“What’s this, Orient? New M-Force? A-TEAM?! Classics? NEW BAMBINOS?!”
Yes, no, yes and yes.
I doubt Orient will have any say in a reboot of ‘The A-Team’ (the 2010 film does not exist) so let’s move on. What they have done, however, is give the M-Force and Classic collection a bit of a refresh for the 2022 model year. So, without further ado, let’s dive in…
“M-Force! EMM FORCE!”
Three models under the M-Force collection make their debut this time round – the RA-AC0N01B (black dial), RA-AC0N02Y (orange dial) and RA-AC0N03E (green dial). The differences are all surface level as the new M-Force models are powered by Orient’s in-house F6727 automatic calibre. The 27-jeweled movement has roughly 40 hours of power reserve and feature hand-winding and hacking capabilities. Water resistance is quoted at 200 m.
The black and orange dialed variants feature a stainless steel bracelet with a deployant clasp with push button release while the green dialed model makes do with a black nylon strap. Lug width is 20 mm. The bidirectional compass bezel is stainless steel as well with the green dialed version getting a black metal finish to it as opposed to the other two.
Other inclusions are a sapphire crystal (with AR coating) across all models, lume at the edge of the skeletonized hands and indices, a screw-down crown and solid caseback. The case measures 45 mm across (47 mm with the “protection shield”) with a thickness of 12.8 mm.
“Now, onward to the new Classics (Bambino)!”
With this range, Orient has released five new models – the RA-AC0018E (green dial), RA-AC0019L (blue dial), RA-AC0020G (beige dial), RA-AC0021L (blue dial w/ leather strap) and RA-AC0022S (white dial). The first three are paired to a Milanese mesh bracelet while the latter two come on a leather strap. The leather straps themselves are “colour coded” to each dial colour. Lug width is 21 mm.
The most noticeable change here (besides the dial-strap combination) lies in the redesigned hands. Although almost imperceptible at first, a closer look would reveal a more dauphine-like silhouette as opposed to the sword-style hands of the previous variant.
Next up is the addition of Roman numerals at the 12 and 6 o’clock mark. The last one had baton indices all round. The unframed date window remains, as does the stylized ‘Water Resistant’ font. Finally, we also see the inclusion of numerals along the minute track that appear at 5-minute intervals.
Elsewhere, it’s pretty much business as usual. The stainless steel case measures 40.5 mm across with a thickness of 12.3 mm. A domed mineral crystal sits atop the dial while an exhibition caseback allows a view of Orient’s in-house F6724 automatic calibre.
The 22-jeweled movement beats at a rate of 3 Hz and has a power reserve of approximately 40 hours. Hacking and hand-winding are, of course, present along with a date complication. Water resistance? A measly 30 m but hey! It’s a dress watch, alright? The closest it should ever get to water is by the sink and that’s it.
Also, with it being Orient’s quintessential dress watch, there is not a single trace of lume on the watch at all.
