What Makes A Good Watch So Good? In-Depth Analysis Of A Brilliant Budget Orient Watch
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In a post a few months ago, I touched on how a watch like this Orient presented much better value than a fashion watch.
That gave me an idea. How about I properly explain why that’s the case? What makes this ‘good watch’ good for the price and some of the alternatives not so much?
I figured we’d turn this into a review and buying guide at the same time, to answer that very question.
Of course, the definition of what constitutes a good watch is subjective but I think there are some useful things you can look out for.
By the way, this article is going to cover the more attainable end of the market, not the luxury high-end stuff.
Price
Price is, of course, the most important factor in all of this. This Orient typically retails for just below £200 for reference. Honestly, I think even a basic watch can be considered good if priced appropriately. Of course, some watches are so poorly constructed that they constitute a complete waste of materials; regardless of price. I wouldn’t recommend dropping just a fiver on a wristwatch.
However, for most watches, we have to judge the product first, to see if the price is appropriate.
When considering the product, it’s important to keep one thought in your mind. How much time and effort has gone into creating and producing it? Store that message in your brain right now. The reason I say this is because this factor varies wildly in the affordable watch space. More so than in almost any other industry that I’m aware of.
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Design
Original design is something I’ve grown to appreciate far more over the years. There are a plethora of brands out there whos repertoire solely consists of ‘homage watches’, which rip off famous designs to differing degrees. While these can provide the overall look of a popular watch for less money, I struggle to find true enjoyment from them because it’s not their design. In most cases, the brand has just copy and pasted from a more successful company, with minor changes; which is not difficult to accomplish.
I admire when a company goes to the effort of designing something that has its own identity. Almost as if the watch is considered a piece of art, rather than a lazy attempt to grab your wallet. One trick to be aware of is when brands pump of incredibly lacklustre and ill-conceived watches under the mask of ‘minimalism’. While minimalist watches are less busy than other watch dials, it doesn’t mean you should be persuaded into buying a watch that looks like it’s mapped out in about 9 seconds.
Looking at the Orient in front of me, it has a design that I can’t say reminds me of any other. It’s certainly not a copy and paste job either and looks like its design has been considered for some time. I think it’s great looking too, which is also worth highlighting.
We’re in the age now where technological advances have virtually rendered wristwatches redundant. Therefore, I think the aesthetics are more crucial than ever, with the standard wristwatch taking its place as more of a fashion accessory than an inherently functional item.
I’m not going to tell you what you like the look of…that’s up to you! However, I will say it’s worth scouting around a bit to see if there’s anything that looks just as good but hits more of the criteria in this post.
In my opinion, this Orient looks better than the Filippo Loreti, especially on a macro-level, which I’ll mention in a moment. The latter is too flashy for me but is far from the worst-looking watch I’ve come across.
*UPDATE*
This open-heart Orient was refreshed in 2024 with an array of bright new colors, including Icy Blue, Red, Green/Gold, and Silver/Gold. You can learn more about the new models in our Top 20 Orient roundup video.
Materials
A crucial factor linked with this is the level of construction and the materials used. If a watch is made of poor materials, it’s inevitably going to end up looking shabby very quickly.
316L stainless steel is the industry standard material for wristwatches above the £40 mark in the UK. Both watches I have showcased are constructed of this metal, so their cases will generally perform the same when it comes to scratches and corrosion.
Lesser materials include the likes of zinc alloy and resin, along with other types of stainless steel, such as 304L, which has worse corrosion properties than 316L. Unless you’re buying a super-budget Casio, I’d steer clear of these other materials where you can help it. We’ve also discussed the likes of titanium watches before on this blog before, so have a look around for more information on that alternative metal.
Folded Link Bracelet
Solid Link Bracelet
You’ll notice that bracelets and straps are constructed to different levels too. Many budget options come with rudimentary folded links, which are cheap and easy to manufacture. Others, including this Orient, house solid links, which are more expensive to produce and more comfortable on-wrist, as they’re less likely to pull hairs. One thing this Orient bracelet is missing is solid end links and the clasp is rather basic too, but overall it’s fine for the money.
The Filippo Loreti strap was the best part of that package, but I’ve seen some awful ones on the likes of Daniel Wellington and MVMT; which would likely have become unusable after a couple of months of usage.
When it comes to crystals (glass) over the dial, you’ll see some major differences in performance. This Orient features a sapphire crystal, which is typically considered the best material due to its incredible scratch resistance. Many low-end watches utilise a more affordable mineral crystal, which does offer better shatter resistance but scratches much more easily.
Water Resistance
Of course, all of this quality construction could go to waste should the watch be crippled by aquatic leakage. Indeed, better-sealed watches are a straight-up advantage in many situations and higher designations certainly give me more peace of mind. Obviously, you’d like more water resistance in watches aimed at sports applications, which is the antithesis of this Orient with it’s dressier design. It does have 5bar, meaning it is submergible but I wouldn’t recommend swimming in it.
When you think about it though, it’s not particularly difficult to throw together a steel watch with some glass over the top; so, what else is worth looking for?
Finishing
Well, one of the tell-tale signs of a quality watch is precise finishing. This is one of the key areas where many fashion watches fall short. You’ll notice they’ll stack the specs, to make the watch look great on paper; yet when the watch arrives, it just looks rubbish.
The case finishing is perhaps the most obvious example of this. This Orient features a variety of polished and brushed surfaces, with a chamfered edge down each flank to add some interest. It requires multiple machining processes to create a variety of shapes and finishes, so is fairly time-consuming; but in most cases, the visual improvements are worth the effort. The sharper the brushing, generally the more time has gone into it.
Orient Watch with Polished and Brushed Surfaces
Single Brush Type
Many low-quality watches use generic and simplistic case shapes, with often only a single type of brushing or polishing used throughout its entirety. This is done because it’s quicker and consequently cheaper.
Finishing also extends to the dial too. The easiest things to look out for are the markers and hands. This open-heart Orient features some classy indexes, that have a crevice in the centre, along with a neat array of microscopic ridges on either side when you look closely. The Filippo Loreti, in contrast, has what appears to be bland gold pieces of plastic stuck onto the chapter ring. This is a theme we’ve seen with other brands like MVMT and DW as well.
On the hand front, this Orient is perfectly presentable, adorning a half-brushed and half-polished look, with a slice of luminescence down the middle. As many of you pointed out, although the Fillippo Loreti handset looked alright on the surface, when you look closer, the cut corners start to reveal themselves…literally!
Deciding to forego the second hand with this model, Fillippo were satisfied with simply snapping it off, leaving a rotating, ticking disc in its place; with nothing attached, exposing the rough edges. I can’t say I’ve seen that approach before and boy does it look sloppy when you notice it.
Quality Control
The only thing I find more frustrating than this is when you have a second hand that is going all over the place, which takes us to quality control. You’ll generally notice more frequent quality control issues on more poorly constructed watches, which typically include misalignment of hands, markers and text. In some cases, there will even be dirt under the crystal, which is impossible to remove. This showcases a lack of care or attention to detail; which should be improving the more money you pay.
The only thing I’ve noticed with this Orient is that the 6 o'clock marker is fractionally tilted to the left. Other than that, it’s been done to a surprisingly high standard, even for Orient; with a gorgeous set of high-shine rings outlining not only the chapter ring but also the subdial and open-heart configurations.
Many worse value options have bland, boring dials that lack detail and depth; despite often looking nice in stock images.
Watch Movement
Upon flipping this watch over, you’ll see the workings of a mechanical movement. Now, this post won’t go into full depth on the merits of mechanical vs battery-powered movements. However, one thing to consider is that an automatic movement like this F9622 will be more expensive to produce; due to the large number of moving parts. Quartz watches are essentially an electrical circuit, meaning they can be pumped out much more efficiently.
It’s little surprise then that many fashion watches go down the latter route, whilst still maintaining the same price point, to maximise profits. If you’re after a quartz watch, Orient does have many quartz offerings for much fairer prices (check the range out on Amazon here). One of the simplest things you can do is check the value of the movement by doing a quick Google search.
Resale Value
Not only is purchase price important, but there’s also another ‘price’ that you may have forgotten about. That being resale value. While no affordable watch is going to fully hold its value or increase in value as with some luxury watches; some of the more respected brands like this Orient allow you to get a large chunk of your money back if you decide to part with it at some point. At least from my experience in the UK, when reselling well-respected brands, you can typically recuperate approximately 40 to 90% of the cost on eBay.
As I’ve showcased on this blog before, you’re lucky if you can scrape back 20% of the cost of most fashion watches, even if you’ve only worn them once. This is because fewer people know of or care about the obscure brand in question. That’s if the watch survives long enough to be resold, which is doubtful with some of the worst offenders. When you think about it, this resale value is almost like an effective reduction to the list price, which makes watches like this Orient look even better value.
Final Thoughts
Is this Orient the peak of watchmaking? Of course, it isn’t. What you’ll find is that each of these factors should be improving as the price tag increases. Should being the keyword, as this isn’t always the case. So, whatever your budget, look out for each of the factors I mentioned and compare a few options if you can, to give you an idea of what you’re getting for your hard-earned cash.
