Grand Seiko’s Affordable Cousin Just Offered Up Some Unexpected Competition

As Grand Seiko is to Seiko, so is Orient Star to Orient.

Although it doesn’t reach the dizzying luxury heights of its pricier corporate cousin (Orient and Seiko are both subsidiaries of Seiko Epson), Orient Star still offers the pinnacle of watchmaking at Orient — just as Grand Seiko does for Seiko.

Now, Orient Star appears to be taking direct aim at Grand Seiko — or, at the very least, taking clear inspiration from the brand — by crafting intricate, nature-inspired dials and making them the central focus of its latest watches.

A different type of meteor dial

Orient Star

One of Grand Seiko’s main claims to fame is its dial production, with the brand using the natural world around its Japanese studio to craft some of the most beautiful and inspired watch faces in the industry.

Orient Star seems to have taken note of this trend, as it looked to nature when creating the impressive dials for two new versions of its flagship sports watch, the M34 F8 Date.

The new models have very different dials, but both were inspired by the same natural occurrence: the Perseid meteor shower that occurs every year in July or August and is visible from the northern hemisphere.

Orient Star

The standard version of the M34 F8 Date features a textured green dial with a mottled pattern somewhat reminiscent of Grand Seiko’s iconic Snowflake dial. This appears to be the same pattern that launched on the M34 F8 Date last year in silver and blue, but in a new color.

The pattern is stamped but features a proprietary technology called optical multilayer film that involves layers of nano-level, near-transparent films applied to the dial. These films control the way light reflects and transmits on the dial, allowing for shifting colors reminiscent of what one might observe in outer space, says the brand.

More impressive is the new limited-edition version of the M34 F8 Date, which boasts an entirely new dial. It’s a black dial with a more obvious meteor-inspired design, where the meteors are represented by light streaks emanating from the center of the dial to create the illusion of interstellar travel.

Orient Star

This dial features a technology brand-new to the watch world, where ink composed of metal nanoparticles is injected into the dial at multiple layers, creating a unique sense of depth. The process is normally used in electronics, such as those produced by parent company Epson.

Not just a pretty face

In addition to their showstopping dials, the M34 F8 Date line makes a compelling case as a more affordable alternative to similarly styled watches from Grand Seiko.

Both new watches feature a 40 x 47.3 x 12.9mm case in stainless steel paired with a matching five-link bracelet that features alternating brushed and polished links. Sapphire crystals sandwich the dial, granting a nice view of the decorated, fully in-house F8N64 automatic movement.

Orient Star

The caliber, arguably the finest offered by Orient, boasts hacking, an antimagnetic silicon escape wheel and a 60-hour power reserve, which can be tracked via the power reserve indicator on the dial at 12 o’clock.

The green version of the M34 F8 Date, reference RE-BX0006E, is priced at $2,900. The limited-edition version, ref. RE-BX0009B, consists of just 160 examples and retails for $3,250. That price makes the limited edition the most expensive watch currently offered by Orient Star, but for comparison’s sake, it ranks near the bottom of Grand Seiko’s price catalog.

Both are available now at Orient Star’s online store.

Orient Star

Orient Star M34 F8 Date Limited

Specs

Case Size	40mm
Movement	Orient Cal. F8N64 automatic
Water Resistance	100m

• $3,250 at Orient Star

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