I have been searching for a vintage automatic dress watch for some time, one that has the kind of classic looks you would see in Mad Men. It needs to be simple, readable, accurate within reason and not crazily priced because of the brand name. I do not care about the brand in this instance, all I have wanted is a simple and classic looking watch that looks just right. It is not a show off watch or one to impress others, watches should never be that, and it does not need to look expensive.

I was looking for the opposite of expensive and wanted an every day watch that I could wear when the Seamaster felt a little too much on the wrist. After a few months of searching I gave up because almost all vintage watches are 36mm in diameter or below which is too small for my 7.5″ wrist. I do not mind a small watch, but when you look down and it appears comically tiny it is never going to work.

Enter the Orient Bambino, or more specifically the RA-AC0020G10B, which I was sent to try. With little expectation I accepted the loan watch and after a few days it appeared at my door.

Five minutes later and I knew that my search was over. Bingo! Here it was, a 41mm watch that sits on my wrist perfectly, that has a dial colour to kill for and an asking price (to me) below £200. It just felt right.

That was two weeks ago and my Seamaster has been on my wrist for two days in that time with the Bambino dominating on the other twelve days. It is so easy to wear and to glance down at the time which is show in perfect clarity.

The markers, hands and dimensions are all perfect and there is something very ‘watchy’ about this design. It is beautiful and obvious at the same time. It is simplistic yet carefully considered, and it is vintage in a timeless way.

The movement is not great to look at and I would prefer a solid casebook just to hide it, but with timings of +2.2 seconds per day on average I am more than pleased.

Orient is a sub-brand of Seiko and to many is a better value option. With Seiko pricing increasing every month while the build quality doesn’t improve, Orient feels like a good space to be in to me and the value is obvious in every area.

The no nonsense packaging does not impact on the value although the two manuals you receive are needlessly big. The included mesh bracelet is actually very well made, but not to my personal taste- I have been wearing it on a brown leather strap and a jubilee bracelet which both work beautiful in contrast to the dial.

The 21mm lug width is a pain because 98% of watch straps are 20 or 22mm so there is always a 1mm gap for me. It isn’t the end of the world, but nonsensical because 20mm would suit the case better. The date is too small and in my view not needed in such a design. Simplicity should be everything here and I would personally remove it, and possibly the second hand could be removed as well to offer the most simplistic time only experience. See below, for my AI mockup of a simpler solution.

And that’s it. This has proved to be a watch that I know for certain will stay with me. I have my Omega Seamaster as a daily/special watch, an Omega Constellation as a vintage throwback, a G-Shock for the days when I can do vigorous stuff again and this Orient for all other times. For circa £200 it is amazing value given the growing cost of timepieces from most brands today.

Note: I have received a couple of emails asking if I have given up the website- I have not. I will try to add something to the site at least once per month. This short review has taken me ten days to complete because my health has continued to decline as the symptoms become more common and more severe. This has meant no social media, little communication and as little screen time as possible because cognitive stuff has been proved to be my kryptonite. I am doing all I can to pace myself while still working part time, but I suspect that my job will have to be given up soon.

This appears to happen with the majority who have ME/CFS and I need to remember that nothing is as important as doing all I can to avoid becoming severe. Will hopefully be back with something within a month.

Categories: Watch Reviews, Watches