The Orient Kamasu Is a Low-Key Dive Watch With Serious Pedigree

Jacques Cousteau didn’t simply introduce the world to the enduring great thing about coral reefs and chambray shirts—he additionally helped kick off a collective love affair with dive watches. Greater than 50 years after Cousteau and his shipmates first pulled on their rolled-up beanies, the dive watch has develop into a ubiquitous, with or with out the addition of a set of fins and an oxygen tank. 

Through the years (and with just a little assist from guys like James Bond and Thomas Magnum) the fashionable dive watch has develop into a go-to for anybody on the lookout for a timepiece that’s as fashionable as it’s sturdy. Whereas the Rolex Submariner is by far probably the most coveted (and different high-end fashions from Omega, Tudor, and Panerai have devoted followings of their very own) you don’t have to spend hundreds of {dollars} to place a traditional diver in your wrist. The Orient Kamasu, a Japanese-made dive watch with an automated motion, ticks the entire proper packing containers, and can set you again simply $226. 

Whereas much less well-known than different Japanese manufacturers like Seiko and Citizen, Orient has been within the watchmaking sport for the reason that Fifties, and launched its first automated dive watch in 1964 (4 years earlier than The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau premiered on ABC, in case you have been questioning). Since then, Orient has quietly maintained its dedication to constructing mechanical timepieces just like the Kamasu, which mix vintage-inspired appears with premium specs and reasonably priced costs. 

Launched in 2019, the Kamasu is a more recent addition to the Orient dive watch lineup, however its large, blocky hour markers, three-piece metal bracelet, and matte black unidirectional bezel place it squarely within the firm of traditional designs from the golden period of dive watches. A scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, a screw-down crown, and 200 meters of water resistance, in the meantime, make it greater than able to standing as much as the pains of the deep. Which suggests whether or not you are exploring the ocean’s depths or simply attending to the underside of your inbox, the Kamasu’s rugged design and traditional styling—very similar to a chambray shirt or a teeny-tiny beanie—will service you as ably at the moment as they did in Cousteau’s period.