Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

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Rick448
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Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by Rick448 » Fri Mar 07, 2014 7:31 am

Having just purchased an Orient 300M Diver from Creation Watches and used it constantly for the last 10 days whilst on holiday I thought I would write a short review of my findings.

The watch arrived in the UK very quickly and also avoided the dreaded tax charges :) It came in a presentation box which was for an Orient M Force watch and not this particular model. I can live with that as in my opinion the price was good. It also cam e with a warranty card and watch manual.

First impressions were that this was a nice looking watch and not as huger as I had feared following some of the things I had heard.

I have a Zinx Supersub so am used to pretty large watches and the Orient is similar in diameter but looks bigger is some views due to the thicker bezel. The overall thickness of the watch is much less than the Zinex and is similar to my MM300. I have not had a chance to weigh it yet but it is also much lighter than the Zinex on the Armida bracelet (281 grammes) and wears very easily.

I am impressed with the overall design and actually love the power reserve indicator, which was on of the things I wasn't sure about. The face looks nice and also seems to be a quality design. The bracelet is very similar to the MM300 although 22mm down to 20mm rather than 20mm all the way and shares the same clasp / diver extension. I could live without the Orient logo though!

After wearing it non stop for 10 days on holiday the bracelet has attracted a few small scratches but i guess this is to be expected. The movement does not seem as smooth as the MM300 when winding or especially setting the date but it has now settled to + 0.5 seconds a day which is better than all my watches excluding my SMP Chrono.

All in all for the £611 I paid I would say this was excellent value for money and I will not be flipping it or indeed selling any of my others (including the MM300) as they are all slightly different. I think the MM300 is more showy and more recognisable but the Orient is certainly great in the flesh.

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Edited to add the following.

I think the one thing I would prefer would be for the case sides to be brushed rather than polished as I prefer that look myself.

Pro's -

Nice size, both in terms of thickness and diameter.
Wears well and is comfortable for me (7 1/2" wrist).
Great value.
Keeps great time now settled in.
Not a recognised "in your face brand."


Con's

Not a recognised "in your face brand" (depending on how you look at that side of watch ownership).
Movement not as high quality as some of my other watches in terms of feel, but timekeeping is great.
Would prefer the case sides brushed.
Bezel action is a little vague.
Last edited by Rick448 on Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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jeckyll
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Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by jeckyll » Fri Mar 07, 2014 8:51 am

Sounds like you are happy, which is what counts. They are great watches and good value!
:cheers:

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Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by cdnwatchguy » Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:00 am

Never owned one but I have handled them. Great watch for the money. Nice review thanks.
cheers,

Keith

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jimyritz
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Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by jimyritz » Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:04 am

Nice write up....Congrats on that one...

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Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by CGSshorty » Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:05 am

Could you compare this to a Rolex DSSD or Sub C?
"It's such a fine line between stupid, and clever."
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Rick448
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Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by Rick448 » Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:23 am

CGSshorty wrote:Could you compare this to a Rolex DSSD or Sub C?
Having never handled either I couldn't say. I seriously doubt it would be as well built as either but then again it's hardly in the same price bracket. I wouldn't want to get into direct comparisons between these or end up in a slanging match about it on this thread. In my opinion my SMP Chrono looks better quality but for 4 times the price I would expect that. As for the Rolex's mentioned here they would be even more expensive with the DSSD some 13 or 14 times more than the Orient.

I think that there are some people trying to cause a bit of mischief by saying these are better than the Sub C or DSSD and some owners are getting a bit precious about it. All I know is that I am very happy with it and for the price I doubt you could beat it, I did look at a Sub C whilst on holiday (but didn't handle it as I had no intention of buying) and it didn't make we want to get my credit card out. They didn't have a DSSD in the shop but did have an Omega PO 9300 liquid metal on a bracelet which was beautiful and could be seen to be better than the Orient in terms of build quality.

At the end of the day it is each to their own with watches as with most things, you pays you money and takes your choice. I have no beef with what people may think of this or indeed any of my watches and would respect anyone's decision on how they spend their cash, all this and my subsequent reviews are for is to give people an insight into the watch based on my own opinion taking into account the quality / cost etc.

What does speak volumes is that my current favourite (Zinex) is still sat in the case while to Orient is on my wrist still ad that is after 10 days.... I did look at my others and even held the Supersub but did not feel the need to swap it.
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Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by cdnwatchguy » Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:27 am

CGSshorty wrote:Could you compare this to a Rolex DSSD or Sub C?
You are a poo poo disturber. :lol:
cheers,

Keith

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Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by CGSshorty » Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:30 am

cdnwatchguy wrote:
CGSshorty wrote:Could you compare this to a Rolex DSSD or Sub C?
You are a poo poo disturber. :lol:
Who me?? :stir:
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David St. Hubbins

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Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by jeckyll » Fri Mar 07, 2014 11:04 am

CGSshorty wrote:Could you compare this to a Rolex DSSD or Sub C?
It's clearly superior. Lume-pips don't regularly fall out of these. :stir:
We all have the same enemy. The enemy is the tyranny of the dull mind. - - Tom Robbins

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Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by Panerai7 » Fri Mar 07, 2014 11:23 am

And don't forget drilled lugs and 5.3mm Sapphire crystal and no cyclop over date and power reserve indicator and 4 o'clock crown for comfort and hooded 22mm lugs that look great with any straps and....no it sucks, POS for sure :grin:

If JLC made that watch and called it Green Berets Reserve De Marche I'd be :jerk: in the morning and twice in the evening and if it came with a rubber link bracelet I'd just shoot without touching :stir:

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Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by Torrid » Fri Mar 07, 2014 11:41 am

I didn't realize it was so much bigger than the MM300. The sapphire crystal is a definite plus though. Interesting. :think:

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Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by Rick448 » Sat Mar 08, 2014 6:39 am

Panerai7 wrote:And don't forget drilled lugs and 5.3mm Sapphire crystal and no cyclop over date and power reserve indicator and 4 o'clock crown for comfort and hooded 22mm lugs that look great with any straps.
I forgot to mention those little aspects. At the moment I am having to force myself to wear something else. I'm sure this will wear off but it's been the longest so far.
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Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by marchone » Sat Mar 08, 2014 6:52 am

I think an apt comparison would be between the OS300 and Shogun. I see you have both. Please offer your comments and pics.
only accurate watches are interesting

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Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by Rick448 » Sat Mar 08, 2014 6:53 am

A bit of a comparison between the Zinex and Orient. Apologies for crap phone pics.

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Rick448
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Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by Rick448 » Sat Mar 08, 2014 7:11 am

marchone wrote:I think an apt comparison would be between the OS300 and Shogun. I see you have both. Please offer your comments and pics.
I'll look at this tomorrow.
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Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by alex25 » Tue Jun 10, 2014 1:41 am

Hi

I live in Brisbane, Australia. I have always wanted to buy a divers watch but I am confused between which one to buy either Seiko or Citizen. Many people suggest Seiko over Citizen.
I am looking for this two watches
http://www.directbargains.com.au/mens-w ... 57932.html
http://www.directbargains.com.au/seiko- ... 60644.html

Any suggestions will be much appreciated. Thanks

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Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by bedlam » Tue Jun 10, 2014 2:16 am

The OS300 is a great watch

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toxicavenger
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Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by toxicavenger » Tue Jun 10, 2014 4:58 am

I always liked th OS300 but my skinny ass wrist can't pull it off. I did trade for one years ago but it got lost in the Postal Service. So wrote it off.

Congrats on it.

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Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by TVDinner » Wed Jul 09, 2014 10:25 am

Nice review. I miss my Saturation diver. It is one of the few watches I regret selling.
I will probably get one again in the future. It is really a nice watch front to back in my opinion.

Pictures of my old one

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Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by Chronos » Wed Jul 23, 2014 5:51 am

That's one of those watches I've always wanted but never bought.

I thought an orange version would look killer on my wrist.

I may have to break down and pick one up.

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Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by Amrtag » Mon Mar 06, 2017 11:15 pm

What do you mean by the bezel action is a little vague?
Does it has wobble action and play in the bezel?

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Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by JP Chestnut » Tue Mar 07, 2017 4:56 am

Amrtag wrote:
Mon Mar 06, 2017 11:15 pm
What do you mean by the bezel action is a little vague?
Does it has wobble action and play in the bezel?
Send a PM rather than bumping a 3 year old thread with a question directed to nobody in particular.

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Re: RE: Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by jeckyll » Tue Mar 07, 2017 7:38 am

Amrtag wrote:What do you mean by the bezel action is a little vague?
Does it has wobble action and play in the bezel?
It doesn't 'click' into place very precisely like some divers. Definitely not wobbly.

Blah blah smrt phone

We all have the same enemy. The enemy is the tyranny of the dull mind. - - Tom Robbins

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Re: RE: Re: Orient 300M Saturation Diver review.

Post by Amrtag » Tue Mar 07, 2017 8:22 am

jeckyll wrote:
Tue Mar 07, 2017 7:38 am
Amrtag wrote:What do you mean by the bezel action is a little vague?
Does it has wobble action and play in the bezel?
It doesn't 'click' into place very precisely like some divers. Definitely not wobbly.

Blah blah smrt phone
I got it thanks

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