The Orient 25 Anos (25 years jubilee) watch is produced in Brazil on license from the Orient Watch Company.
Orient watches are available here in Denmark, but only the ones made in the far east and not in Brazil - and only as quartz. However, Orient produces some very interesting and affordable mechanical watches, just like this one and in various other styles. This particualar watch is a birthday present from my good freind in Brazil, Mario Picanco and I have been meaning to cook up a review ever since I got it this summer !What initially surprised me the most, was the very nice finish ! Mario had told me they were affordable watches and not anything special. In fact he had warned me against expecting too much ! So, I didn?t expect too much but was pleasantly surprised ! I adjusted the bracelet and wore it all day ! That was untill my wife got home ! She took one look at it and asked to try it on ! That was a big mistake to let her do that, cause I couldn?t get it off her again !
When I e-mailed Mario and told him how much I liked it and how much Lene (my wife) liked it too, being the great guy he is, he sent Lene one two, so I could get to wear my watch ! That ladies and gentlemen, is class !The case is 35 mm in diameter and 9 mm thick. The finish is polished on top and vertically brushed on the sides. That is quite unusual, since the brushing normally is horisontal. The effect here is very nice though ! The caseback is brushed/polished solid steel and screw down. The text on the caseback seems to be engraved, nut on closer inspection it is stamped. No problem, it's very nicely done and the caseback looks great. Actually, that wasn another nice surprise ! The crystal raises slightly above the stepped bezel. The dial on this model is white with black roman numerals, day and date. For those who haven?t seen this watch before, I have to mention that the "day" is both in portugese and english. I shall say no more, the picture pretty much speaks for itself ! The day, btw, is Friday, "Sextafeira" in portugese !:-)
The 18 mm steel bracelet is very, very nice and comfortable. The outer links are solid, while the inner links are hollow. It was extremely easy to adjust but hasn?t shown any signs of coming apart. The clasp is flip lock and has an added security clasp as well. The bracelet doesn?t taper at all, wich gives it a sporty look and I think it goes great with the watch ! I feared it would be a hairgrapper, but it proved to be extremely hair freindly and I have had no problems wearing it at all.
Why is there no picture of the movement ? Well, I haven?t been able to bring myself to open the watch, that?s why ! I don?t know much about the technical details, but you are never left in doubt if it indeed is an automatic ! The rotor is loud and obviously heavy enough to be felt rotating ! Mario has seen the movement and I think he said so-mething like this "very simple and solid !" That?s fine with me and I can only say it has perfor-med within +/- 10 seconds every time I have tested it for accuracy !
I love this watch ! And not merely because it is a gift from a great freind, but also because it is a very nice watch that surprised me with great finish, fit and feel ! If you can get hold of one, I highly recommend it ! Thanks for the watch, Mario, from both me and Lene !