
Japanese watchmaker Orient has expanded its Mako Diver Design series with three new models sporting a chronograph for the first time.
Sitting alongside the existing mechanical Diver watches, the new models use a quartz movement where the battery is changed by three small solar panels housed within the chronograph subdials.
They gather energy from sunlight and other light sources, and give the watch a power reserve of up to six months – so it’ll keep accurate time, even if it is hidden in a dark drawer for half a year. Worn normally, there’s no need to ever replace the battery, Orient says. There’s a date complication at the 4:30 position, while the sub dials show a stopwatch, 60-minute timer and 24-hour indicator.
Although these aren't technically diving watches, as they do not meet the requirements set out by the ISO standard for a dive watch, they are styled in a similar way.
This includes a unidirectional rotating bezel with seconds numerals, a stainless steel case and strap, sapphire crystal, push buttons for controlling the chronograph function, and a guarded screw-down crown at the three o’clock position. With a diameter of 42.8mm and a case thickness of 13.1mm, the new Orient Mako is a similar size to several other diving watches.
The watch is available in three colourways. The first pairs a dark blue dial with a blue and red bezel not dissimilar to the iconic Rolex GMT Master ‘Pepsi’. The second has a black dial and matching bezel, while the third has a white dial with black bezel; add in the black solar panels of the sub dials and the latter resembles the famous ‘panda’ watches made by some other manufacturers.
There’s a screw-down case back on the rear and water resistance is up to 20 bar, or the equivalent of 200 metres. The new chronograph Mako is priced at £324.99 and will be available from 29 August.
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Alistair is a freelance automotive and technology journalist. He has bylines on esteemed sites such as the BBC, Forbes, TechRadar, and of best of all, T3, where he covers topics ranging from classic cars and men's lifestyle, to smart home technology, phones, electric cars, autonomy, Swiss watches, and much more besides. He is an experienced journalist, writing news, features, interviews and product reviews. If that didn't make him busy enough, he is also the co-host of the AutoChat podcast.
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