Orient Kamasu Review

What the Kamasu is and what sets it apart

The Orient Kamasu is the sapphire-glass member of the Mako family. In a sentence: it carries the same in-house automatic calibre and the same true 200 metres as the Mako 3, but it brings one important upgrade on the glass. When you are shopping for a dive watch, that is the detail most people overlook: even when the calibre and the depth rating are identical on paper, the crystal is the part that lives a daily life. Who is it for? Anyone after a first proper automatic who intends to use the watch like a genuine tool, not a museum piece.

The sapphire glass, the real upgrade over the Mako

The Mako 3 uses a mineral crystal; the Kamasu gives you a sapphire crystal. What does that mean in practice? Sapphire is much harder than mineral and far more scratch-resistant; it shrugs off the steel keyring, the doorframe and the desk edge that would mark mineral over time. A mineral crystal gathers hairline scratches; sapphire stays clear for years. The one nuance is that under a very hard knock sapphire can be a touch more prone to cracking than mineral, but for everyday wear sapphire wins clearly. The Kamasu also usually arrives with slightly better lume than the Mako, so night-time legibility is a little easier.

The Orient Kamasu is the subject of this review; it comes in several dial and bracelet options on the same roughly 41.8mm case, so the choice is about colour, not size.

The movement inside, Orient's F6922

The heart is the same as the Mako: the F6922, Orient's own automatic calibre. 22 jewels, 21,600 beats per hour, around 40 hours of power reserve. Two features matter. You can hand-wind it (turn the crown to start a stopped watch), and it hacks (pull the crown and the seconds hand stops, so you can set it to the second). That pairing is far from universal on every automatic watch in this price band. Keep your accuracy expectations realistic: a few seconds of drift a day is normal, this is no chronometer, and if you wear it regularly and rest it in a consistent position you can rein the drift in yourself.

On the wrist and in everyday use

The case is about 41.8mm, with a screw-down crown and a unidirectional rotating bezel. The steel bracelet has none of the hollow rattle of cheaper watches and sits properly on the wrist. The bezel turns with crisp clicks and inspires confidence when timing a dive. A true 200 metres comfortably covers swimming and snorkelling, and it is rated well beyond recreational scuba depths, provided the crown is screwed fully home before the watch goes near water. This is where the sapphire really pays off: if you genuinely use the watch, the glass stays as clear years later as it was on day one.

The specs at a glance

Specification	Kamasu
Calibre	Orient F6922, automatic
Glass	Sapphire
Water resistance	200m, screw-down crown
Case	~41.8mm

Kamasu or Mako

This is the most common dilemma. Both run the same F6922 calibre and the same true 200 metres. The difference is almost entirely the glass. If you intend to wear it daily and give it a hard life, the small premium for the Kamasu's sapphire over the Mako 3 is among the most sensible money you can spend over the long run. If you will wear it seldom, and with care, the Mako 3 is more than enough and saves you a little. For the wider picture, see my Orient Mako 3 review, the best dive watches under $500 guide, and the roundup of the best Japanese watches.