My Orient Mako II USA

I grew up in New England going to the beach with my parents every weekend in the summertime. My father (being scuba certified) would go down and catch a few lobsters that we would go home to cook up and make lobster rolls with. So when my 12th birthday came around (which is the youngest you can officially certified without having to be retested) my parents gave me a choice. The first was something that I can’t even come close to remembering. The other was for them to pay for me to get my PADI scuba certification. I thought about it for about a millisecond before saying that I wanted to get my scuba certification. There were several weeks of classes and pool testing before a final weekend that was four dives in two days.

I tell you this story to set you up for why I have always wanted a “real” dive watch. I wanted a watch I could go swimming with and theoretically even take with me on a dive. There are the icons, Rolex Submariner and Omega Seamaster, which are thousands upon thousands of dollars even second hand. So the hunt began.

I came across Orient watches and specifically their Mako collection. The one I fell in love with is the Mako II USA. It has a blue dial and red tipped seconds hand. This really played on my love for all things red, white and blue. I got my from Long Island Watch. The owner, Marc, creates great Youtube content and that's really how I learned about this particular watch. I love that this model isn’t a copy or homage watch. It has its own design. I also didn’t want something too big. The 41.5mm case is a good size especially paired with the 48mm lug-to-lug which doesn’t swallow my 6.5in wrist.

Is this watch perfect… no. But even in its flaws there is charm. The aluminum bezel has taken some scrapes and bumps. You might be asking yourself why is that a good thing? Well even the original Submariners had aluminum bezels that developed their own patina over time. The band does have solid end links but the clasp does feel a little cheap. Could I replace that band? Sure, but right now it's working perfectly fine.

Specs:

Case Diameter: 41.5mm

Case Width: 13mm

Lug Width: 22mm

Lug to Lug: 48mm

Sapphire Crystal

200m water resistant

Automatic Hand-winding/Hacking Movement

Day/Date

Screw down crown

Solid stainless steel bracelet

Cheers,

Jake Shields