Horology.edu Says ORIENT WATCH Movement Better Than Swiss ETA Movement

August 24th, 2009 Posted in Orient Watch Reviews | 14 Comments | Comment and Win a Free Orient Watch Comment and Win a Free Orient Watch

You saw it here first.

The school of Horology (yes, THE school of horoogy) has made a video available to the public that talks about the superiority of the ORIENT in-house movement that of the popular ETA movement that is found in a lot of Swiss watches.

Here are the key points to their video:

  • They compared the winding mechanisms of the Orient movement 46943 to the Swiss ETA movement 2892.a2
  • There are ball bearings in the Orient and it takes very little movement to produce winding motion.
  • It’s less fancy, thus making it more efficient
  • It uses fewer parts and ball bearings for a higher conversion of kinetic energy.

What else do you gather from this video? Comment and you may win a Free Orient Watch!


  1. 14 Comments | Comment and Win a Free Orient Watch

  2. By Javier Santos on Aug 29, 2009

    Beautiful pepsi bezel on that piece, and one more reason to feel confident about owning Orient pieces.

  3. By Ron Good on Aug 29, 2009

    Asian watchmakers have a great talent for intelligently simplifying movements, making them easier to service and easier to mass produce without loss of quality (utility, accuracy and durability).

    It’s nice to see this example so clearly shown and explained.

  4. By Valentin Hurdubaie on Sep 4, 2009

    great video , always wanted to see the difference between japanese and swiss movements

  5. By John von Kreuz on Sep 22, 2009

    Well hopefully this will further batter down the wall of snobbery of “Swiss vs Japanese”.

  6. By Dan Fcok on Oct 14, 2009

    Well after seeing the videa and the comments, I am even more convinced that I need to use more Asian movements.

    The Swiss need to pull up their socks

  7. By Hex on Dec 11, 2009

    I think you’ve assumed too much from the video. The narrator never said which movement is better, neither if one winding mechanism is better than the other. What was said is that “this is the most superior system that they [Orient] have, for winding” and Orient’s winding system is easier to service and produces less wear (but he doesn’t comment on its efficiency as a winding system).

    I don’t favor any movement over the other, I just wanted to point out that your post and follow up comments are bases on assumptions.

  8. By Joel on Dec 29, 2009

    That video definitely shows the simplicity of the Orient design. I dont think they are saying the ETA is a bad movement, just that it requires a little more care and maintenance than the Orient.

  9. By pete edwards on Jan 5, 2010

    I am preparing to produce a watch case to my own one off design using mother of pearl as a major constituent.
    The Orient movement must, after viewing the video, be given serious consideration. It appears the simplfied construction of the rotor would afford ease in embellishing with a decorative machine finish, thus enhancing my hand made case.
    I trust the movements available on their own
    and in small batches.
    regards Pete

  10. By Tim on Jan 16, 2010

    After seeing the video convinced that Asian movements are just as good as Swiss but Orient need to make their own design instead of copying Rolex.

  11. By Dan on Jan 23, 2010

    every watch company makes their own models that are similar to the submariner or gmt in design. they are just classics.

  12. By John in Perry on Feb 1, 2010

    Any idea if the Orient movement can fit in a Rolex? :)

  13. By Stephanie Weil on Feb 20, 2010

    The author did comment on the Orient’s efficiency.

    The winding rotor spins around with very little effort. So that means even the slightest movement while you wear the watch will power the mechanism and make it do it’s job.

    At least that’s what I interpreted.

  14. By Speedmaster on Feb 23, 2010

    Does that Orient movement wind in both directions?

  15. By Joe on Feb 27, 2010

    Less complicated usually means stronger and more reliable. The old adage, “KISS- Keep It Simple Stupid” comes to mind. Most if not all automatic watches require maintenance and oiling at some point. Less parts means less to go wrong. I’m sold!

14 comments | Comment and Win a Free Orient Watch