The Best Ultra-Affordable Dress Watch Is Now Way Better for Everyday Wear

The addition of a stainless steel bracelet has completely transformed the Orient Bambino.

Published August 27, 2024

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Any fan of affordable watches is surely familiar with the Orient Bambino.

The Japanese watch ranks as arguably the best dress watch one can buy on the ultra-affordable end of the spectrum while simultaneously acting as one of a handful of gateway purchases for budding enthusiasts first getting into mechanical watches.

Orient has steadily been improving the Bambino as the model’s profile has risen in recent years, including releasing a slimmer version with a small seconds display earlier this year.

Now, Orient has given the Bambino perhaps its greatest makeover ever, as the brand has launched a version of the iconic dress watch that, um, isn’t a dress watch.

Orient Bambino Casual

$299 at Serious Watches

A New Casual Dress Code

The new Bambino is the sportiest and most casual version of the watch I’ve ever seen. While keeping the smaller 38mm case size of other recent Bambino releases, this new version swaps out the leather and mesh straps for a robust three-link stainless steel bracelet secured with a dual push-button clasp.

Complementing the sporty new bracelet are three clean and simple sunburst dials in versatile colors. There are green, blue and copper versions, and each dial is adorned with slender applied hour markers and sharp dauphine hands. There are no Roman numerals or patterned dials here, just pure simplicity that makes these watches ideal for everyday wear.

closeup of a green orient watch dial — The dials of the new Bambino showcase surprisingly rich color.

The domed mineral crystal and Orient Cal. F6724 automatic movement with a date complication and 40-hour power reserve — visible through an exhibition caseback — are unchanged from the standard dressy Bambino. But so, unfortunately, is the 30m water resistance.

The Best Ultra-Affordable GADA Watch?

Style-wise, this new Bambino is extremely tough to beat at its ~$300 price point. The design recalls other popular “Go Anywhere, Do Anything” from the luxury watch space, like the Rolex Oyster Perpetual and, especially, the revamped Longines Conquest.

The only thing keeping this new Orient from being a true GADA watch is the low water resistance, which remains only splash-resistant and is something you’d expect from a dress watch, not a sports watch.

a pink orient watch against a pink background — The new steel bracelet completely transforms the style of the Bambino to make it more suitable for daily wear.

If Orient were to release a version of this watch with 100m of water resistance, then they’d really be cooking with gas. But if you’re not planning on being around much water, this is still one hell of a compelling watch.

As of now, the new casual Bambino is not technically available for the U.S. market, but Americans can still buy it from some European retailers like Serious Watches of The Netherlands, which has the €319 watch available for $299 USD. For the record, that’s about 1/7 the cost of the Longines.