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 Tama Keiki Company in Tokyo and renamed Orient Watch Company (オリエント時計株式会社) in April 1951, 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 Weekly Auto AAA Line
The Orient Weekly Auto AAA line represents Orient’s push into the “everyman’s automatic” market of the 1960s — a day-date dress watch aimed at the growing Japanese middle class during the country’s postwar economic boom.
“Weekly” refers to the day-of-week display (a genuine convenience feature in the 1960s), “Auto” to the automatic winding movement, and “AAA” to the grade printed on the dial — the top of Orient’s own A / AA / AAA designation.
The in-house automatic movement inside these watches was built entirely by Orient, in keeping with its long-standing identity as a manufacturer that never relied on outsourced calibers even at accessible price points. Applied faceted markers and clean, legible dials were common Orient design language of the decade — understated and built for daily wear rather than display-case status.
Today the Weekly Auto AAA sits at a sweet spot for collectors: genuine 1960s–70s Japanese in-house automatic engineering, distinctive period styling, at a price point well below equivalent Seiko or Citizen pieces from the same years.
About This Watch
This example is a Weekly Auto Orient AAA from around 1970, its case-back stamped G319101-70 beneath Orient’s crowned twin-lion crest and the legend “All Stainless Steel — Water Proof.” Inside is Orient’s in-house automatic caliber 1935, a 19-jewel movement engraved “ORIENT 1935 19J” across the rotor and shown open in these photos, driving central hands and a day-date display framed at 3 o’clock. The day wheel is bilingual, alternating between English abbreviations and Japanese kanji as it advances — a hallmark of Japanese watches built for both the home and export markets.
The dial is glossy black, printed “ORIENT” above the hands and “AAA / 19 JEWELS” below, with the dial code B1017-01 alongside “JAPAN” at the foot. Applied faceted baton markers sit against a printed minute track with small luminous dots at each hour, and the day-date aperture is framed in polished steel with a red day disc against a white date. The cushion-shaped stainless steel case pairs brushed upper surfaces with polished flanks under a wide, plain fixed bezel — a restrained, squared-off shape typical of Orient’s turn-of-the-1970s dress-sport output. It ships on a new 18 mm Nagata leather strap.
Technical Specifications
- Brand: Orient
- Line: Weekly Auto AAA
- Case-back Number: G319101-70
- Movement: Automatic, Orient caliber 1935, 19 jewels
- Production Date: c. 1970 (estimated from case and dial style — Orient case numbers do not encode a production date)
- Case Material: Stainless steel
- Case Diameter: Approx. 38 mm (excluding crown)
- Dial: Glossy black with applied faceted markers; bilingual day-date at 3 o’clock; dial code B1017-01
- Crystal: Mineral Glass
- Bezel: Fixed brushed stainless steel
- Case-back: Stainless steel, embossed Orient crest (“All Stainless Steel — Water Proof”)
- Country of Manufacture: Japan
Condition Report
The glossy black dial is clean and unmarked, with all applied markers seated, the printed minute track and the “AAA / 19 JEWELS” signature crisp, and the luminous dots aged to a soft cream consistent with the watch’s years. The hands are complete and match the dial. The stainless steel cushion case is solid and unpolished-looking, showing honest wear from decades of use: several visible nicks and scratches around the bezel edge and the upper case flank, and light scuffing along the polished sides. The acrylic crystal is clear with only faint surface marks. The case-back stamping remains sharp and fully legible. The day and date both advance correctly as the watch runs and the crown winds and sets smoothly, but there is one fault we want stated plainly: the calendar quick-set does not work. On opening the movement our watchmaker found that parts in the calendar works are not original to this caliber — they came from another model — so the quick-set cannot engage. With the quick-set out of action the day and date can only be advanced together, by running the hands forward through midnight — a full 24-hour turn of the hands for each day of adjustment. Everything else runs and keeps good time as described. The watch is supplied on a new Nagata leather strap.
This watch has recently been serviced by a professional watchmaker and keeps good time.
Comes complete with new Nagata leather strap included*.
(*)Note: Stock bracelets are often shortened by previous owners and may not fit you(see bracelet size in the product images). We match the strap to this watch’s lug width, so there is nothing for you to measure — just pick a padded leather strap for Orient from the options at the top of the page.
This watch ships from 🇺🇦 Ukraine with tracking number
Why Collectors Want This Watch Today
Vintage Orient occupies a quiet corner of the Japanese market: the same genuine in-house automatic engineering as its better-known rivals, at prices that have stayed sensible. Weekly Auto AAA models were made in large numbers and turn up regularly, so this is not a scarce watch — what makes a given example worth having is that it is honest, presentable and actually running. This one is: a top-grade-marked (“AAA”) day-date automatic on Orient’s own caliber 1935, with an unrestored black dial and a bilingual day wheel that still does its trick every night — sold with its one mechanical shortcoming (the non-working calendar quick-set) described up front rather than left for you to find. The cushion case and plain wide bezel are unmistakably of their moment, and the watch has been serviced and set up to be worn rather than shelved.
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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.
