Best Affordable Dive Watch Review (Orient Kamasu)

Fun Fact: Kamasu is Japanese for Barracuda

I cannot say enough good things about this watch. In my personal opinion this is the BEST entry/first good dive watch. This was the first watch I purchased after taking a deep dive into this hobby and it 100% lives up to the hype. This is my go-to daily watch, I don’t think it will leave my rotation any time soon.

I picked this up as a replacement for my Invicta Pro Diver, I wanted an upgrade and used my first Internship Paycheck to purchase this watch, black dial/bezel with steel bracelet. The main thing that drew me to purchase this watch was the aesthetics and value proposition. I liked that this was a similar dive watch to my pro diver, but with original, more attractive (IMO) aesthetic, while having incredible stats at the price point (sapphire crystal, in house movement (day date) better bracelet). I purchased this watch for just under $200 and I am extremely happy with my purchase.

The watch itself, the RA-AA0001B19B aka Kamasu, is one level up from Orient's intro-divers, the Mako and Ray. This watch has an Orient F6922 Automatic Movement which has a day-date along with hacking and handwinding. This watch has a 41.8 mm case diameter, but feels smaller with its slim lug to lug distance of just under 47mm. The bracelet has a width of 22mm and has hollow end links and a pressed clasp. This watch has a water resistance of 200m.

The good:
I really like the design and functionality of this watch. This watch was my direct upgrade from my Invicta Pro Diver so the design, movement (specifically addition of day complication), and crystal (sapphire) stood out to me the most. The black sunburst dial, raised hour markers and logo with sword and arrow hands with an orangish-red end of the second hand make an extremely attractive face in my opinion.

The bad:
The bracelet is pretty basic, same categorically as the Invicta Pro Diver, however this pressed clasp had buttons along with a collar and feels more sturdy to me.

Relevance:
I think this is the best dive watch for the money, it blows the Seiko 5’s out of the water. I think this watch has the Seiko 5 price with a Seiko SRPE Turtle quality (minus ISO rating). I find myself wearing this watch more than any other in my collection and I often recommend it to friends who are just getting interested in watches.

Stay tuned for more watch reviews coming soon!!
 

Best Affordable Dive Watch Review (Orient Kamasu)

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  • Price
  • Design
  • Movement
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Agree also. Love mine!

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Totally agree! Love mine! The dial gets a 5 for me.

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love it too, also my first mechanical watch

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Great review! I have the teal version. It was my second automatic purchase( after a vostok) this time last year.

I actually don't mind the bracelet and thunk the clasp looks OK on wrist even if it is just pressed?

The bad for me is the small fiddly crown. It could definitely be a smidge larger and gripper IMO.

The Kamasu is a brilliant watch!

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I agree.. 👍