RA-AA08 | Automatic / Hand-Winding Movement | 41.8 mm Stainless Steel Case | Sapphire Crystal | 200 m Diver Style Watch | Dot Index

I am going to list why I think the Orient RA-AA081 (sometimes called Kamasu 2) is absolute top tier in the world of watches (Not just "cheap" watches). Case/Band: The finishing on the case and band is excellent I like that all of the band lengths are brushed, without any polishing. Polished links show scratches much more easily. The band links are held together by directional punch pins, and can be easily removed using a cheap tool. Clasp: The clasp has a spring loaded release on each side, and then has an additional flip-down locking tab. It also has four micro adjustment positions that can be set without removing lengths. The clasp works well, and is secure. Bezel: The rotating bezel does not slip or wobble. It is secure with very positive clicks. The coin edge is well cut and gives excellent feel and grip. The rotation of the bezel on a dive watch is extremely important as it has real utility (as a timer), and is not for decoration only. Crystal: The single feature that puts this watch in top tier above almost anything else at this price point is the sapphire crystal. Nearly every watch at this price ($225) has acrylic (plastic), mineral glass, hardlex, etc. Mineral glass has a Mohs hardness of approximately 4-5. Synthetic sapphire is approximately 9. There are very few things that can scratch sapphire, diamond and tungsten carbide being two. Sapphire is found on most watches costing thousands of dollars (Rolex/Omega/etc), but is not often available at this price point. Orient Bambino doesn't have it. Citizen Garrison (BM8180-03E ) doesn't have it. Seiko Presage (SRPE45J1) at $500 doesn't have it. Seiko 5 (SNKL45 ) doesn't have it. Citizen Promaster Diver (BN0158-00X) doesn't have it. Screw down crown: The crown is a very legitimate screw down. I agree with other reviewers that it is slightly too small, but it is rarely manipulated. The threads are well cut and smooth. When closing the crown, It is sometimes difficult to know when the crown is properly engaged on the threads, so be careful, LISTEN to it, and don't force it. It does not take much force at all to close the crown, and it does not need to be torqued at the end, so DON'T over-tighten it. Always make sure you have the crown properly screwed down, or the watch will lose all water resistance. Water-Resistance: Manufacturer claims water resistant to 20 bar. That is approximately 200 meters (656 feet) beneath water. Is it? I don't know, and I'm not going to test it. I can report that this watch has survived many expeditions to the kitchen sink and rain filled journeys across urban parking lots. Movement: This watch is automatic (self-winding by momentum of wrist), powered by the Orient F6922 movement. This means the watch is fully mechanical, without any batteries, electric, etc. It "ticks" and keeps time using gears, spring(s), etc. This is opposed to a Quartz movement that takes a battery (and actually keeps much better time). You can research mechanical vs quartz, but I have had both, and prefer automatic on analog watches. Accuracy/Precision: My watch runs consistently at about +7 seconds per day against atomic time. COSC chronometer certification (really expensive automatic watches) specifies a precision of -4 sec to +6 sec per day. So my watch, out of the box, isn't far off from COSC time keeping specs. It is important to note that my watch being consistently +7 seconds per day, every day, indicates my watch is actually very precise. My watch could likely be regulated within COSC parameters if I wanted to open the caseback and adjust the regulation lever. Winding/Hacking: The Orient F6922 movement is both hand windable, and hackable. This means it can be hand wound when not being worn, and the second hand can be hacked (stopped) when setting the watch, so that it may be set to the exact second. Day/Date setting: The day and the date can both be set independently of the hands, so it not necessary to advance the hands around and around to set the date. The day can be set for either English or Spanish. This is somewhat confusing at first, so read the manual very carefully. When the day is correctly setup for English, the day will actually change to Spanish for a little while after midnight, before then changing again to the English day. This is normal and as designed. Basically, the physical day rotor is printed English/Spanish/English/Spanish and the gear train moves the rotor two positions over a few hours at the start of each day, so after midnight a watch set to English will move English-Spanish-English and a watch set to Spanish will move Spanish-English-Spanish and then hold the correct language for the remainder of the day. Caseback: This watch does not have a display caseback, so the gears can't be seen, the solid caseback is pleasantly thin, and it is VERY quiet. Lum: The hour markers are luminous, charged by light. The lum is fairly good, and is easily legible for at least an hour if well charged before going into darkness. Dial: The turquoise dial on the RA-AA0811E19B is beautiful, and everything is aligned well. Summary: I have not found another watch near this price point that I like this much. This watch is high quality, with a sapphire crystal, a really nice rotating bezel, and a screw down crown. The only criticism I can find is the crown being a little small. ----------------------------------------------- One year review: Band: I still like the factory band and think it looks great. I did replace mine with a Barton 22mm NATO that is more comfortable and lighter for daily wear. Crystal: The sapphire crystal is still in perfect condition without a single scratch or blemish Bezel: The bezel has accumulated little scratches, dings, and other minor damage from daily wear. No stars deducted as this could happen to any watch. Accuracy/Precision: My watch maintained its approximate factory accuracy for a year. I then decided to open the caseback and regulate the speed and beat error myself. This is a very fine process, and there is a real risk of permanently damaging the watch if mistakes are made. I stopped the balance wheel by hacking the seconds hand (pulling the crown all the way out) before making each adjustment. Using a timegrapher app on my phone and the built in microphone, I was able to achieve -1 second per day face-up and 0.1ms beat error. This has been holding fairly stable and my current accuracy is fantastic. —————————— Update: The watch has slowly drifted and is currently running about +13 seconds a day.

I have owned this for a year now. have collected a lot of watches. Seiko Skx, Seiko Turtle, Seiko Chronographs, Seiko Dress kx, Chinese San Martin watches, Hamilton Mechanical, Hamilton Intramatic Chronograph, gshocks, microbrands like Baltic Aquascaphe, invictas, and the Rolex submariner to name a few. None of them have enamored me like this one. It’s a size that looks good whether I’m hungry, cold and shriveled or hot and puffy. Perfect weight and comfort. It’s extremely accurate, I only ever have to set it twice a year, for daylight savings because it stays accurate to the correct minute for the duration of the year. I only take it off when I sleep. It has handled fishing, snorkeling in Cabo, a thousand showers, runs, bike rides, slams, violent hand movements, shadow boxing, playing catch, holding vibrating massage guns, flights, jacuzzis etc etc. I use the timing bezel every day for various purposes. Heres what I’ll say about the bezel: it’s awkward at first. It’s like a pair of Red Wing Iron Ranger boots, stiff at first and then lovely once you break it in. It offers wonderful grip and it sounds better with time and use despite sounding icky at first. Beauty: this watch has a dial that draws you in. It has a lacquer style shine with a dark grey center to black gradient as you reach the edge. The day-date window is neatly framed and convenient as I often lose track of what day of the week it is. I find that a day display is more useful than a date display and yet they’re so hard to find in a good watch. The hands and indices have excellent lume that lasts. I find that it’s less important how bright your lume is and more important how long it lasts and how well it contrasts with the dial, in this case both aspects are flawless. The indices are a slight creamy beige but this does not sacrifice aforementioned lume or contrast. This layout lends to instant readability as you can quickly discern which hand is the minute and hour and thus what time they are suggesting. There is no chapter ring and that’s nice. The watch wears thinner than the SKX and 5KX. I suggest putting this watch on an aftermarket bracelet or strap and you will be set up nicely. I have opted to purposefully scratch the bezel with a kitchen knife to add a vintage look. But I found that the aluminum bezel is actually far harder to scratch than the dorks on the internet might suggest. All in all this watch is a 9.6/10 for me. It would be perfect with a Rolex style bracelet but this is not a luxury watch and so I cannot justify knocking it down without proportionate accordance.

The turquoise one is so beautiful. Pictures truly don’t capture the stunning colors. I thought it was small at first especially after having worn an Apple Watch Ultra for the past 6 months or so. But it fits my 7 inch wrist so perfectly and is just so much more comfortable than the Apple Watch. I liked it so much I just got the gray one. Definitely recommend Orient. I also have a Casio duro and like it. I got a beeds of rice bracelet for that on Long Island watch. The Kamasu 2 is slightly smaller than the duro but just seems to fit on my wrist better. Anyway just buy one you won’t regret it.

This watch is almost exactly what I was expecting. I wanted a (relatively) inexpensive automatic watch to replace a 20 year old Citizen Eco-Drive (still runs, battery not holding a charge as well as before) and a buzzy-beepy watch-like piece of silicon that yells at me when I get a message. I no longer require something tied to my phone and I just like a watch that is totally gear and spring based, no battery. My needs are 1. Automatic with reasonable accuracy considering only gears and no battery 2. Day and Date Complication (learned that the term complication just means the extras on a watch outside of time) 3. Not too big - Replacing a 37mm face, and was concerned that the Kanno (44mm) would be just too big for my wrist ( a thin 18.4 cm/7.25 in). This watch fits nicely 4. Bezel to allow for quick, non-alarmed timing (like how long tea has been steeping). Bonus is this bezel is easy to turn 5. Ability to see time in the dark, without glasses (lume) - very good lume 6. Sapphire crystal - This is a daily wear watch, so I want to avoid scratches. Another feature is the crystal sits below the bezel; therefore, less likely to get a chip or ding from a side bump. 7. Waterproof - I just don't want to worry that I will ruin my watch if I stick my hand in a tub of water. This watch is listed at 200 m., I just need about 50 cm I was not concerned about specific color, so I ordered the black with a grey Nato strap. What was delivered was the red face; hence, the "almost" what I was expecting. Luckly, this goes very nicely with the grey Nato strap and I would have ordered this face if it were cheaper than the black. For me, this is a daily wear watch. I am not planning to display it anywhere or have it in a rotation. I want one watch that is acceptable in most situations and will mostly manage itself as long as I wear it regularly. This fits the bill for me.

The Orient 200 M Diver Style Watch RA-AA08, also known as the Kamasu 2, is a timepiece that stands out in the world of watches, not just in the "cheap" category. Here are some key features that make this watch an excellent choice: Case/Band: The finishing on the case and band is of excellent quality. The brushed finish on all the band lengths gives it a sophisticated look while minimizing the visibility of scratches. The band links are held together by directional punch pins, allowing for easy removal using an inexpensive tool. Clasp: The clasp on this watch is well-designed and secure. It features a spring-loaded release on each side and an additional flip-down locking tab. The clasp also offers four micro-adjustment positions, allowing for a comfortable and precise fit. Bezel: The rotating bezel on the Kamasu 2 is secure and has very positive clicks. The well-cut coin edge provides an excellent feel and grip, essential for the functionality of a dive watch. Crystal: One standout feature of this watch is its sapphire crystal. While many watches in this price range typically use acrylic, mineral glass, or hardlex, the Orient Kamasu 2 comes equipped with a synthetic sapphire crystal. Sapphire is highly scratch-resistant, with only diamond and tungsten carbide being harder. This feature is usually found in watches costing thousands of dollars, making it exceptional for a watch at this price point. Screw-down Crown: The crown on the Kamasu 2 is a legitimate screw-down crown, adding to the watch's water resistance. While it may be slightly small, it is rarely manipulated. The threads are well-cut and smooth, ensuring ease of use. It is important to ensure the crown is properly engaged on the threads to maintain water resistance. Water Resistance: The manufacturer claims a water resistance rating of 20 bar, which is approximately 200 meters or 656 feet. Although I cannot personally verify this claim, the watch has reportedly survived exposure to water during everyday activities without any issues. Movement: The Orient RA-AA08 features an automatic self-winding movement, powered by the momentum of the wearer's wrist. This ensures accurate timekeeping without the need for manual winding Overall, the Orient Kamasu 2 is a high-quality timepiece that offers excellent value for its price. With its impressive features such as a sapphire crystal, reliable water resistance, and attention to detail in design and finishing, it stands out among watches in its category.

My reasons for purchasing a watch are often nebulous. Sometimes I think a watch just looks cool. Other times, I am looking for a watch to wear during specific occasions (dress, beater, etc.). For the Orient Kamasu I was looking for a watch to pair with a Tropic style rubber strap. I’ve always loved the look of those straps; I just love the vintage vibe they give to a diver. Like something out of a 1970s magazine cover. So, I was looking for a smaller sized diver (39mm-42mm), with a more classic look, but with just a bit of color. The turquoise Kamasu was the perfect option for me. The Kamasu is not my first Orient watch, I purchased a Defender about 5 years ago and have been happy with that watch. I also did quite a bit of research on this watch before pulling the trigger so there wouldn't be any surprises when I actually unboxed the watch. The watch has been on my wrist for 10 straight days and overall, I have been very happy with my purchase. It has kept reasonably good time, +8 seconds a day. I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how small it wears (in a good way). It wears thinner (13.2mm) than I thought it would and it fits nicely underneath a collared shirt, or a sweatshirt. On the rubber strap it is incredibly comfortable, I didn’t bother with the metal bracelet which is your basic cheap metal bracelet. I really think this will stay in my collection for a while. There are a few things I wanted to address that were in reviews and videos that I saw during my research. There were a lot of comments about the undersized crown, and while the crown is small, I don’t feel it negatively impacts the function of the watch. In the future, Orient should make it bigger. Another persistent comment was the oversized lug width (22mm). I do feel the watch would work better at 20 mm size and this would be my main gripe with the watch. A small pro/con list will fill in a few more details Pro -The clicking action of the bezel is awesome -The cream-colored applied markers look awesome and really evoke a vintage look. -I like silver framed day and date windows. Some of the comments side this made the watch unbalanced, but I disagree. -I love how thin and small the watch wears on my 7 ¼ inch wrist. -A signed crown is always a nice touch. Con -The lum is not good. -22mm lug width is too big. One thing I wanted to add that I am not sure if it is a negative or a positive. The bezel insert is a very dark green between the 0-15 minute marker, but it is so dark you almost can’t tell. The picture I’ve added has been adjusted so you can actually see it. Given that it doesn’t quite match the watch dial Orient should have just kept the bezel all black. Overall this is a good watch I would compare it favorable to my SKX and given the price point and the fact that it has a screw down crown I think it is a better option than the 5KX’s that are currently available at a similar price point.

I love this watch. The dual color is deep and complex, and the sapphire crystal is a nice touch, especially at this price point. The bracelet is very durable and doesnt scratch. It's hard to find a better watch than this, within the same price range.

I bought my first Orient, an orange mako 15 years ago in 2009. I liked it so much I bought a second one, an Orient ray in blue a few years later in 2011. These were both with the old movement. No sapphire crystal, no hand winding and no hacking. Through years of regular use staggered with non-use where I let them sit in drawers dead for months on end, both watches have always started right back up as soon as I give them a couple of gentle shakes. To this day my orange mako, the oldest maintains plus 12 seconds per day and has never been opened and never serviced. This is exceptional for a sub $250, 15 year old automatic watch. They just don't die. Finally 15 years later I decided to upgrade and get myself a new one. Just bought a new Orient Kamasu in turquoise and I'm in love all over again. Not much more than I paid 15 years ago and this one has a sapphire crystal, hand winding and hacking movement. It's just as gorgeous as My original watches and the turquoise face is a very unique color. I much prefer it to the traditional blue of my Ray. Another five star orient watch in my book. I will continue my collection. Bought this on a whim after I had been looking at Rolex, Omega, Oris etc. I was really ready to upgrade to a high-end watch. But it's hard to justify. I could literally buy 20 of these in all different colors for the price of one Rolex. It's exceptionally built. Yes the band could be better. But I tend to replace my bands and swap them out. I've had citizens, Seikos, Diesels, fossils, Movado and a Tissot, But the only ones I've really kept throughout all these years were my orients and my G-Shocks. Really was ready to upgrade to a high end luxury watch but you've got to really want to pay for that name. This is a heck of a watch for the money. Confident this one will last just as long as my original ones.

Was kind a hesitant with it’s 42mm case size for my 6” wrist but once ive wore, it rocks… 😎

The Orient RA-AA08 is such a solid watch for the price. I love the design and sizing is great. Not too big and not too small. It feels solid, has a solid design, and a solid movement. The bracelet is a little meh but when you're paying sub-$400 for a diver with saphire crystal, screw down crown, and 200m water resistance, a less than perfect bracelet is fine by me. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking. :)

I have been wearing this watch non stop for over a week now, and did a lot research before buying it. This watch has a great reputation in the online watch community. For this price I don't think you can get better value - the sapphire crystal, automatic Japanese movement, water resistance, loom and elegant design makes it a great piece. Many people complain about the bracelet, and while I agree that the quality could be better, I found it to be just fine and don't plan on replacing it anytime soon. It looks way better in person than on videos and pictures, so if you like it online, you'll love it in person. The gradient dial has many different appearances depending on lighting, which is really cool. Overall this is a great watch and I definitely recommend it. All things considered, this is a 5 stars product for me.

Japanese brand watches are worth the money as always. Good quality for the price.

Excelente reloj, a pesar de que es de 42mm, en la muñeca se siente como uno de 40mm.