Orient CDD00001W Pocket Watch
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Authored by RON in PA
I'm primarily a vintage pocket and wrist watch collector, but I recently purchased an Orient mechanical pocket watch of current manufacture and I thought that some of the Orient fans might be interested in my review over in the vintage and pocket watch forum.
I thought I'd post here about my new acquisition, a current production pocket watch and one not using the ubiquitous Molnija or Unitas movements.
Recently the Orient Watch Co. introduced a PW using a manual wind movement with a power reserve indicator and sapphire crystals front and back in a stainless steel case. The watch comes with a SS chain. The watch is rather small, only 40mm in diameter, probably the size of a early 20th century woman's pendant watch or the same size as a contemporary man's wrist watch. I believe that Orient modified one of their automatic wrist watch movements to create the watch. The reason I think this is because when winding the watch there is no point at which you can feel that the mainspring is fully wound as in a traditional manual wound watch. I'm quite sure that the usual mechanism found in auto watches to prevent mainspring overwinding is in place. As you wind the watch you can see the power reserve indicator slowly move to forty hours.
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Unusual for a PW is the center second hand which conveniently hackable. The Breguet hands are blue, probably painted or coated. The dial is very nicely done. The movement is finished with perlage, but since this is based on an auto movement most of the movement is covered by a plate hiding most of the watches workings. Only the balance is easily visible although the escape wheel can be seen if wearing a loupe.
I put the watch on my MicroSet Timer and in the pendant up position it was going at +4.2 seconds a day. As I write this, 13 hours after winding it up, the watch is +3 seconds and that's keeping it in the watch pocket all the time.
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Any complaints, well Orient should have made it bigger, at least size 12. Also while I can understand them modifying an auto movement (this is speculation, of course) and using an observation sapphire back why not make more of the working parts visible for us watch nuts.
Pictures attached, note in the one with another PW, it's an Elgin 571 size 16 from the early 1950s to show a size comparison.
![]()
I'm primarily a vintage pocket and wrist watch collector, but I recently purchased an Orient mechanical pocket watch of current manufacture and I thought that some of the Orient fans might be interested in my review over in the vintage and pocket watch forum.
I thought I'd post here about my new acquisition, a current production pocket watch and one not using the ubiquitous Molnija or Unitas movements.
Recently the Orient Watch Co. introduced a PW using a manual wind movement with a power reserve indicator and sapphire crystals front and back in a stainless steel case. The watch comes with a SS chain. The watch is rather small, only 40mm in diameter, probably the size of a early 20th century woman's pendant watch or the same size as a contemporary man's wrist watch. I believe that Orient modified one of their automatic wrist watch movements to create the watch. The reason I think this is because when winding the watch there is no point at which you can feel that the mainspring is fully wound as in a traditional manual wound watch. I'm quite sure that the usual mechanism found in auto watches to prevent mainspring overwinding is in place. As you wind the watch you can see the power reserve indicator slowly move to forty hours.
Unusual for a PW is the center second hand which conveniently hackable. The Breguet hands are blue, probably painted or coated. The dial is very nicely done. The movement is finished with perlage, but since this is based on an auto movement most of the movement is covered by a plate hiding most of the watches workings. Only the balance is easily visible although the escape wheel can be seen if wearing a loupe.
I put the watch on my MicroSet Timer and in the pendant up position it was going at +4.2 seconds a day. As I write this, 13 hours after winding it up, the watch is +3 seconds and that's keeping it in the watch pocket all the time.
Any complaints, well Orient should have made it bigger, at least size 12. Also while I can understand them modifying an auto movement (this is speculation, of course) and using an observation sapphire back why not make more of the working parts visible for us watch nuts.
Pictures attached, note in the one with another PW, it's an Elgin 571 size 16 from the early 1950s to show a size comparison.
