko and all powered by Spring Drive movements (SBGC201, SBGE033 and SBGE001).  

When Grand Seiko announced a few months ago that they are planning to launch a GMT powered by a traditional automatic movement, I became interested. I was intrigue to know what kind of design philosophy that Grand Seiko will use as an inspiration for this new timepiece. Will it be similar to the previous Spring Drive models or will it be totally different?

Thankfully, the design for the SBGM247G (for ease of reference, in this review we shall just call this watch the SBGM247 minus the 'G') is different than what came previously. Surprisingly, the size is more representative of the Heritage Collection i.e. in the 40-ish mm width range instead of the typical 44-ish mm range of the Sport Collection. A lot of Grand Seiko owners have commented that the current batch of models under the Sport Collection is a tad to big. It is good to know that Grand Seiko took note of the comments and acted upon it.