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+====== Orient ======
+{{wst>menue|Orient}}
+The **Orient Watch Company** is one of the largest producers of mechanical watches in Japan. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of [[Seiko Epson]] but designs and manufactures separately from [[Seiko]].
+===== History =====
+{{wst>image_cr|Orient|Star SDK05004K}}
+In [[1901]], Shogoro Yoshida set up a watch shop in Ueno, Tokyo, Japan. He began manufacturing gold clock cases by [[1912]] and set up a factory, Toyo Tokei Manufacturing, to produce clocks by [[1920]]. In [[1934]], the company began producing wristwatches, and a factory was established at Hino in the following years. The original factory was shut down after World War II, but the company returned to watch production in [[1950]], now operating as Tama Keiki Co. Ltd.
+The next year, [[1951]], Tama Keiki changed their name to Orient Watch Company and began sales of the [[Orient Star]] watch. The company expanded international sales, first to China, in the following decade. In [[1959]], the [[Royal Orient]] appeared, presenting a challenge to [[Seiko]]'s [[Lord Marvel]] and similar high-end Japanese watches. The company launched the [[ultra-thin]] Orient Finess collection in [[1967]] using their Cal. 3900. A [[high-beat]] line, Orient Tenbeat, was created in [[1970]] using Cal. 9980.
+In the 1970's, Orient focused mainly on mechanical watches, never developing their own quartz movements to rival Seiko, Citizen, and Casio. This included the automatic Cal. 46940, launched in [[1971]], which would continue in production for decades as the Cal. 46 series.
+Orient returned to innovation in the 1990s, developing an automatic movement with [[power reserve indicator]] in [[1997]] and an automatic movement with power reserve and world time in [[2000]]. The Orient Star hand-winding model in solid silver was awarded the Gold Prize for Standard Watch of the Year in Japan in [[2003]]. A new slim automatic movement, Cal. 88700, appeared in the Royal Orient collection in [[2004]].
+By [[2001]], Seiko Epson had become a major shareholder in Orient, and the company completed a complete takeover in [[2009]]. Today, Orient operates as an independent but wholly-owned subsidiary of Seiko Epson, which is itself a producer of many Seiko-brand watches.
+===== Products =====
+Orient is unusual in that they produce all of their own movements, including most components, in-house. Also, most of their movements are produced in Japan, rather than in overseas factories as is the case for most Seiko and Citizen products.
+Needing an inexpensive modern movement for mass production, Orient licensed the [[Seiko 7006]] movement design along with the [[Seiko 6600]] [[Magic Lever]] automatic winding mechanism. These were combined to become the [[Orient 46]] movement, which is still the company's mainstream automatic watch movement today. Orient also manufactures a number of other movements, including the high-end [[Orient 88700]].
+One notable innovation from Orient is the [[power reserve indicator]]. The company still includes this feature on many midrange and above watches. Orient is also fond of [[retrograde]] indicators.
+Orient's product line is not as diverse as Seiko or Citizen's, with most products being variations on a few basic case and movement designs. Orient's watches generally sell for less than similar competing products from Seiko, and the company's automatic watches are considered a bargain by aficionados despite the aging and simple movement.
+Some well-known Orient product lines follow
+  * [[Orient Bambino]] (ER) - A classic and simple watch
+  * [[Orient Mako]] and [[Orient Ray|Ray]] (CEM) - An inexpensive water-resistant watch
+  * [[Orient Pro Saturation Diver]] - A capable diving watch
+===== Sub-brands =====
+  * [[Orient Star]] - Upscale sub-branch with in-house mechanical movements
+===== Weblinks =====
+  * [[http://www.orient-watch.com/|Orient]], official website
+{{tag>Watch_brands Watch_brands_Japan Movement_manufacturers Movement_manufacturers_Japan Seiko_Group}}