Encouraged by the very positive impressions of the Orient Blue Ray II watch, I reached for another timepiece from the brand. This time the choice fell on a very elegant model - Envoy, also known as Caballero (that's for those who want to see it on YT, without typing a long product code ;) ). I had been planning to buy an open heart watch for years, and the price offered at www.zegarownia.pl did not allow me to stand idle any longer.
The watch is beautiful. The relatively modestly decorated, but still charming sunbeam dial is just a stage for the spectacular show unfolding continuously at 9 o'clock, for there beats the heart of the automatic mechanism of the Japanese brand Orient's own production, rhythmically measuring time. The icing on the cake here is the attractive navy blue hands, which go from almost black to light blue with the help of light. It's a mesmerizing combination that not only shows the time, but also absorbs it. Roman hour indexes give it a classic allure, although for fans of Arabic markers Orient has an equivalent for this model. The owner's eye will also be pleased to see the underside of the envelope - the glass lid allows observation of the mechanism with a nicely finished, for this price class, pendulum. This is a great watch for a suit, even a more formal one.
Advantages: amazingly precise mechanism - my copy boasts a +0.5 spd score; beautiful sunbeam type numerals; blue hands; relatively flat ("low") envelope; glazed rear bezel; stop second; possibility to wind the mechanism by hand; "in house" mechanism; beautifully finished envelope; crown bearing the brand's logo.
Disadvantages: the inscription "Water Resistant" on the dial of a watch with a rather formal purpose is completely unnecessary; clearly audible winding by the pendulum.
Given the affordable price, I would be unfair if, as disadvantages, I listed the quality of the strap and the mineral glass. While in this case replacement with sapphire may be either impossible or unprofitable, changing the strap to a higher quality product to suit one's taste and wallet would be neither an expensive nor a breakneck venture.