Orient Star Sports Diver's 200m Blue Dial with Sapphire Glass Watch RE-AU0302L

I was instantly intrigued when I have seen this watch. The design is very different than the other diver watches from all other brands. The design elements of hour markers, hands, case, bezel very consistently and elegantly follow the capsule theme. There are no prominent components of the design such as arrow-shape wide hands, bold discontinuities on the case surfaces; every design component is streamlined over the consistent design theme. Functionally, the watch face is very readable. And, it seems this design was given a Good Design Award in 2019. However, I understand that masculine/bold design features that are desirable for many in a sports watch may not be there. The watch is ISO certified to 200m water resistance and can be used for air diving. Wear is comfortable, although it is noticeably heavy due to not-so-small stainless steel case (43 mm) and bracelet (22 mm) with all solid links and a diver extension. The movement is Orient's own high-end automatic F6N47 which had approximately +5 seconds accuracy per day so far for me which is very good. When the watch is left alone at night accuracy is even better. In addition to hacking and hand-winding features, I found the power reserve (50 hours) indicator (usually found in watches with much higher price) very useful for hand winding in the days I pick another watch. The dial is dark blue with a slight sunburst with matching bezel. Rotation of bezel is unidirectional and, actually, a bit too easy. The watch feels very high quality in person with perfect fit and finish as can be expected from a higher-end Orient Star model. It might be tempting to see this watch as a dress watch due to its subdue style but it might not be an easy fit under a shirt sleeve especially with small wrists. Overall, I very much like it. For the market price, the value is stellar.

This Orient Star diver would be a steal for below 500 USD IF the following things were not present on the piece I received. Mis-aligned and too much back play for the bezel action. Also the crown is wobbly on the stem when adjusting or winding the movement. I had this issue with an Orient Triton and it broke within a month of ownership. Orient finally repaired under warranty but it took months and the crown is still wobbly. Love both watches other then that. The Star diver needed to go back as I did not want to risk. YMMV.