Orient

Orient traces its origins to a Tokyo watch shop opened by Shogoro Yoshida in 1901 and to Toyo Tokei, the manufacturer he built from 1920, which closed in 1949. The business was re-established in 1950 as Tama Keiki, continuing production at the Hino factory west of Tokyo, and took the name Orient Watch Co. in 1951, the year of the first Orient Star. Later milestones include the Royal Orient (1960) and the high-frequency Tenbeat movement (1970).

Orient builds its own mechanical movements, today at Akita Epson in northern Japan. Seiko Epson took a majority stake in 2001, made Orient a wholly owned subsidiary in 2009 and integrated the watch business in 2017; the watches are now marketed by Epson. The Bambino dress watch and the Mako, Ray and Kamasu divers form the entry range, while Orient Star, with in-house calibres and a higher level of finishing, sits above it.