Imagen: Orient, web oficial
The storyWhy this reference matters
For years the way into affordable Japanese divers had two names: the Orient Ray and the Orient Mako, first cousins with a crown at four and an in-house calibre. In 2019 Orient replaced both with the Kamasu and the larger Kano. Kamasu means barracuda in Japanese, and the enthusiast crowd hung the Mako III nickname on it more or less at once — the family resemblance was obvious, and nobody fancied giving up the word Mako.
What genuinely changed is on the surface: a sapphire crystal. At this money sapphire used to be the line between cheap and not cheap, and the Kamasu crossed it without touching anything else in the recipe. It keeps a real 200 metres, a screw-down crown with guards, a screwed case back, a 120-click unidirectional bezel and a day-date. The dial says 20 bar, and that is not a marketing flourish.
The engine is the F6922, made by Orient in Japan: 22 jewels, 21,600 vibrations per hour, roughly 40 hours of reserve, hand winding and hacking. The official tolerance is +25 to -15 seconds a day, which sounds alarming until you see what they actually do — the example Orient Place put on a timer in its 2019 test ran at +5 seconds a day. An in-house automatic at this level gets rarer every year.
SpecificationsThe numbers, in one table
| Brand | Orient |
|---|---|
| Family | Diver Design |
| Reference | RA-AA0001B |
| Years made | desde 2019 |
| Calibre | Orient F6922 |
| Movement | Automático |
| Frequency | 21.600 alt/h (3 Hz) |
| Power reserve | Unas 40 horas |
| Jewels | 22 |
| Complications | Día y fecha · Parada de segundero (hacking) · Cuerda manual · Bisel giratorio unidireccional de 120 clics |
| Diameter | 41.8 mm |
| Thickness | 12.8 mm |
| Lug to lug | 46.8 mm |
| Lug width | 22 mm |
| Case | Acero inoxidable, fondo a rosca |
| Crystal | Cristal de zafiro |
| Water resistance | 200 m (20 bar), corona roscada |
IdentificationHow to tell it apart
Start with the reference muddle, because it's the mistake people make most often with this watch. RA-AA0002B doesn't exist in Orient's catalogue. The family runs: RA-AA0001B in black, RA-AA0002L in blue, RA-AA0003R in burgundy and RA-AA0004E in green. That last letter is the dial colour — B for black, L for blue — and it doesn't mix and match freely with the number. If it's the black Kamasu you want, the reference is RA-AA0001B, with the market suffixes 19A, 19B or 39B on the box.
To separate it from a Mako II at a glance, watch the reflections in the crystal: the Kamasu has sapphire, and it throws light back differently. Then check the crown at four, guarded and screw-down; the day-date window at three; and the 20 bar printed on the dial. On the bezel, 120 clicks, one direction only. If it turns both ways, it isn't this watch.
The official measurements are 41.8 mm across without the crown and 46.8 mm lug to lug; thickness is around 12.8 mm and the lug width is 22 mm, so it will take practically any strap you put on it. The standard bracelet is steel, polished on the sides and brushed on top, with a push-button folding clasp.
CollectingWhat collectors check
Sapphire removes one problem and creates another: because the crystal won't scratch, every bit of wear collects where you can see it, on the bezel and the case. Go over the bezel insert for dings along the edge, and make sure the lume pip at twelve is whole and properly seated. Count the clicks: 120 of them, crisp, no skipping, one direction only.
Then the mechanical side. Wind it by hand for a while and listen — the rotor should turn cleanly, with no grit in it. Pull the crown out and check the seconds hand stops dead. Run the day and the date over and see what time they change; if they trip at the wrong hour or a disc hangs halfway, the calendar work is worn. And screw the crown home several times, because that's where the 200 metres are won or lost.
On accuracy, don't panic: Orient quotes +25 to -15 seconds a day. A Kamasu gaining ten seconds a day is inside specification, and regulating an F6922 is cheap bench work. What isn't worth taking on is an example with rust in the bracelet or condensation under the crystal, because that means somebody opened it and didn't replace the gaskets on the way back in.
Common questionsWhat people ask us about this reference
Does the Orient Kamasu have a sapphire crystal?
Yes, and it's the main argument for it over the Mako. Orient's own spec sheet lists sapphire crystal glass at the front. It's also why so many second-hand Kamasus have a perfect crystal and a battered case.
Does the reference RA-AA0002B exist?
Not in Orient's official catalogue. It's a common mix-up: 0002 is the blue Kamasu, RA-AA0002L, while the black one is RA-AA0001B. If a listing uses RA-AA0002B, ask for photos and confirm the actual dial colour before you pay.
What is the difference between the Kamasu and the Mako?
The Kamasu arrived in 2019 to replace both the Mako and the Ray, with the same spirit and the same crown at four, but with a sapphire crystal instead of mineral and a redesigned case and bezel. Hence the Mako III nickname.
Can you dive with the Orient Kamasu?
It has 200 metres, a guarded screw-down crown, a screwed case back and a 120-click unidirectional bezel: the full diver's kit. For recreational diving it's more than enough, as long as the crown is screwed home and the gaskets have been checked.
Keep readingWhere to go from here
Close relativesThe ones it gets confused with
See Orient Diver Design at auction now → What is up for sale on Catawiki today. Read the page above before you bid: half the mistakes come from not checking the reference.Confidence: alta — this page was checked against the sources below. If a detail looks wrong to you, write to us and we will fix it.