The Orient Contemporary line features many elegant watches at an affordable price.
And when it comes to the contemporary line, one of the most popular is Orient’s Bambino watches.
But a watch that has caught attention my attention and pretty much led me to debate long and hard of whether or not to get one, is the Orient Bambino “Open Heart” Watch.
For those not familiar with Orient, Orient is a Japanese watch company that is part of the Seiko Epson group, which is under the Seiko Group umbrella.
While under Seiko Group, Seiko watches are under Seiko Holdings, Orient watches are under Seiko Epson. Both work independently from each other, so you can think of Seiko as big brother and Orient as little brother. Similar to how there is Rolex and its little brother Tudor.
You can read more about my explanation of Orient’s history here.
If you have read my other Orient Bambino watch reviews, there are five versions of the Orient Bambino, but there are also other special Bambino watches such as the Bambino Small Seconds watch, but this time, I am reviewing the Orient Bambino Open Heart watch.
So, this watch pretty much takes the Orient Bambino Version 4 watch:
But this time removing the date on the three o’clock position. And on the left side, featuring an open heart over the eight and nine o’clock area, so you can see the specialized Japanese movement.
The key differences from an Orient Bambino Version 4 watch is that while the watch utilizes the hour marks of the Orient Bambino Version 4, but to add something special, they utilize Roman numerals in the 12, 3, 6 and 9 positions. But unlike the bigger version 4 which was the first Bambino watch to have a case diameter of 42mm, the Open Heart uses a 40.5mm case diameter and a 21mm lug size (lug to lug length is 46mm).
The watch features an exhibition caseback, domed mineral crystal and because this is an Open Heart design, it uses the Caliber F6T22 Japanese movement.
This is a self-winding automatic movement with 22 jewels and features the hour, minute and second hands. But has the open balance wheel at the nine o’clock position.
And the Caliber F6T22 also has a power reserve of 40 hours or more. Winding the crown 30 times will wind the spring fully and achieve full power reserve.
I mentioned that I debated getting this watch. Why? Because at first I felt it was gimmicky. But after looking at photos and seeing that it offers a blue dial, silver case (Orient also offers a black and a white dial Open Heart watches, white with gold and silver case) with a blue leather strap.
The blue leather strap is something you don’t find with Orient Bambino’s and it features a caliber that I don’t own. So, I figured, I had to give this watch a try and absolutely love it!
Overall, the Orient Bambino Open Heart Watch is a wonderful watch for its style, its movement, its price. It’s an elegant watch and the fact that it can be purchased under $200 is fantastic.
I definitely recommend the Orient Bambino “Open Heart” Watch.
