Orient Nami Review & Complete Guide
Orient is a watch brand that is appreciated for its affordable yet high-quality watches that punch well above the vast majority of competitors with watches at the same price point.
Orient is, unfortunately, also a brand that hasn’t gotten the same exposure as brands such as Casio and Seiko, but this is slowly but surely changing as Orient is starting to get the recognition it deserves. And we are happy to do our part in this.
If you are looking for a robust, bulky, and sporty dive watch, the Orient Nami may just be the watch for you. This is a watch that has a distinct design and, like many Orient watches, offers great value for money.
With this watch, you are really getting your money’s worth, and it will become very evident when we look at it in detail. But some of the things that it offers are solid build quality, nice finishing, and an in-house movement, to mention a few aspects.
The Orient Nami is built as a big and robust dive watch and is, therefore, most suitable for individuals with large wrists or for those who enjoy large watches. The name Nami services from the Japanese for ”wave”, which is obviously appropriate for a dive watch. The Orient Nami is available in a number of different iterations with different designs, in particular referring to the dial and bezel of this watch.
Now without further ado, let’s review the Orient Nami.
Case
The Orient Nami is designed as a perfect durable daily beater that can handle virtually anything you subject it to. At the same time, it also works great as an everyday watch.
The Nami is presented with a stainless steel case with a diameter of 46mm and a thickness of 13. One of Orient’s most popular dive watches is the Mako. This is a really nice watch with great performance, but it is a watch with a diameter of 41.5mm. And with that said, the Nami is the answer to those who have been asking for a bigger and more robust timepiece.
The case design of the Nami is also distinct and stands out. It has thick lugs that are angled aggressively downwards which, whilst the case is big, makes it sit better on the wrist, and appear more elegant. You may think that the case is huge but it actually wears slimmer than its profile may suggest. This is also contributed by the fact that Orient has omitted the crown guards which makes it less bulky on the wrist. Many owners of this watch agree that it certainly doesn’t feel like 46mm on the wrist, although it is indeed big.
The top of the case has a satin finish which adds to its sporty appearance, but the sides of the case have been polished. This creates a nice contrast and shows that Orient has paid attention to detail. It truly enhances its appearance and impression of quality.
The watch is obviously a dive watch and therefore needs good water resistance. The Name has a water resistance of 200m/660 feet, meaning you can go swimming and diving with it without any issues.
In addition, a dive watch also needs a unidirectional bezel, and the bezel of this watch is also quite big with teeth around it for better grip and easier operation. The bezel has a black insert with a luminous pip at 12 o’clock which helps with the reading of the bezel in the dark. A nice design feature of the bezel that Orient has done a really good job with to make it look more interesting is that it has a transparent bezel. Through the transparent bezel, you can see the markers with are positioned right behind it. This makes the watch more interesting and provides depth to the bezel. It also makes it stand out from the crowd as most affordable divers tend to have aluminum inserts.
Whilst the transparent insert makes the watch more vibrant, the resin is more easily scratched, so this is worth having in mind.
On top of the case, Orient uses a mineral crystal. Whilst it would have been nice to see a sapphire crystal, it’s not the end of the world considering its price.
Dial
The dial of the Orient Nami offers exactly what you expect a good dive watch to offer. This means good legibility, a clean and simple dial, and great luminescence.
Our favorite of the Nami is the version with a blue dial due to its striking blue sunburst finish which reflects the light beautifully.
The dial has large applied rectangular hour markers with metal frames and applied luminescent material. Positioned at 3 o’clock, it has a date window which is great for convenience and for everyday use. The date window has a metal frame around it which creates a nice and distinct cutout that blends in with the rest of the dial design.
The hands are rectangular with point tips and have metal frames and applied luminescence, also known as ”pencil” style.
What we appreciate about the dial is that Orient has focused on what matters. The dial is clean, sleek, and elegant, but has great legibility thanks to the unusually large hands and markers. The finishing of the dial is quite good, and things like dial printing and the finishing of the markers are nicely finished.
Movement
The watch is powered by the in-house Automatic Orient caliber F6724. This movement is a great value proposition for this watch. This is because there are few automatic watches in this price range with automatic movements, and in addition to this, it has both manual-winding and hacking seconds functions.
The movement has a power reserve of 40 hours and is known as a workhorse that is able to continue to tick for years without needing maintenance or service.
All in all, this is a movement that offers exceptional value, in particular in a watch at this price point.
Strap
The watch is presented on a black integrated rubber strap. Rubber straps always go very well together with dive watches, so it is a very appropriate choice from Orient. Rubber is durable, water-resistant, and allows for a sporty look. The rubber strap is overall comfortable and gives a nice impression of quality, but some people do of course favor steel bracelets. Perhaps many would find it nice if Orient also offered a bracelet version so people can choose.
Specifications
- Diameter: 46mm
- Thickness: 13mm
- Crystal: Mineral
- Water-resistance: 200m/660 feet
- Movement: In-house Orient caliber F6724 with hacking function
- Strap: rubber
- Crown: screw-down
- Case back: screw-down
- Bezel: unidirectional, 120-clicks
- Frequency: 21600 BPH
Conclusion
All in all, it’s easy to see why the Orient Nami is so popular.
This is a high-quality, high-performance dive watch with nice styling, great attention to detail, and an impressive in-house movement. All at a very attractive price.
Orient stays true to classic dive watch designs but has upped the size a bit for those who prefer watches with a greater presence on the wrist. Considering all of the factors and elements discussed above, it’s hard to find watches in the same price range that tick all those boxes.
Its design has a nice combination of beautiful and classic lines with functionality, reliability, and performance that makes it ready to take on any challenge. Whilst it is a dive watch, the Orient Nami will work excellently as an every day, vacation, or summertime watch.
The Orient Nami is available to order on Amazon.
Main photo by Ablogtowatch.
