Orient celebrates its 75th anniversary with a limited edition World Map, inspired by a 1969 fan favourite and priced under US$400.

Distinctly retro in style, the World Map features an unusual world time arrangement using a striking map and rotating bezel for global time zones. It’s well priced and well made, and a break from the brand’s usual staples, which tend to be affordable but plain.

Initial Thoughts

It seems 2025 is a year of many anniversaries: Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, Breguet, and of course, Orient. While never the most prominent Japanese watch manufacturer, Orient has built up a strong back catalog over 75 years, which includes the World Map.

That said, I’d have preferred a reissue of the more formal looking World Trip, though I imagine the brand is saving that for the up-market Orient Star line.

Beyond the watch, it’s important to remember that while Orient is a relatively small brand, it’s part of Seiko Epson, the company behind the Spring Drive UFA that made headlines this year (though a distinct entity from Seiko Watch Corporation that markets and sells Seiko and Grand Seiko watches).

For the brand’s 60th anniversary, Orient equipped the Orient Star Skeleton with Japan’s first (and only) silicon escapement. With that in mind, it’s worth keeping an eye on Orient this year, as the brand has more to offer than just a pretty face.

Post War Travel Ban and Boom

In the aftermath of the Second World War Japan was devastated and isolated. Allied occupation restricted movement in and out of the country until 1952, and this continued after Japan regained sovereignty over its own borders to protect the country’s meager foreign exchange reserves.

However, the “economic miracle” starting in the mid 1950s started to change that as country rapidly reindustrialised, resulting in a growing middle class. A steady flow of foreign currency into the country from exports, including watches. In 1964 the ban on foreign travel was lifted, though citizens could only carry US$500 with them, in watch terms: enough to buy two Rolex Datejusts (or 50 Timexes) at the time.

Orient launched the Swimmer World Trip the same year, a now-highly collectable travel companion that used a rotating bezel to find the time in twelve major cites. A few years later it was replaced by the World Diver collection, on which the present watch is based.

The 1969 World Diver. Image – Seiko Epson Corp.

The Modern World [Map]

While decorative maps are common on world timers, the world map here is entirely functional. The map is centered on the South Pole, with bands of color, white, orange and yellow, marking a different time zone and red dots representing cities.

The second crown rotates the inner 24-hour bezel to match the wearer’s location, which then indicates the times in every other time zone.

While Orient already reissued the World Map, very faithfully, a few years ago, the 75th anniversary edition is signed with a script logo inspired by Orient watches of the early 1950s, and comes in a special box.

More noticeably, the anniversary edition has a gilt accents and is an individually numbered limited edition of 1,500. While a thousand and a half watches doesn’t sound very limited, it is for the price point – several other 75th anniversary models are 6,000 watch runs.

Under the solid case back is Orient cal. F6922, a time-tested workhorse based on Orient’s cal 46. using the Magic Lever winding system – originally invented by Seiko Epson’s predecessor but since widely adopted by industry. It also includes hand winding, hacking seconds, and a quickset for the day and date.

Key facts and price

Orient Revival Collection World Map
Ref. RA-AA0E08Y

Diameter: 43.5 mm
Height: 13.9 mm
Material: Stainless steel
Crystal: Mineral (tempered glass)
Water resistance: 200 m

Movement: F6922
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, day, date.
Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz)
Winding: Automatic with hand winding
Power reserve: 40hours

Strap: Stainless steel bracelet

Limited edition: 1,500 pieces
Availability: Orient retailers
Price: Approximately US$370 excluding taxes

For more, visit orient-watch.com.

Best known for its Agenhor-powered chronographs, Singer Reimagined has just released its first time-only watch, the Caballero. Inside is the Calibre-4 Solotempo representing another first, being the brand’s first proprietary movement. With four barrels powering the Caballero for six days, the Calibre-4’s distinctive architecture can be discerned from the front thanks to jewel portholes in the dial.

Spanish for “gentleman”, the Caballero is available in three colourways; the piano black and empire green colours are familiar from the Heritage Collection chronographs, but the petrol blue colour is new for the brand. Though not strictly a limited edition, the watches will be rare enough, assembled in small quantities at the brand’s atelier in central Geneva.

Initial thoughts

There tends to be a lot of crossover between the worlds of horology and high-end cars. Fans of the latter are no-doubt familiar with Singer Vehicle Design, which has made a name for itself restoring and modifying vintage Porsche 911s – specifically the 964 of the early 1990s – elevating the model to a standard that would have been impractical in its own time.

The watchmaking arm, which operates as an independent sister company, has been quietly making interesting watches since 2017, largely focused on vintage motorsport themes.

For the Caballero, this inspiration is conveyed most prominently by the golden needle hub that covers up the base of the hand stack, similar to those used by vintage automobiles in the gauge cluster. The barrel-shaped 39 mm steel case also draws inspiration from 1960s and 1970s design, consistent with Singer chronographs like the Track 1.

The Caballero strikes a balance between sporty and dressy with a 10 mm case height that will slip beneath most shirt cuffs, while offering a fairly robust 50 m water resistance.

The dial features the tachometer-inspired hands and gold-tone fluted dial flange that have become the brand’s signature, but the lacquered dials also reveal the core architecture of the movement within, with large jewels visible through cut-outs in the dial.

It’s a good look, and while a case could be made that it would have made more sense to rotate the movement 45-degrees to position the jewels at the cardinal points, the functional jewels punctuate the dial with pleasing depth.

The visible jewels are in fact the lower pivots of each of the four barrels in the Calibre-4 movement, which is also labeled as the ST5000. The the manually wound Calibre-4 offers six days of chronometric power reserve thanks to two sets of parallel barrels. Despite the long power reserve, the movement ticks at a sporty 4 Hz, which is another way in which the Caballero straddles the line between sport and dress.

Regardless of dial colour, the Cabellero is priced at CHF17,500, making it the brand’s second-most affordable release to-date after the Heritage Collection chronograph that was powered by a “new old stock” movement. Past Singer watches have probed the upper limits of value, so it’s nice to see the pricing has been kept in check.

Two by two

The Caballero is powered by Singer’s first proprietary movement, the Calibre-4, which is pleasingly symmetrical and fills the case nicely. The manufacturers have not been named, but it was designed by an engineering team in La Chaux-de-Fonds and fabricated by a pool of suppliers. The movement is just 4.83 mm thick, and its modular construction will accommodate future complications should Singer wish to do so.

Regardless, it’s an interesting movement comprised of four fast-rotating barrels that unwind sequentially in pairs, first one set, then the other. This arrangement helps ensure stable torque throughout the 144-hour power reserve. This is always the challenge with long power reserves; it’s difficult to avoid flooding the escapement with power at the beginning and starving it at the end.

Though the Calibre-4 is not COSC-certified, it is rated to the same standard of -4 to +6 seconds per day. Whether it runs within this range throughout the entire power reserve remains to be seen, but the movement is said to deliver consistent amplitude from beginning to end. If it works as advertised, it’s an impressive feat.

Key facts and price

Singer Caballero
Ref. SR701-1 (black)
Ref. SR701-2 (green)
Ref. SR701-3 (blue)

Diameter: 39 mm
Height: 10.5 mm
Material: Stainless steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 50 m

Movement: Calibre-4 Solotempo (Caliber ST5000)
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds
Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz)
Winding: Manual
Power reserve: 144 hours

Strap: Textile strap with leather lining or leather strap with pin buckle

Limited edition: No
Availability: From Singer retailers
Price: CHF17,500 before taxes

For more, visit Singerreimagined.com.