Orient Men's Japanese Automatic/Hand Winding 200 M Diver Style Watch RA-AA08

I am going to list why I think the Orient RA-AA081 (sometimes called Kamasu 2) is absolute top tier in the world of watches (Not just "cheap" watches).Case/Band: The finishing on the case and band is excellent I like that all of the band lengths are brushed, without any polishing. Polished links show scratches much more easily. The band links are held together by directional punch pins, and can be easily removed using a cheap tool.Clasp: The clasp has a spring loaded release on each side, and then has an additional flip-down locking tab. It also has four micro adjustment positions that can be set without removing lengths. The clasp works well, and is secure.Bezel: The rotating bezel does not slip or wobble. It is secure with very positive clicks. The coin edge is well cut and gives excellent feel and grip. The rotation of the bezel on a dive watch is extremely important as it has real utility (as a timer), and is not for decoration only.Crystal: The single feature that puts this watch in top tier above almost anything else at this price point is the sapphire crystal. Nearly every watch at this price ($225) has acrylic (plastic), mineral glass, hardlex, etc. Mineral glass has a Mohs hardness of approximately 4-5. Synthetic sapphire is approximately 9. There are very few things that can scratch sapphire, diamond and tungsten carbide being two. Sapphire is found on most watches costing thousands of dollars (Rolex/Omega/etc), but is not often available at this price point. Orient Bambino doesn't have it. Citizen Garrison (BM8180-03E ) doesn't have it. Seiko Presage (SRPE45J1) at $500 doesn't have it. Seiko 5 (SNKL45 ) doesn't have it. Citizen Promaster Diver (BN0158-00X) doesn't have it.Screw down crown: The crown is a very legitimate screw down. I agree with other reviewers that it is slightly too small, but it is rarely manipulated. The threads are well cut and smooth. When closing the crown, It is sometimes difficult to know when the crown is properly engaged on the threads, so be careful, LISTEN to it, and don't force it. It does not take much force at all to close the crown, and it does not need to be torqued at the end, so DON'T over-tighten it. Always make sure you have the crown properly screwed down, or the watch will lose all water resistance.Water-Resistance: Manufacturer claims water resistant to 20 bar. That is approximately 200 meters (656 feet) beneath water. Is it? I don't know, and I'm not going to test it. I can report that this watch has survived many expeditions to the kitchen sink and rain filled journeys across urban parking lots.Movement: This watch is automatic (self-winding by momentum of wrist), powered by the Orient F6922 movement. This means the watch is fully mechanical, without any batteries, electric, etc. It "ticks" and keeps time using gears, spring(s), etc. This is opposed to a Quartz movement that takes a battery (and actually keeps much better time). You can research mechanical vs quartz, but I have had both, and prefer automatic on analog watches.Accuracy/Precision: My watch runs consistently at about +7 seconds per day against atomic time. COSC chronometer certification (really expensive automatic watches) specifies a precision of -4 sec to +6 sec per day. So my watch, out of the box, isn't far off from COSC time keeping specs. It is important to note that my watch being consistently +7 seconds per day, every day, indicates my watch is actually very precise. My watch could likely be regulated within COSC parameters if I wanted to open the caseback and adjust the regulation lever.Winding/Hacking: The Orient F6922 movement is both hand windable, and hackable. This means it can be hand wound when not being worn, and the second hand can be hacked (stopped) when setting the watch, so that it may be set to the exact second.Day/Date setting: The day and the date can both be set independently of the hands, so it not necessary to advance the hands around and around to set the date. The day can be set for either English or Spanish. This is somewhat confusing at first, so read the manual very carefully. When the day is correctly setup for English, the day will actually change to Spanish for a little while after midnight, before then changing again to the English day. This is normal and as designed. Basically, the physical day rotor is printed English/Spanish/English/Spanish and the gear train moves the rotor two positions over a few hours at the start of each day, so after midnight a watch set to English will move English-Spanish-English and a watch set to Spanish will move Spanish-English-Spanish and then hold the correct language for the remainder of the day.Caseback: This watch does not have a display caseback, so the gears can't be seen, the solid caseback is pleasantly thin, and it is VERY quiet.Lum: The hour markers are luminous, charged by light. The lum is fairly good, and is easily legible for at least an hour if well charged before going into darkness.Dial: The turquoise dial on the RA-AA0811E19B is beautiful, and everything is aligned well.Summary: I have not found another watch near this price point that I like this much. This watch is high quality, with a sapphire crystal, a really nice rotating bezel, and a screw down crown. The only criticism I can find is the crown being a little small.-----------------------------------------------One year review:Band: I still like the factory band and think it looks great. I did replace mine with a Barton 22mm NATO that is more comfortable and lighter for daily wear.Crystal: The sapphire crystal is still in perfect condition without a single scratch or blemishBezel: The bezel has accumulated little scratches, dings, and other minor damage from daily wear. No stars deducted as this could happen to any watch.Accuracy/Precision: My watch maintained its approximate factory accuracy for a year. I then decided to open the caseback and regulate the speed and beat error myself. This is a very fine process, and there is a real risk of permanently damaging the watch if mistakes are made. I stopped the balance wheel by hacking the seconds hand (pulling the crown all the way out) before making each adjustment. Using a timegrapher app on my phone and the built in microphone, I was able to achieve -1 second per day face-up and 0.1ms beat error. This has been holding fairly stable and my current accuracy is fantastic.——————————Update: The watch has slowly drifted and is currently running about +13 seconds a day.

Pros:-Dial color/gradient is eye catching, matches well with off-white indices-Case is really well finished with sapphire, very aesthetically pleasing-perfect size for 7.25 inch wrist, not too big and heavy, but has wrist presence-really enjoy wearing itCons:-stock bracelet: I didn’t have as much of a problem with the folded end links like most people complain about. But the fact that there was not a full taper made the proportions really unpleasant to look at. Swapped it out for an islander with solid male end links and the watch looks much better now. (Wrist photo shows new bracelet)-accuracy is +10 seconds a day after wearing two weeks. Well within spec, and not bad. But I have an invicta pro diver with nh35 that gets +2 seconds per day so the bar was artificially high for inexpensive Japanese movementsOverall, recommend if you’re looking for great value and are willing to swap the bracelet. With an extra bracelet, this watch punches way above it’s weight and still came in under $300

The Orient 200 M Diver Style Watch RA-AA08, also known as the Kamasu 2, is a timepiece that stands out in the world of watches, not just in the "cheap" category. Here are some key features that make this watch an excellent choice:Case/Band: The finishing on the case and band is of excellent quality. The brushed finish on all the band lengths gives it a sophisticated look while minimizing the visibility of scratches. The band links are held together by directional punch pins, allowing for easy removal using an inexpensive tool.Clasp: The clasp on this watch is well-designed and secure. It features a spring-loaded release on each side and an additional flip-down locking tab. The clasp also offers four micro-adjustment positions, allowing for a comfortable and precise fit.Bezel: The rotating bezel on the Kamasu 2 is secure and has very positive clicks. The well-cut coin edge provides an excellent feel and grip, essential for the functionality of a dive watch.Crystal: One standout feature of this watch is its sapphire crystal. While many watches in this price range typically use acrylic, mineral glass, or hardlex, the Orient Kamasu 2 comes equipped with a synthetic sapphire crystal. Sapphire is highly scratch-resistant, with only diamond and tungsten carbide being harder. This feature is usually found in watches costing thousands of dollars, making it exceptional for a watch at this price point.Screw-down Crown: The crown on the Kamasu 2 is a legitimate screw-down crown, adding to the watch's water resistance. While it may be slightly small, it is rarely manipulated. The threads are well-cut and smooth, ensuring ease of use. It is important to ensure the crown is properly engaged on the threads to maintain water resistance.Water Resistance: The manufacturer claims a water resistance rating of 20 bar, which is approximately 200 meters or 656 feet. Although I cannot personally verify this claim, the watch has reportedly survived exposure to water during everyday activities without any issues.Movement: The Orient RA-AA08 features an automatic self-winding movement, powered by the momentum of the wearer's wrist. This ensures accurate timekeeping without the need for manual windingOverall, the Orient Kamasu 2 is a high-quality timepiece that offers excellent value for its price. With its impressive features such as a sapphire crystal, reliable water resistance, and attention to detail in design and finishing, it stands out among watches in its category.

Been wearing it all day everyday lately. Wore it sleeping Thursday night; the lume lasted almost to sunup. Left it on in the shower, no problem. Then wore it all day with my suit at a business conference. Today I wore it working around the house. Fits in everywhere, and has a great feature set—hacking so you can set it precisely, hand winding, a couple day reserve, day, date, and timer bezel. Plus it looks good. Wore it to the tennis courts last week and somebody said “Nice Rolex.” Well, no, not quite, but still pretty impressive looks for the money. And it keeps excellent time. As near as I can tell, mine is running about +20 seconds a day, which is good enough for me. I don’t need military precision.