Bambino Bauhaus Automatic – $150ish
Just like their other Bambino designs as well as their dive watches, Orient has retained the good looks and terrific value of their Bauhaus inspired Bambino watch, all while using an upgraded in-house movement.
The bambino used to have a movement stuck inside that didn’t hack or hand wind. That’s gone. Now you get that same, minimalist look equipped with a hacking and hand winding automatic movement. Shake if you want, but now you can hand wind it via the crown.
Styling is still terrific. It’s surprising how nice a bunch of rectangles (of varying thickness, some obviously very slim) can look when spaced and arranged perfectly inside of a circle. That’s really what we’re looking at here… a bunch of sticks in a circle. But that’s a hallmark of the Bauhaus design aesthetic. Clean and uncluttered, the dial has a subtle sunburst to it, and the date-only window sits in a traditional, 3 o’clock position.
Sizing is still the same. 40.5mm without the crown. It’s a true dress watch, and thus, has just 30m of water resistance to it. So try not to get it wet. The lug width is still a not-so-normal 21mm (most bands are 20mm or 22mm) and thus, might be tough to find replacements for… but the stock leather band that it comes with is soft and flexible.
No exhibition case back, but the substantially domed crystal is something they’ve kept, and it’s a real eye catcher. Makes it look like a watch that was produced long ago, instead of something that was cranked out in modern times.
It’s simple, it’s clean, it’s got that bauhaus-style influenced look. It’s a dress watch a lot of us lean on a lot… for good reason.
