Orient Bambino Gen 2 Ver. 2 Review: budget dress watch that actually looks grown-up

I’ve been wearing the Orient Bambino Gen 2 Ver. 2 (white dial with rose‑gold hands, brown strap) almost every workday for a few weeks. I bought it as a simple office watch that doesn’t scream “look at me” but also doesn’t feel like a £20 fashion watch. I’ve mostly worn divers and chunky chronographs before, so this was my first proper dress watch in a while.

Out of the box, my first reaction was basically: “OK, this looks more expensive than what I paid.” The domed crystal and the slightly off‑white dial give it a bit of character without being flashy. It’s not some luxury piece, you can tell it’s under £200 if you know watches, but for normal people it passes as a “nice watch”. I had two colleagues ask what brand it was within the first week, and they’d never heard of Orient.

I’ve been pairing it with shirts, smart chinos, and a couple of suits. It fits that role well. It’s not a watch I’d wear with a tracksuit or to the gym, but that’s not what it’s made for. It’s more of a daily office / dinner / family event type watch. I also wore it at a wedding and it didn’t look out of place next to friends wearing much pricier Swiss brands.

In short: it’s a simple automatic dress watch that does its job. It’s not perfect – the strap is the weak point and the mineral crystal is basic – but at this price I wasn’t expecting miracles. If you just want a clean, classic‑looking automatic without spending a fortune, this is already off to a good start.

Price‑wise, the Bambino usually sits somewhere around £110–£150 depending on where and when you buy it. For that money, you’re getting an in‑house automatic movement with hacking and hand‑winding, a classic design that doesn’t look cheap, and a brand with some actual watchmaking history behind it. Compared to fashion watches in the same price range (Fossil, MVMT, random Amazon brands), this is simply better built and more serious as a watch.

Where do they save money? Mainly on the crystal and strap. You’re not getting sapphire, and the leather strap is obviously budget. If you factor in a future strap upgrade (say £20–£30) and possibly a crystal upgrade if you’re picky, the total cost creeps up, but even then it’s still reasonable for an automatic dress watch. The movement accuracy I’m seeing (+7 to +10 seconds/day) is actually better than some more expensive Swiss entry‑level automatics I’ve tried.

If you compare it to something like a Seiko Presage or Tissot dress watch, those can easily run two or three times the price. Yes, they offer better finishing and often sapphire, but for a lot of people that price jump isn’t worth it. The Bambino hits a nice middle ground: you get a proper mechanical watch that looks respectable without destroying your budget. It’s the kind of thing you can wear to work, weddings, and dinners without feeling underdressed.

For me, the value is strong if you accept its limits: dressy use, basic water resistance, and the expectation that you might swap the strap at some point. If you want one all‑round watch you can swim with, abuse, and never worry about, this isn’t it. But if you specifically want a dressy automatic that looks like you spent more than you actually did, it’s hard to complain at this price.

The design is very straightforward: round case, domed crystal, Roman numerals, and thin hands. The version I have has a white (more like off‑white / egg shell) dial with rose‑gold hands and markers, and a brown leather strap. It’s clearly going for a classic dress watch vibe. If you like busy dials, rotating bezels, or big sporty cases, this is basically the opposite of that.

The dial is the part that makes the watch feel more expensive than it is. The off‑white color looks nicer than a flat bright white. Under some lighting it has a very slight warm tone that works well with the rose‑gold hands. The printed crosshair on the dial is a small detail, but it breaks up the empty space nicely. The Roman numerals are clean and not over‑done. The Orient logo is applied, not printed, which gives the dial a bit of depth.

The domed mineral crystal is the other big design feature. It gives the watch a vintage look and makes the dial look less flat. It does catch reflections more than a flat sapphire, but that’s the trade‑off. From the side, the curve of the crystal and the slim bezel look pretty good. You can definitely tell they tried to give it a bit of character without going crazy.

On the wrist, the watch is quite balanced. At around 40 mm diameter and roughly 12 mm thick, it’s not ultra‑thin but it still slides under a shirt cuff without a fight. The lugs curve down a bit, which helps it sit close to the wrist. Case finishing is mostly polished, which fits the dressy style. It’s not luxury‑grade finishing, but there are no sharp edges or weird machining marks on mine. Design‑wise, I’d call it clean, classic, and safe, which is exactly what I wanted for a dress piece.

On the wrist, the watch itself is comfortable. The case size and shape work well for normal to slightly larger wrists. At 40.5 mm with a modest lug‑to‑lug, it doesn’t overhang on my 17.5 cm wrist. The thickness is around 12 mm, which is not ultra‑thin but still fine for a dress watch. It slides under a shirt cuff without me having to constantly adjust it. The curved lugs help it hug the wrist instead of sitting like a flat pancake.

The weak point for comfort is the stock strap. Out of the box, it’s quite stiff, especially near the lugs. The first couple of days, it felt a bit like wearing a new pair of formal shoes – it works, but you’re aware of it. After about a week of daily wear, it started to break in and follow the shape of my wrist better. It’s still not the softest leather strap I’ve owned, but it’s no longer annoying. The underside is smoother and more comfortable than the shiny top, so at least the part touching the skin is fine.

The buckle is a simple stainless steel tang buckle. No deployant clasp or anything fancy, but it does the job. The holes on the strap are spaced reasonably, so I managed to get a good fit without it being too tight or too loose. If you have a very small wrist, the 40 mm case might feel a bit big, but for average male wrists it should be okay. The watch doesn’t feel top‑heavy, which is nice – some automatics tend to flop around if the strap is bad, but this one stays in place once you tighten it.

After a couple of weeks, I ended up trying it on a third‑party leather strap I already owned, and the comfort jumped up noticeably. That tells me the case design is fine; it’s really just the stock strap holding it back. If you’re picky about comfort, budget an extra £20–£30 for a nicer strap and you’ll be much happier. But if you just wear it as is, it’s still perfectly wearable once it breaks in.

Let’s be clear: this is not a high‑end watch, so the materials are mostly “good enough”, not premium. The case is stainless steel with a polished finish. It feels solid in hand, not hollow or tinny. The weight is reasonable – not heavy like a diver, but not toy‑light either. It gives the impression of a proper mechanical watch when you pick it up. I didn’t notice any discoloration or cheap plating issues on the case itself.

The crystal is domed mineral glass, not sapphire. That’s probably the main compromise. Mineral will scratch more easily than sapphire if you bang it on door frames or desks. I’ve been reasonably careful, but after a few weeks of office wear and daily use, I don’t see any scratches yet. Still, if you’re rough with your watches or you plan to wear this every single day for years, this is something to keep in mind. Some people swap it for aftermarket sapphire, but that’s extra cost and hassle.

The strap is where the cost cutting is most obvious. It’s leather, but it has a shiny, almost plastic look out of the box. It’s also quite stiff at first. The upside is that the stitching is neat and it doesn’t feel like it’s going to fall apart immediately. The downside is that it doesn’t feel very premium on the wrist, especially compared to nicer aftermarket leather straps. The 21 mm lug width is a bit annoying because it’s not the most common size, but you can still find 21 mm or just squeeze a 22 mm strap in if needed.

Inside, you get an in‑house automatic movement (F6722 in this version), which is actually pretty good for the price. You’re not getting fancy decoration or a sapphire caseback here, but you’re also not paying for that. The movement hacks and hand‑winds, which is more useful in daily life than some decorative rotor you never see. Overall, materials are sensible for the price: decent case, basic crystal, mediocre strap, solid movement.

I haven’t had this watch for years obviously, but in the few weeks of regular use I’ve tried not to baby it too much. It’s been worn while commuting, typing all day at a desk, carrying bags, and doing normal everyday stuff. I didn’t take it on construction sites or anything like that, but I also didn’t treat it like a museum piece.

So far, the case is holding up well. No obvious scratches or dings, just the usual tiny hairlines you get on polished surfaces if you look really closely under certain light. The lugs haven’t developed any weird marks from strap changes, which sometimes happens on cheaper watches if the drilling is sloppy. The crown still feels tight and positive when setting time and date. No wobble or grinding feeling.

The mineral crystal is still clean after a few knocks against desk edges and door frames. This is luck as much as anything, because mineral can scratch, but at least in my short test it hasn’t picked up any visible marks. Long term, I’d expect some wear if you’re clumsy. That’s just the reality with mineral glass. If you want something you can forget about and bash around, you’d be better off with a sapphire‑equipped watch or a beater.

The strap is the part I see aging the fastest. It’s already starting to show a bit of creasing where it bends through the buckle, and I can see the shiny finish getting small wrinkles. That’s normal for leather, but it does confirm my feeling that this strap is more “OK for now” than “long‑term keeper”. The stitching looks fine and I don’t think it’ll fail immediately, but I can easily see myself swapping it in 6–12 months if I wore this every day. Overall, I’d say durability is pretty solid for the price, as long as you remember this is an office dress watch, not a rough sports tool.

The Bambino uses Orient’s F6722 automatic movement (in this version), which supports hand‑winding and hacking. That already makes it more practical than some older budget automatics. Setting the time is straightforward: pull the crown to the second position, the seconds hand stops, and you can line it up with your phone. The date change is quickset and clicks over reliably around midnight.

In terms of accuracy, mine runs about +7 to +10 seconds per day depending on how much I wear it and how it’s stored at night. For a watch in this price range, that’s actually pretty solid. It’s not chronometer‑level, but it’s more than good enough for normal use. I set it on Monday morning and by Friday it’s maybe half a minute fast, which I can live with. If you’re the type who obsesses over every second, you’ll probably be looking at higher‑end movements anyway.

Power reserve is around 40 hours on paper. In practice, if I wear it through a full day and take it off in the evening, it’s still running fine the next morning and usually into the following night. I only had it stop on me when I left it off the wrist for almost two full days. The hand‑winding is smooth with a bit of resistance, so topping it up manually is easy if you haven’t worn it for a while.

Water resistance is rated at 30 m (100 ft). Realistically, this means splash‑proof: washing hands, light rain, maybe an accidental splash is fine. I wouldn’t swim or shower with it, and I haven’t tried. The crown is not screw‑down. For a dress watch, that’s normal, but if you want something to take into the pool, this is not it. Overall, as a daily office watch, the performance is more than acceptable: decent accuracy, reliable date, no weird behavior so far.

The watch arrived in a pretty standard Orient box: outer cardboard sleeve and a small inner box with a metal‑look lid. Nothing fancy, but it doesn’t feel cheap either. It’s exactly what I’d expect in this price range – better than the flimsy boxes you get with fashion brands, but nowhere near the thick wood boxes from high‑end stuff. Inside you get the watch on a cushion, a manual, and the warranty card. No extras, no tools, no spare straps.

Mine came already running, so clearly it had been shaken around a bit in transit. No damage, no dust on the dial, no misaligned indices. The dial printing is clean, the logo is properly applied, and the Roman numerals look consistent. I checked the hands alignment at 12, 3, 6, 9 – no obvious misalignment. For a sub‑£150 watch, that’s already a good sign. I’ve seen pricier watches with worse QC.

One thing I noticed right away is that the watch looks smaller in person than the 40.5 mm spec suggests. I think the domed crystal and slim bezel make the face look a bit more compact. On my 17.5 cm (about 6.9 inch) wrist, it sits nicely without hanging over the sides. If you’re used to 44 mm divers, this will feel a bit modest at first, but that’s kind of the point for a dress watch.

Overall, the presentation is simple but clean: it feels like a proper watch brand, not a random logo‑slapped product. Nothing here screams luxury, but nothing screams cheap either. For the money, I was perfectly fine with what I got in the box.