Angelo's Orient King Diver

Picked up this Orient King Diver on E-Bay recently.  Seller disclosed that it needed a new battery.  I had one put in and it's now working fine.  I like the looks of this watch.  The case is in good condition as is the bezel and the screw down crown.  The movement seems to be running perfectly.  The crystal is scratched and dinged----looks like it was indeed used to dive and maybe banged on a few coral reefs!  In a strange way, I like that "distressed" quality on this vintage Orient, though I guess I can always have a new crystal installed if I want to restore it.  I plan to try "Polywatch" to buff the scratches out, but I'm not holding out hope that it will make things perfect----improvement maybe, but I think some of these are too deep to fully buff out.  Speaking of which, the original band is gone, replaced by a Speidel black metal band, which is well used.  I thought I would replace the band immediately, but this one is slide adjustable to a perfect
size and comfortable.  If the watch continues to keep good time, I do think I will replace this band though, with something better.  I'm wondering it I should replace it with a rubber divers band or with a stainless bracelet?  I think it's a good candidate for something fun----like bright yellow rubber, which would contrast well with the black watch face, black bezel and stainless.  We'll see.  I'm open to suggestions.  I might even get the rubber band and then upgrade later; still deciding.  One thing I will say----it's obvious this watch led an "active" life before coming to my collection.  The fact that it's running as well as it is----and that really, the crystal is the only thing on the case that shows obvious wear----is testimony for the quality of Orient timepieces.

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Comments

[Gary]

Do you have a better picture of it? The one above is very blurry.

[Angelo]

I took that with my phone----but I have to say, I have a hard time getting clear watch photos, even with a good camera. Jeff----how do you manage it? Seems that if I take them up close, you get blur or flash. If I stand back, the watch is clear, but too small to see details. Gary----I actually took a lot of photos to get this one---the most presentable of the bunch.

[StarHalo]

It almost covers up the misspelling of "Baghdad"..

[Angelo]

Geez Star Halo----I was wondering what time it was in Persia. I think you just clued me in! I'll probably wear this watch again today.

[Angelo]

One note----case size is small by today's standards. It's comfortably under 40MM, probably about 37 (not including crown). But what I've found----is that I acclimate easily between sizes, because I keep going back and forth between jumbo (such as Tauchmeister 54MM) and small, like my Movado Museum watch and a Bill Blass I have. I don't have those here to measure----but they are smaller than this Orient. I think if you stay in one size group too long----and try to venture away from it----you will either feel it's too big and clumsy or too small to have presence on your wrist. I guess the best of both worlds might be something like Jeff's Tuna, which plays bigger than it actually is.

[StarHalo]

Don't get me wrong, I'm an Orient fan; as I've pointed out to Jeff before, the 1% of people who notice you're wearing a watch at all will only notice if it "looks expensive" or not, and nobody does "looks expensive" like Orient. I'd do something about that strap to round it out, though..

[Angelo]

Any suggestions on the strap/band/bracelet? I think it's an 18MM lug space.