Review and contest: Orient CEM75001B and CEM65001B

Not only do we have a review of two Orient watches today, they’re also yours to win on on Twitter contest detailed below. What we have here are two versions of Orient’s mechanical dress diver with automatic movements, day/date, dive bezels, and quickset day. The differences are in the style details, and overall appearance.

Some specifications to get us started:

• Orient models CEM75001B (Left) and CEM65001B (right). The second is already nicknamed ‘Mako,’ and the first is the ‘New Mako.’
• Water resistant to 200m (660ft).
• Oyster-style bracelets with solid links, hollow end links, pushbutton latch, and fliplock. 3 micro adjustments on the clasp.
• Stainless steel case and bracelet.
• Screw-down crown and caseback.
• Mineral crystal.
• 60-click bezel.
• Lumed hands and indices.
• Available online for $190 and $250 MSRP, but if you enter “watchreport50”, you get 50% off!

Please read on for the full review and contest details.

It’s interesting to me to see how Orient evolved the look from the Mako to new Mako. They went from simple sword hands to an arrow design, increased the size and weight a bit, changed from a red second hand to a lume-tipped one, and enlarged the bezel font quite a bit. Also notice the button at two o’clock: this is a peculiarity of many automatic Orients that advances the day with a single push. On the Mako, the button has a collar screw lock; on the new Mako, it’s a simple button but reduced in size and profile.

Bracelets are identical, though the new Mako is 2mm wider. This is my all-time-favorite style; the brushed-finish Oyster is simple, functional, and classic.

Both have lugs that curve to wrap around your wrist as shown — quite comfortable and doesn’t move around while being worn.

The new Mako bezel is bolder, though in two ways I prefer the older version: it has a triangle instead of ’60’, and a lume dot. Both are more for looks than diving as the polished edges are slippery when wet. Usable, but not effortless.

The lume is similar on both: initially good but dimming more rapidly than I’d like; probably readable for 4-6 hours. Not shabby, but not Monster grade, either.

The Mako line is available in a variety of dial colors; Orient USA tells us that the blue-dialed Mako is their best selling watch. It’s not hard to tell why: inexpensive, well made, functional, and quite legible. I rather like the ‘6/9/12’ Arabics on the dial; very cool looking and a nice balance to the day and date at 3 o’clock.

The new Mako dial switches to larger markers with a double-width polygon at 12 o’clock. Similarly, the hands have a more complex shape and are bevelled instead of flat. Which do you prefer?

I have a 7.5″ wrist, and slightly prefer the fit of the new Mako, though both work pretty well in my opinion.

Timekeeping for both is basically identical, at within 20 seconds per day. These are well-made but mass produced movements, and will last for many years with a tuneup every 3-5 years. I’d expect that they could be regulated to within ten seconds per day by a watchmaker if accuracy is important to you.

The Contest!

As many of you know, we are active on Twitter as watchreport, and have been enjoying its ability to communicate with readers without the spambot problems we’ve had with forums. We’ve had good luck with Twitter-based contests before, so we’ll go this route again, and of course encourage you to follow us for news, tidbits, and review announcements!

The rules:

1. Limit one prize per person.
2. Participants must be legal residents of the U.S.
3. To enter, simply tweet why you think you should win, and tag your tweet either #wr-mako or #wr-mako2 to show which one you’d like to win. (Examples below.)
4. Contest runs from 9AM March 22nd to 5PM March 26th (PDT).
5. Watch Report staff will make the decisions as to who wins, based on our opinions of which tweets we liked the best.
6. Winners will be notified via Twitter (therefore you must be following us to be notified), and after you send us your mailing address via email, we will mail prizes out via USPS.
7. Prizes will be shipped via regular mail to the participant at the address they indicate via email within 45 days of notification of winning. Allow 2-4 weeks for delivery.
8. No cash equivalent or other substitution permitted, and prizes are nontransferable.
9. Watch Report is not responsible for any injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising in connection with this contest or the prizes.
10. Promotion offer valid while supplies last.
11. Void where prohibited by law.

Example tweets:

• I am going to Tarawa for my honeymoon and need a watch that can do a wedding and diving. #wr-mako2
• I’m a classic guy with classic tastes, and my Timex just died. #wr-mako

The Discount

If you aren’t lucky in the contest, Orient USA has generously agreed to a huge discount for Watch Report readers: a whopping half off on all Orient watches! Just enter “watchreport50” in the coupon field when purchasing.

Our thanks to Orient USA for the two watches, and for extending the discount to our readers.

Update (3/31/2010):

We had a huge number of awesome responses. We’ll definitely be doing more of these in the future.

You can see the entries here (Mako) and here (Mako2), but here are the winning tweets:

“I have about 90 seconds to roll my kayak upright before I pass out; might as well watch those seconds sail by in style. #wr-mako” – Sean Krajacic

“I have a dive meeting tomorrow. I am a volunteer rescue diver and need a watch to go from the office to the water and back. #wr-mako2” – Paul Broussard

Sean has already received the Mako:

Paul,

Wow, that was super fast. The package was at the doorstep this morning.

The watch is perfect! After putting it on, it feels more like winning the
lottery than a time piece ... well, almost.

Keep up the good work.

Thanks again,
Sean

P.S. I'm so pleased that I ordered the exact watch for my dad for Father's Day.

We look forward to hearing a report on how it works in a kayak!

By Paul Hubbard