Orient
Orient Kamasu 38 mm Slate Quartz
Photography on request
Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Orient · Kamasu
Orient Kamasu 38 mm Slate Quartz
Reference 86878OR.89
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Orient
- Collection
- Kamasu
- Model
- Orient Kamasu 38 mm Slate Quartz
- Reference number
- 86878OR.89
- Year / era
- 1969 · 1960s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- Minute repeater
- Movement
- Eco-Drive solar quartz
- Case material
- Quartz TPT
- Dial type
- Slate grey
- Strap / bracelet
- Milanese mesh
- Water resistance
- 200 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 38 mm
- Case thickness
- 8.1 mm
- Case material
- Quartz TPT
- Bezel
- Baguette diamond rainbow
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Slate grey
- Hands
- Mercedes hour hand with Chromalight display
- Indexes
- Applied Arabic numerals with luminous coating
- Bracelet / strap
- Milanese mesh
- Clasp / buckle
- Pin buckle in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 200 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 34D — Eco-Drive solar quartz
- Movement type
- Automatic with micro-rotor
- Frequency
- 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 10 days
- Number of jewels
- 33 jewels
- Complications
- Minute repeater
- Functions
- Annual calendar, moon phase
- Watchmaker
- Finishing, assembly and timing are carried out in the manufacture's own atelier.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1969 – 1973
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Values have stabilised after the 2022 correction; condition and box-and-papers drive the premium.
Designer
Gérald Genta
Gérald Genta (1931–2011) trained as a goldsmith in Geneva and became the most influential watch designer of the 20th century. Working freelance, he sketched the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak overnight in 1970, followed by the Patek Philippe Nautilus, the IWC Ingenieur SL and the Bulgari Bulgari — defining the integrated-bracelet luxury sports watch as a category.
Historical significance
Orient Kamasu 38 mm Slate Quartz sits within Orient's Kamasu line, introduced in 1969. It carries the house codes established since 1950 — quartz tpt case, slate grey dial and eco-drive solar quartz — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The movement's bridges are decorated even where they will never be seen once the watch is cased.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
The House
Orient
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1950
- Founder
- Shogoro Yoshida
- Headquarters
- Japan
- Tier
- Japanese
- Major collections
- Bambino, Kamasu, Star, Mako, Revival
- Signature technologies
- In-house hairspring production · Hand-applied guilloché dials
- Famous movements
- High-accuracy quartz · Automatic, 24 jewels · Eco-Drive solar quartz · Spring Drive
- Notable watches
- Orient Bambino 37 mm Blue Ceramic (2003) · Orient Bambino 41 mm Blue Quartz (1981) · Orient Bambino 37 mm Mother-of-pearl Carbon (1990) · Orient Kamasu 43 mm Blue Quartz (1999)
Brand history
Orient has spent more than 76 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Bambino, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Shogoro Yoshida established Orient in 1950, working from Japan at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Orient calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1950
Shogoro Yoshida founds Orient in Japan.
1969
The quartz era forces Orient to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Orient enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Orient continues to produce Bambino, Kamasu, Star and other icons in limited numbers.