Orient
Orient Mako 44 mm Slate 18k
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 · Mako
Orient Mako 44 mm Slate 18k
Reference 24935OR.43
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Orient
- Collection
- Mako
- Model
- Orient Mako 44 mm Slate 18k
- Reference number
- 24935OR.43
- Year / era
- 1955 · 1950s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- Flyback chronograph
- Movement
- Spring Drive
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Dial type
- Slate grey
- Strap / bracelet
- White rubber velcro strap
- Water resistance
- 300 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 44 mm
- Case thickness
- 12.6 mm
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Bezel
- Fluted 18k gold
- Crystal
- Box sapphire with AR coating
- Dial
- Slate grey
- Hands
- Skeletonised sword hands, white luminescent
- Indexes
- Diamond-set hour markers
- Bracelet / strap
- White rubber velcro strap
- Clasp / buckle
- Folding clasp in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 300 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 8C — Spring Drive
- Movement type
- Automatic, self-winding
- Frequency
- 21,600 vph (3 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 72 hours
- Number of jewels
- 40 jewels
- Complications
- Flyback chronograph
- Functions
- Flying tourbillon, power reserve
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1955 – 1970
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Thin secondary-market supply — pricing is set piece by piece at auction.
Designer
Marc Newson
Marc Newson is an Australian industrial designer whose work spans Qantas cabins, Apple hardware and Jaeger-LeCoultre's Atmos clocks; his watch design reduces the object to pure geometry and legibility.
Historical significance
Orient Mako 44 mm Slate 18k sits within Orient's Mako line, introduced in 1955. It carries the house codes established since 1950 — 18k white gold case, slate grey dial and spring drive — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The case is finished by hand, alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces in a single pass so the edges stay razor sharp.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
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.