Review: Orient Excursionist GMT Automatic Watch

Today I'm excited to review Orient's new Excursionist GMT automatic watch. It's unfortunate that the Orient brand isn't more well-known in the U.S. Not only is the brand owned by Seiko, Orient makes a full line of mechanical watches, all with true in-house movements.

[The reference number is FFE06001K, the model is "Excursionist"]

My son (just turned 13 years old) was given an Orient automatic watch with a power reserve display a little over a year ago. He wears it daily and it's held up quite well. The power reserve display shows that this movement is a very quick winder on the wrist.

[See the Diver's Style Watches]

As part of this review, the people at Orient USA have provided a special coupon code to use when purchasing the watch for 40% off the MSRP! Be sure to use the coupon code "amatureecon40" when checking out.

[Don't miss the video review at Orient USA's site]

Now, admittedly, no one is going to confuse this watch with a Patek or Rolex. But these are solid watches, and you won't find many other in-house mechanical movement watches near the price. And if you are looking specifically for watches with an additional GMT/24h hand, the list quickly becomes much much smaller.

[All Orient related posts at aBlogToRead]

While perhaps not technically a diver (no uni-directional bezel), the watch is rated to 200m of WR, and has a screw-down crown. The bracelet is a very solid oyster type setup, with split pins, and a fold-over double push button safety clasp. Note that the links are solid, not folded steel as seen in many cheaper bracelets.

The case is large and quite solid; this is definitely a large tough watch, but not ridiculously so. I also like the fact that the case is of a reasonable size (45mm). Orient resisted the temptation to plop the movement into a 50mm case.

The GMT hand does not appear to be separately adjustable, so if you want to use it to track time in another timezone you must use the rotating bezel, which rotates in both directions. I believe this is the way the original Rolex GMT operated for a long time.

[Hodinkee has a nice video review of this watch, worth checking out]

In addition to a 24h scale the bezel also provided compass markings. I'm not really a fan as that makes it a little busy visually, but it might come in handy for some.

The automatic movement is Orient's caliber 46P40, and made in Japan.

With an MSRP of $375.00, you can clear this for $225 with the coupon code, a nice deal. Again, you would be very hard-pressed to find solid, proven mechanical watches for this kind of money, let-alone in-house and with a GMT complication. Be sure to check out the links below the pics.










Additional links:
VIDEO REVIEW: The Orient Excursionist, A Very Affordable & Rugged GMT
YouTube - Orient Diver FFE06001K Automatic Watch
All Orient related posts at aBlogToRead
FFE06001B Excursionist has arrived ...
Orient Excursionist is here!
Horology.edu Says ORIENT WATCH Movement Better Than Swiss ETA Movement
Orient Diver Automatic Saturation Diver CFD0C001B Watch Review