Description
ORIENT vintage mechanical watch
MADE IN JAPAN
“Orient” (オリエント) draws its name from the Latin word “Oriens,” meaning “the East” or “the rising sun.”
The name reflects the company’s Japanese origins and its aspiration to bring the finest Eastern craftsmanship to the world stage.
Founded in 1950 as Orient Watch Company (東方時計株式会社) in Tokyo, the brand quickly became Japan’s third-largest watchmaker alongside Seiko and Citizen. Orient distinguished itself with innovative in-house automatic movements, bold designs, and exceptional value — building every caliber in its own factory rather than relying on outside suppliers.
The brand name literally connects to the idea of Eastern excellence — a fitting identity for a company whose mechanical watches have earned devoted collectors worldwide.
About the Unimatic Line
🕰️ The Orient Unimatic was Orient’s self-winding day-date line of the late 1960s and early 1970s — the name a nod to the “automatic” movement at its heart, Orient’s everyday self-winding watch built around the convenience of a day-and-date display read at a glance.
It ran on Orient’s in-house caliber 49 automatic, the same 21-jewel movement family behind the brand’s respected “AAA”-grade watches of the era, giving the Unimatic genuine manufacture mechanics at an accessible, everyman price. As with everything Orient made, that movement was designed and built entirely in-house — a point of pride the company never gave up even on its more affordable references.
Where the Unimatic captured its moment was in the styling. These were watches of the early 1970s and wore it openly: bold barrel- and cushion-shaped cases, sunburst dials in the greens, greys and champagnes that defined the decade, and clean day-date windows framed for legibility. The result looked distinctly of its time while offering the honest, reliable automatic movement Orient had built its name on.
Today the Unimatic is an accessible way into vintage Japanese automatics: real in-house mechanical engineering and unmistakable 1970s character, at a price well below the equivalent Seiko or Citizen of the same years.
About This Watch
This Orient Unimatic carries the reference Y149-10740, engraved on its “Waterproof — All Stainless Steel” case-back beneath Orient’s crowned twin-lion crest. It runs on Orient’s in-house caliber 49-series automatic, a 21-jewel self-winding movement — the “21 JEWELS” printed proudly on the dial, as was the custom of the day.
The star of the watch is its dial: a green sunburst that shifts from bright olive to deep forest as the light moves across it, ringed by a dark outer minute track and set with faceted applied hour markers and gold-tone hands. A framed day-date sits at 3 o’clock. It is housed in a substantial barrel-shaped stainless steel case with mixed brushed and polished surfaces — a shape that reads unmistakably of the early 1970s.
It comes on its original Orient-signed stainless steel bracelet, the folding clasp stamped with the Orient name.
Technical Specifications
- Brand: Orient
- Line: Unimatic
- Case-back Number: Y149-10740
- Movement: Automatic (self-winding), Orient in-house caliber 49 series, 21 jewels
- Production Date: 1970s
- Case Material: Stainless steel
- Case Diameter: Approx. 39 mm (excluding crown)
- Dial: Green sunburst with applied faceted markers and framed day-date at 3 o’clock
- Crystal: Acrylic
- Bezel: Fixed stainless steel
- Case-back: Stainless steel, engraved with Orient lion crest
- Country of Manufacture: Japan
Condition Report
The green sunburst dial is in excellent condition — clean and bright, with strong colour and no visible blemishes, and crisp applied markers and gold-tone hands. The stainless steel barrel case shows only light surface marks consistent with careful vintage wear, its brushed and polished finishes well preserved. The acrylic crystal is clear. The original Orient-signed bracelet is complete and wears comfortably, carrying the honest patina expected of a watch of this age. Overall a clean, attractive, and well-kept example.
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
Vintage Orient automatics remain one of the last genuine bargains in Japanese watch collecting — real in-house mechanical movements from a maker that never outsourced its calibers, at a fraction of what its Seiko and Citizen contemporaries now command. The Unimatic sits right in that sweet spot.
The green sunburst dial is what sets this one apart: 1970s coloured sunburst dials are exactly the look driving renewed interest in the era, and green is among the most sought-after of them. Paired with the bold barrel case, the day-date convenience, and a movement freshly serviced and running well, it is an honest, wearable piece of 1970s Japanese watchmaking with real character — a watch to wear, not to lock away.
Modes of payment:
- PayPal
- Credit Cards (VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover)
We guarantee the item you receive looks and works exactly as advertised — or your money back.
Lug width matched leather straps: 18mm - 19mm - 20mm
About the watch factory
Orient Watch Company (オリエント時計株式会社, Oriento Tokei kabushiki gaisha), commonly known as Orient, is a Japanese watchmaker founded in 1950 in Tokyo. Orient became Japan’s third-largest watch manufacturer, alongside Seiko and Citizen, and earned a reputation for producing high-quality mechanical watches with in-house movements at accessible prices.
Orient’s greatest distinction in the watch industry has been its commitment to manufacturing its own movements entirely in-house — a practice shared by very few watchmakers worldwide. From the beginning, Orient designed, produced, and assembled every caliber in its own factory, giving the brand complete control over quality and innovation.
Throughout the decades, Orient produced iconic lines including the Weekly Auto (day-date dress watches), King Diver (robust sports watches), Orient Star (premium mechanical pieces), and the modern Kamasu and Bambino series that have introduced a new generation to mechanical watchmaking. The brand’s vintage pieces from the 1960s and 1970s — particularly the AAA-graded models — are increasingly prized by collectors for their distinctive designs, reliable movements, and the sheer quality they delivered at their price point.
In 2009, Orient became a subsidiary of the Seiko Epson Corporation, though it continues to operate as a distinct brand with its own identity and movement production. Today, Orient watches are sold worldwide and remain one of the best values in mechanical watchmaking.
