Orient Classic Sun and Moon Automatic RA-AS00 – Wear its Heart on your Wrist

Tags: Review | Orient | Men's | Classic | Elegance

21.3.2022 | 4 MIN

Orient Classic Sun Moon Automatic RA-AS00 certainly doesn't fit into the unnoticeable formal watches category. Why should it be this charismatic Japanese guy keeping you company? Keep on reading!

Choosing your formal watches can be a tough nut to crack. You might choose a simple, elegant watch. The unnoticeable, maybe somewhat boring kind. Many people would rather choose a sporty watch instead of a dress watch and pretend that it is actually alright. They take it to the theatre, to an interview, business meeting. Why spend your money on another watch?

Because there might be some situations in life where our sports watch just does not belong. Although your G-Shocks are a great piece of equipment when going hiking, your 'Turtle' watch will go with your swimsuit, you need to suit up with a formal watch when going to a ball.

King of the dance floor

But what if every single one of the heaps of formal watches seems bland? That's when Orient hurries to your rescue with its Sun and Moon Automatic RA-AS00 model.

Elegant. Charismatic. Surprisingly dynamic. I could end this article right here. Buy them, the end. However, I would basically brush this Orient model off, and it doesn't deserve that. With a watch looking as interesting as this one, you will be looking for any chance to wear it. So, what makes the watch so interesting?

The watch is dominated by the dial with an open heart showing you the balance wheel and the hairspring. No, this watch really isn't battery operated. Owners of this watch can look deeper into the world of mechanical watches. If you are not sure how a watch like this actually works, this watch will help you understand.

It can be best described on a real-life example, and now you can have it on your watch. The parts you can see in the window are polished with red-purple synthetic rubies. The rest of the dial has an elegant, soft texture, the part of the dial with numbers is smooth. The polished hour indices are accompanied by the Roman numbers 12 and 3.

Day and night

Under the hands, a piece of the name of the watch hides – Sun & Moon – indicator of day and night. We all are familiar with the moon phase indicator from other formal watches. The complication of sun & moon might be a bit less romantic, however, you can find a practical use for it. Anyone who has some experience with the midnight sun or polar night will agree.

4.10.2021
The moon phase complication – The most breathtaking and unnecessary complication

What it means in real life is that the watch shows either day-light skies with the Sun, or starry skies with the Moon depending on the time of the day. As it is with the moon phase complication, the disc rotates as the time goes by. This results in more aesthetically pleasing portrayal of the time of the day, just like with a 24-hour indicator.

Blue leaf-type hands read the time, while adding to the elegant feeling of the watch as a whole. All these elements combine into one big show when worn in the daylight or in the light of spotlights at a dance. This is when the watch stands out the most, so much that one can only admire its beautiful looks.

Great showman

The case is stainless steel, and it is polished. But you have to keep in mind the dimension of the watch. The diameter of 42 mm (1.65") is still acceptable for most people, but the thickness of 14-millimeter (0.55") is usually typical of diving watches. However unlike diving watches, this watch states the water resistance only up to 50 meters (164 ft), which is sufficient for this kind of watch. The short lugs are pointed downward, so the lug-to-lug width stayed at 49.5 mm (19.5"). Thanks to that, the watch fits your arms and nicely hugs your wrist.

The Japanese thought to themselves that they could show you the whole movement, even from the behind, and so they made the case back "open," not "closed." It is a mineral glass, unlike the sapphire glass covering the dial. The calibre is the automatic F6L24. The power reserve of this movement is 40 hours and offers the hacking and hand winding options. You might hear the spinning rotor sometimes, but unless you are in a dead silent room, you will hardly ever notice it.

The Sun is setting

The Japanese producer of the whole Sun and Moon collection shows that you don't need to get bored when looking at a formal watch. If you want a watch with a metal bracelet, you can choose the option with black dial. Or maybe the more elegant bi-colour option with yellow-gold elements. The most universal (and the most formal) is the option with white dial and black leather strap (employing a folding clasp).

And what about the competition? You might feel like taking a model of the Seiko Cocktail Edition to the bar. But not all of them have a window into the ticking heart of the watch. That said, if you purchase a watch made in the land of the rising Sun, it should only be a watch with the rising Sun...

Advantages:
Open heart, visible movement
Sun and Moon complication
Elegant and interesting at the same time
Good price/performance ratio

Disadvantages:
Larger dimensions – especially the thickness

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