You don’t need to spend a lot of money to get a decent mechanical diver’s watch. When $1,000 and more per a watch isn’t in accordance with your budget it can be hard to feed the watch lover need. A little bit of good advice and horological discovery are all you need to fill your drawers with fun watches that look good, work well, and won’t break the bank. Here is the orange dialed version of the Orient “Mako” CEM65001M automatic diver’s watch. It has an Orient made manufacture mechanical calibre 469 movement with day and date, as well as a study steel bracelet and a good look. The watch comes in several dial colors if orange isn’t your style. Other dial colors choices include yellow, black, blue. The yellow dialed version is a special edition model that can be acquired on on Amazon.com. There are also a few bezel color options available. Just to compare, the top of the line Orient Diver’s watch is this CFD0C001B timepiece that I reviewed here.

The dial of the watch is a handsome element including three Arabic numeral hours with the rest being lume covered indicators. All of the hour markers are applied to the dial. The watch is highly legible. This orange dial version has a small issue due to the red tip of the seconds hand that makes it “disappear” a bit against the orange background, but it is not a huge deal, and not an issue on the other dial colors. The dial is aided by a diagonally placed chapter ring with a matching orange color that helps make the dial look deeper and more satisfying.

There are few very watches at this price level with bracelets that look at soon. The wide brushed steel links have a high quality feel, and aren’t too thin either (yes, I am talking to you Seiko). The deployment clasp has a triple locking feature that is sturdy and feels nice. Plus, you’ll appreciate how the links are bushed on the top and bottom, and polished on the sides – a very good look. I like the Orient engraving on the bottom of the clasp. Another feature you don’t see too often on watches at this price point. You’ll notice the thick screw-down caseback which helps the 40mm wide case to sit at a good level above the wrist. Size of the watch is perfect for the look being comfortable yet masculine. Being water resistant to 200 meters, you can easily do most diving with the watch easily. The crown and pusher at 2 o’clock are both screw-down as well.

Orient designed the rotating diver’s bezel with a quirky style, but it gets the job done. The bezel rotation is on par with the higher-end timepieces available at this price level. The bezel clicks in a satisfying manner with minimal jiggle. It is aligned properly and there is a lume tip on the “60” minute mark. I do think that the numerals are a bit small on the  bezel though, and the intermittent notching on the grips is odd looking. Still, it does make the watch stand out, and you don’t easily confuse it with the legion of other Japanese made diver’s watches from competitors such as Seiko and Citizen. Orient is certainly the more interesting and the less mainstream of choices among the group.

If you are wondering what the pusher at 2 o’clock is used for, it adjusts the day of the week display next to the date. It is good that the pusher is screw-down. In addition to this aiding the watch’s water resistance, it prevents you from accidentally pushing it and changing the day of the week without meaning to do so. The watch crown has a nice engraved Orient logo which is a nice touch, especially on a price at this level.

Each of the Orient Mako watches is well under $200, most under $150. You’ll certainly feel that the value of the watch is higher than what you paid for it. Along those same lines you can easily choose this watch as a good looking “beater” watch or utility watch. Some people especially don’t want a digital watch, and you can easily rely on a watch like this to do sound workhorse duty while still enjoying it as being classic looking with an automatic mechanical movement inside.

See all Orient Mako Diver watches on Amazon here.