TIME PIECES

 Hello ladies and gents this is the Viking telling you that today we are talking about 

 Orient Watches – Interesting Things to Know

Orient is one of the most popular affordable watch brands on the market. Similar to Seiko and in some ways also Casio, Orient is known for making high-quality, affordable timepieces.

What makes Orient stand out is that many of its watches are mechanical. This makes them particularly popular amongst watch enthusiasts who enjoy the art of watchmaking and mechanical movements. But solely making mechanical watches is not enough to impress anyone. What impresses is Orient’s combination of great mechanical movements and superb value for money.

Orient is a Japanese watch brand with a long and rich history thanks to its long passion and devotion to watchmaking. They have built expertise and knowledge which has allowed them to manufacture beautiful timepieces with great quality and at affordable prices. This makes Orient’s watches, mechanical in particular, especially popular as there are few other watch brands on the market that offer the same relationship between quality and price.

If you are looking to learn more about Orient, the brand, its history, and its watches, you have come to the right place. In this article, we’re taking a closer look at some of the most interesting facts about Orient.

1. The history of Orient goes back to 1901

Dating back more than 100 years, the Orient watch company has a long and rich history. In 1901, the founder Shogoro Yoshida opened up a watch store named Yoshida Watch Shop in Tokyo, Japan. Yoshida started off selling imported pocket watches and became successful in doing so.

Yoshida established Toyo Tokey Manufacturing in 1920 and began manufacturing table clocks and gauges. Following the great success of this, he expanded his business to start producing wristwatches in 1934. It was during this time that the popularity of Orient watches increased and Orient became a well-known brand in Japan.

2. Orient closed in 1949

Following the devastating effects of World War II in Japan, Orient closed for business in 1949. However, this closing would only be short-lived as Yoshida started his operations again just one year later under a new name, Tama Keiki Company.

3. The orient name was established in 1951

Yoshida started his operations one year after closing his business in 1950 by opening Tama Keiki Company and one year later, in 1951, he changed the name of the company to Orient Watch Company, Limited, thus the official history of Orient started. In the same year, the first Orient watches were put on the market.

4. Orient is responsible for many innovations

Oftentimes, we associate innovation and new inventions with expensive luxury watches. After all, consistently pushing boundaries and inventing new watches costs a lot of resources. However, this didn’t stop Orient. The company is in fact responsible for several innovations, proving that the company put great effort into perfecting its craft and consistently improving its products. Orient launched the “Grand Prix 100” “Fineness” in 1964 which became the world’s thinnest automatic wristwatch with a day and date calendar at the time.

5. Orient Produces its own In-house Movements 

One of the reasons why Orient is so popular, especially when it comes to its mechanical watches, is that they make their own in-house movements. Orient has manufactured in-house mechanical movements for many years and for their price, this is a really impressive feat. When we think about in-house mechanical watches, we primarily think of expensive Swiss luxury watches. 

But Orient has successfully managed to develop and manufacture in-house mechanical watches without the hefty price tag that is often associated with this. There are very few other watch brands on the market that manufacture in-house mechanical watches at the prices that Orient offers its watches. This alone is a very impressive feat but also a great value proposition. Orient doesn’t have direct-to-consumer sales like some other brands. Some brands have even gone so far as to accept crypto so you can buy BNB and purchase their watches with crypto. But in that sense, Orient is a little more traditional.

Making in-house movements is a testimony of a true watch company and Orient certainly ticks the box, despite focusing on making affordable timepieces. Whilst Orient’s mechanical movements are not the most accurate on the market nor the best technology, the price will always be a factor and if we take that into consideration, there are few other watch companies that can compete.

In addition, Orient has consistently worked to improve the reliability and performance of its movements. For example, the Cal. 46 series was upgraded to the Cal. F6 series, which meant the introduction of hacking seconds and manual-winding function.

6. Orient puts great importance on Japanese craftsmanship

One of the reasons why Orient has gotten so popular in the last couple of years is the fact that it puts great importance on the art of watchmaking and craftsmanship. In particular Japanese craftsmanship.

Orient develops and manufactures all of its timepieces under strict standards and with careful quality controls. Normally, when it comes to watch brands in this price segment, you don’t see a lot of this. Instead, you see mass-produced watches with little to no care or attention to the details. But Orient is not like everyone else and instead prides itself on the reputation of Japanese quality and craftsmanship.

7. Orient has a wide collection of models

Today, Orient has a wide collection of watch models to cater to everyone’s tastes and preferences. Whilst its primary audience base prefers mechanical, Orient also makes quartz watches. Moreover, they make dress watches, sports watches, dive watches, and have numerous different functions such as date, day, and chronograph, just to name a few. Whether you want a simple, time-only watch, or a more complicated watch with more functions, Orient has it.

Moreover, Orient has a wide selection of timepieces in different price ranges depending on your own budget and preferences. You can opt for an affordable entry-level watch that costs just a few hundred, or you can opt for a more complicated timepiece that is in a more expensive segment.

8. Orient is not run by Seiko

There are myths and misconceptions about Orient and its relationship with Seiko. Some believe that Seiko manufactures the Orient watches which we have already established since Orient makes all of its watches themselves. Moreover, some people also believe that Orient is run by Seiko which is technically not true.

Orient Watch Co. is run and operated independently from Seiko. Yes, Orient is owned by The Seiko Group, which is the same group that owns a total of three companies, Seiko Instruments, Seiko Holding Corporation, and Seiko Epson Corporation. But this is just an ownership group that doesn’t automatically mean that the Seiko watch company (which is in the same group) has anything to do with Orient on an operational basis. Orient and Seiko are thus more of sister companies, with the parent company being The Seiko Group.

This brings us to the next point.

9. Orient was acquired by Epson

As already established, Orient is in the same watch group as Seiko. But in 2001, Seiko Epson became a majority shareholder of Orient (52%) and in 2009, Orient became fully owned by Seiko Epson.  With that said, Seiko doesn’t own Orient, but rather its core watch group, which also owns Seiko.

10. Orient has two brands: Orient and Orient Star

Chances are, you’ve seen the name Orient Star and wondered what the difference is. Are they two different brands? The answer is that Orient is the entry-level brand of Orient, whereas Orient Star is the higher-end line of watches from the company.

To meet and serve the wants and needs of its customers, Orient has created two different series of models which serve different needs and purposes. The Orient Star collection consists of more premium timepieces at higher price tags and often with more complicated functions. Orient, on the other hand, focuses on affordability and functionality. The Orient watches are durable, affordable, robust, and long-lasting.

And as always have a chilled day from the Viking