Actually, I had to overcome an additional horological prejudice with the Orient Producer on my wrist. Previously, I’d never been a fan of skeleton-dial/open-heart watches. However, I became addicted to watching the pulse of its 21,600 beat engine every time I checked the time – and found myself doing it more and more, for no reason! The partial skeleton window on the Orient Producer is placed somewhat asymmetrically, which I haven’t totally made up my mind about; I can’t decide if it looks messy, or creates an intriguing visual tension against the vertical striping on the dial

A few things, however, made me enthusiastic about the Orient Producer. First, It’s nicely sized around 39mm – especially as square watches are often much smaller. I also liked the deco styling of the case – the finish and its play of the geometric planes of steel is nicely finessed; again, it evokes a prestige watch like the Reverso without becoming an overt homage. The Orient Producer has its own personality: it gives a sly nod to history, works as a dress watch, but isn’t trying to fool anyone that you’re wearing a more expensive watch than you are – it has its own personality regardless of cost. The Orient Producer is luxurious, however, in its comfort: it has one of the more comfortable cases I’ve ever worn on my wrist – such a nice and unexpected surprise. Along with the quality padded strap, the Orient Producer again offers more than you’d expect from the price.

The lesson here: every man should have a watch (or watches) he can match to his belt and shoes for formal or business occasions. That’s where Orient truly shines. Orient specializes in authentic, well-made, in-house mechanical timepieces that most anyone can afford, and that have their own distinctive qualities and an intangible allure all their own. There’s always something in their catalog that will fit the bill.

After wearing these Orient dress watches for few weeks, I’ve come to feel that these are timepieces that are better than they have to be, and grow even more appealing as you wear them. The sheer variety and quality of Orient dress watches, all at such affordable prices, really does encourage one to experiment and figure out what works on your wrist in this style and what doesn’t. There’s nothing to lose, really: your mirror will thank you, and so will your bank account. orientwatchusa.com