Description
ORIENT vintage quartz watch
MADE IN JAPAN
“Orient” takes its name from the Latin word oriri – “to rise” or “to be born” – the same root behind “Orient” as a direction: the east, where the sun rises. The company’s roots go back to 1901, when watchmaker Shogoro Yoshida opened a watch shop in Ueno, Tokyo, initially importing pocket watches before starting his own watch-case production in 1913. After his clock-making venture Toyo Tokei Manufacturing (founded 1920) was shut down during wartime, Yoshida’s watchmaking business was reborn in 1950 as the Tama Keiki Company, renamed Orient Watch Company, Limited in 1951. So the brand name ties directly to the idea of a new dawn – a fitting name for a watchmaker rebuilding itself from the ground up in postwar Japan.
About the Swimmer 100 Line
The Orient Swimmer line was Orient’s everyday sport-watch series through the late 1970s and 1980s, straddling the transition from mechanical to quartz that reshaped the Japanese watch industry in that era. The “100” in Swimmer 100 refers to its 100-meter water resistance rating, printed right on the dial, pitching it as a genuine daily sports watch rather than a dress piece that merely tolerated splashes. By the 1980s Orient moved the line onto its in-house 56-series quartz calibers (movement codes starting 5691x), reflecting the industry-wide shift toward quartz in that decade. Design-wise, the quartz Swimmer 100 kept things practical: a round stainless steel case, a day-date complication at 3 o’clock for daily utility, and a clean dial legible at a glance.
About This Watch
This example is ref. H569103-80 CA, powered by Orient’s in-house cal. 56910 quartz movement (visible through the case-back, running on an SR1120W battery). The blue sunburst dial carries applied stick markers, a day-date window at 3 o’clock, and the “100m” water-resistance marking typical of the Swimmer 100 line. Based on the caliber family and case styling, this watch dates to the early-to-mid 1980s. It is currently fitted with a period-correct stainless steel bracelet by Expandro (West Germany) rather than an Orient-signed bracelet.
Technical Specifications
- Brand: Orient
- Line: Swimmer 100
- Reference Number: H569103-80 CA
- Movement: Orient cal. 56910, quartz
- Serial Number: Not externally marked
- Production Date: Early-to-mid 1980s (estimated from caliber and case styling)
- Case Material: Stainless steel
- Case Diameter: Approx. 35mm (excluding crown)
- Dial: Blue sunburst, applied stick markers, day-date window at 3 o’clock
- Crystal: Acrylic (period-correct for this reference)
- Case-back: Stainless steel screw-back, engraved “ORIENT QUARTZ WATER RESISTANT ALL STAINLESS STEEL H569103-80 CA”
- Country of Manufacture: Japan
Condition Report
The blue sunburst dial is clean with no fading, spotting, or hand discoloration. The stainless case shows light wear consistent with age, including fine surface scratches on the case-back and bezel; no dents or deep gouges. The day-date function advances and quickset correctly. The watch is currently fitted with a period stainless steel bracelet (see note below on its origin) in good working order.
Watch went through a recent service by a professional watch technician and keeps good time.
Comes complete with vintage steel bracelet*.
(*)Note: Stock bracelets are often shortened by previous owners and may not fit you(see bracelet size in the product images).
We recommend adding a new Orient lug width matched leather strap with your order.
This watch ships from 🇺🇦Ukraine with tracking number
Why Collectors Want This Watch Today
This is an accessible entry point into Orient’s early quartz era, from the same 56-series family the brand used to establish its in-house quartz credentials during the industry’s broader shift away from mechanical movements in the 1980s. The blue sunburst dial and clean day-date layout give it more visual presence than most budget quartz watches of the period, and it remains fully functional today.
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Orient lug width matched leather straps: 18mm - 19mm - 20mm
About the watch factory
Orient Watch Company, Ltd. (オリエント時計株式会社) is a Japanese watchmaker founded in 1950, tracing its roots to a Tokyo watch shop opened in 1901 by Shogoro Yoshida. Orient has always been known for something Seiko and Citizen weren’t as quick to embrace at the entry level: in-house automatic movements, sold at accessible prices, in an era when many budget watches from other makers ran on outsourced or quartz movements. Since 2009 Orient has operated as a subsidiary of Seiko Epson (unrelated to its old rival Seiko Group despite the name coincidence with “Epson”), with its watch business fully folded into Epson in 2017. Movements are produced in-house by Epson’s Akita facility in Yuzawa, Akita Prefecture, the same roots as Orient’s historic manufacturing base. Today Orient’s catalog splits into two tiers: the mainline Orient collection (value-driven automatics and quartz pieces, including the cult-favorite Bambino dress watch) and Orient Star, the brand’s higher-end line with in-house movements, hand-finished dials, and occasional skeletonized or complicated pieces aimed at serious collectors. Across both tiers, Orient has built its reputation on delivering genuine mechanical horology, export-quality automatic movements with real jeweling and finishing, at price points well below what Swiss competitors charge for comparable engineering.
