Even though I've always appreciated the creative dial design of this watch and its predecessor, it always felt like too much money for "another Orient".
Then I started contemplating buying a Seiko Presage Sharp Edge after seeing it in person, but dreading the awful 6R35 movement, which led me to look for an alternative. Somehow I stumbled upon this watch again and suddenly noticed the similarities in the case and bracelet design.
Long story short, I bought it and no photo or video does this watch justice. The case is even more detailed than the Seiko and every polished surface is mirror polished and all the brushing is consistent throughout the case and bracelet. The dial has 2 layers, where the top one is radially brushed and the bottom one is brushed vertically. This is subtle but with some specific lighting conditions, especially when lit with a single light source indoors, it looks special.
Then there are the hands, brushed in the middle and polished on the sides, providing a surprisingly good luminescence for a dressy watch, and indices dispersing light, appearing to be a different colour when the light angle changes. All of this is covered with a crystal with great anti reflective coating that appears absent most of the time.
Then, there is the movement, which while definitely not the most beautiful is the most accurate I've seen, beating Swiss chronometers. Compared to standard Orient movements, the winding is much quieter. I would choose this movement over an ETA 2824 any time as the only disadvantage is the lower beat rate.
The final part is the sturdy bracelet, finished to the same standard as the watch case, sized with pins and collars, which is amazing in this era of flimsy screws that require buying a hundred screwdrivers to finally find the one that fits, because there is no actual standard for the screw slot width.
This brings me to the only problem I found. The bracelet links are quite long and there are no half-links and not enough microadjustments to properly fit my wrist.
