The honest mavericks who polished the new Orient Star

ORIENT STAR
Concept & Design Story

　The new Orient Star was born in June 2017. The Mechanical Moon Phase model was released under a completely revamped new structure, while retaining the name of the core collection that Orient Watch has used since 1951. It was released on the market almost immediately after its official announcement, with the first lot selling out by August. The seemingly unexpected request for immediate increased production caused a commotion at the manufacturing site until the end of last year. The bold decision to move away from the old brand image and go high-end has already been a great success.
　The Mechanical Moon Phase also served another purpose: to clearly articulate the new Orient Star brand identity. To recap the distinction under the old system, Orient Star was aimed at the domestic market, while Orient was priced slightly lower for overseas markets. However, it seems that this distinction was difficult to communicate. My personal impression was that, while lacking the refinement typical of entry-level mechanical watches, it was one of those interesting watches that rarely shone with distinctive individuality. The design team agreed, describing it as a "serious maverick." The reason I bring up this old story is because the more experienced watch enthusiasts are, the more likely they are to misunderstand the new Orient Star's position. The essence of the new Orient Star, rebuilt under the leadership of Seiko Epson, is a "practical and high-quality watch."
　The design concept for the spearhead of this movement, the Mechanical Moon Phase, was to "face the classics head-on." In this case, "classic" meant respecting the classics of wristwatches, an "imported culture," while incorporating a touch of Japanese originality.
　While refining the 46-series movement, the design team began work on the dial. While adopting Roman numerals as a basic principle, they repeatedly prototyped stamping patterns. While retaining the already popular skeleton design of the balance wheel, they refined the idea of ​​overlapping circles. The design, in which a coin-edged circle straddles the open section of the balance wheel, embodies the love for design inherited from the days of the "serious maverick." The most difficult part was deciding on the length of the minute hand, with its curved tip. From the design perspective, they wanted to make the hand as long as possible. However, before the movement design was fully developed, it was impossible to calculate a design value that took safety factors into account. Furthermore, the longer the hand, the greater the difficulty of assembly. Ultimately, after a "major debate" that even involved the manufacturing floor, the current slender, long, blue-IP hand was realized. However, the freedom in movement design, including the position of the moon phase, and the complex manufacturing process were made possible thanks to Seiko Epson's advanced technological capabilities. The final specifications were decided in November 2016. Considering that there was very little time between then and the market launch, the "great success" mentioned at the beginning is truly a remarkable achievement. Behind this success was the love for watches of the staff who worked on the design, and the solid technology that supported it.