Orient Star Classic Skeleton Mechanical Review – Shivers up our bones for its 70th anniversary

Tags: Review | Orient Star | Men's | Classic | Traditional

29.9.2022 | 3 MIN

Japanese Orient is well-known among people and it's been on the market for a truly long time. There is an article dedicated to its long history on our website. But what I didn't know about the brand till recently is that it has a "high-end" group of watches called Orient Star. And to celebrate its 70^th birthday, the Orient Star Skeleton Mechanical model, which should be at the peak of production, was released.

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The first thing that will catch your attention is the movement, which is not hidden under a dial but visible in all its beauty. I have to say, I've never been a fan of skeleton watches, I've always thought it is way too lavish. However, I do have to admit that thanks to the perfect design of this watch, I had to reevaluate my opinion.

I've never been a fan of skeleton watches, I've always thought it is way too lavish. However I do have to admit that thanks to the perfect design of this watch, I had to reevaluate my opinion.

I didn't find even a hair out of place under a magnifying glass. The bridges are polished and neat, the dial-side is decorated with nacre, the back side with Geneva stripes. On the front side, we can find, besides the Orient Star logo, a small subdial for its off-centre hand and a scale of the indicator of power reserve.

As to make the time more easy to read, there is a scale around the movement with bold indices of hours and minutes. All hands are made in this beautiful dark shade of blue. A small plus for me is that the hands are not just simply sprayed with a blue coat, as it usually is with other Asian brands, but they are really blued.

The whole movement is made in either silver or champagne colour, the latter of which I had the opportunity to hold. Thanks to the small windows, we can see what's going on inside. At first, probably everyone will notice the rotating balance wheel kept in the shape of a comet with two tails (as the manufacturer states) by the bridge.

A more experienced eye will notice the interesting escape wheel. Both the colour and the complicated shape indicate that it is silicon. This material decreases friction and has high resistance against wear-and-tear. It is also not greatly affected by magnetism, which is amazing, but the rest of the movement which are prone to be affected, like the pallet or the balance spring, is still made from standard materials. Therefore, an owner of this watch should avoid magnetic fields.

The F8 movement's power reserve is higher than that of its siblings, the number is at 70 hours. Which seems like a reasonable and practical number. In reality, we can imagine that I put my watch away on Friday, then put them on on Monday, and it would still tick well.

When it comes to the accuracy, the manufacturer states from -5 to +15 a day. The piece I had, fully wound, tested using vibrograph in 5 positions, showed the average figure of 10 seconds a day. As days go by, the accuracy goes slightly down. Differences come to light specially in different positions of the watch. So, in reality, Orient after 48 hours adds only +2 seconds a day. However, this is quite a normal phenomenon caused by the weakening power of the spring barrel, and it can be found in any watch with a power reserve this long.

The strap is made of quality cordovan leather.

There is nothing negative to be said about the design. The case is polished by hand using the Sallaz method. The upper sapphire glass is coated by a both-sided anti-reflective layer, which is so effective that it makes the watch seem as if there was no glass at all.

The upper sapphire glass is coated by a both-sided anti-reflective layer, which is so effective that it makes the watch seem as if there was no glass at all.

If I'm going to be honest, I didn't expect much from this watch. As I've already said, I am not the biggest fan of skeleton watches, and on top of this, I mentally keep the Orient brand in the "affordable-for-ordinary-people watches" box. However, this timepiece has shown that Orient and Orient Star are two different things and that it was made by a premium brand.

I spent a long time thinking whether I could recommend the Skeletons to anyone. It's true that considering its price, the accuracy is not the best, and that it is not a certified chronometer. Not even the name of the watch is as desirable as some competition like Longines. On the other hand it is an intriguing Japanese watch, very well-made, with its own in-house movement giving it the feeling of exclusivity. For these reasons, I think the watch is worth at least your attention.

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