INTRODUCING: The toughest new tools from Orient Watch offer in-house credibility and superb value
Around Christmas time when I dug into the archives of Orient Watch, the lesser known sister company in the Seiko family, our story resounded with our readers in a big way. Personally, since my early days of vintage obsession, through to a brief flirtation with a Mako diver, I have nurtured a secret love for the quirky nature and superb value of Orient. Like that holiday destination you don’t want anyone else to find (it’s in the South of France, that’s all I’m telling you), I have been persuaded to share more of their horological offerings with you, and what better way to start than their best new releases of 2021? M-Force AC0L Don’t be shy, here is a tough as nails alternative to other deep ocean dwellers, be that Tunas or Turtles, in a brand new version of the distinctive M-Force series. It’s a bullet-proof diver’s watch with a heritage that stretches back to its initial run from 1997-2002. Admittedly, it isn’t a 38mm svelte vintage dressy diver, but a pure tool that might look intimidating enough to be refused access to a respectable club. With a spot-on petrol blue fume dial, this 45mm diver is a colourful beast…
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The Iridium Torpedo arrives to offer a different take on the budget-friendly dive watch with monster specifications for minimum spending. With looks that stray closer to glamour than “tool watch”, it doesn’t shy away from being highly capable and seriously tough. The Torpedo is available with a black, blue, grey, or green dial, and the green is the variety I got to spend some time with. The sunburst texture is extreme, creating lush, undulating flashes between shades of teal and emerald, honing in on the aquatic themes of the watch in general. The applied diamond indices at the quarters are glamorous with their polished-steel surrounds complimenting the large handset, while the circular indices are stretched and pulled by the sapphire crystal’s distortion to create all manner of interesting shapes. The date window is nicely integrated with a steel frame and does well not to interrupt any symmetry on the 42mm dial. The bright orange seconds hand is attention-grabbing no matter which dial colour it appears over, and its length reaches far into the printed minute track for easy time-setting. While it is an impressive thing to look at during the day, the Iridium Torpedo really comes alive when the lights…
It’s fair to say that most people hate spinach. Generally with good reason too. But if there was ever anyone to convince you that eating spinach was a good idea, it would be the one and only Popeye. He’s a character who loves his pipe nearly as much as he loves his leafy greens and, for the second time in recent years, is gracing the dial of a watch in the Bamford London GMT Popeye Limited Edition. The first time Popeye and Bamford collaborated was for the 90th anniversary of the American sailor’s earliest public appearance way back in 1929, producing another nautically themed limited edition of 50 pieces that also used the Bamford GMT as a template. This year we get another edition, this time with a black coating over the 40mm stainless-steel case with Popeye now running across the dial. Just like the first edition, this second Bamford London GMT Popeye Limited Edition uses Popeyes arms as the hour and minute hands, with a white and red GMT hand cutting a contrasting line over the dial. The Bamford GMT is a watch we are familiar with at Time+Tide after launching our own limited edition watch at the end…
Polarising did you say? Well, this is like nothing else, I’m back and forth between love and, well, indifference is not a word. Right now, I’m very much in the LOVE camp, and still trying to work out what the hell the KITH for G-Shock GM-6900 Rainbow looks like. A burnished heat shield from a re-entry heat shield fallen off a Space Shuttle? Gold plating gone chemically wrong? A petrified oil slick? I don’t care, I want it anyway. On the wrist, this is a conversation stopper like no other wristwatch (save perhaps a domed MB&F), but at a knockout price. This is not the first, but the third collaboration with KITH, the New York-based streetwear chain and eponymous clothing label, and it’s based on the nineties classic GM-6900. But here, on its discretely elegant, logoed KITH resin strap (it even comes with another one), all the stops have been pulled out for the iconic case. Personally, I’d say this is the first time I’ve felt a real pang of desire for the rather bulbous case of the GM, too, I felt the last collab from Hodinkee was a bit too muted (I didn’t say boring). For their 10th anniversary…
J Balvin is one the hottest Latin artists in the world with the Colombian musician commonly referred to as the ‘Prince of Reggaeton’. Selling over 35 million records worldwide, his status within the industry and high-income from his work allow him to engage with some of the most in-demand watches and brands in the world. His personal watch collection has received ample coverage on the internet, but his appearance on the latest episode of Hot Ones opened a brief window into his collector perspective – tackling topics such as the watch that was hardest for him to find, AP vs. Patek, and his views on “bussing down” watches. The most difficult watch for J Balvin to track down… Unfortunately for us watch enthusiasts he does not express the exact reference of Richard Mille he found the hardest to get, but perhaps the environment he received the watch in was tougher than finding the actual timepiece. J Balvin explains in his intermission between hot wings, “The most difficult one… It was a gift that someone gave it to me. A guy came to me, he was like, ‘Listen I respect you a lot and I want to give you this as…