I can’t believe it’s been almost 2 years since I last updated my blog. Work and family have kept me busy for a long while . However, I start to have a bit of free time now so I’ll be posting regularly again (hopefully ).

Last year I got excited (again.. I know) about the new 2012 M-Force that came out because I’m a big fan of the product line. In case you don’t already know, the M-Force was released more than 10 years ago with the nickname “Beast” from watch collectors. I fell in love with them right away because of the nice design and the complete function so I’ve been trying to get a hold of many colors as you can see in my previous posts. Anyway, Orient distributor in Thailand decided to come out with a nice package for the 2012 model that includes a huge tool box and a flash light inside.

The 2012 model was released with three color variation: black, red, and blue which are different from 2011 that came out with blue, black and orange. I guess the orange dial probably wasn’t selling well.

I went to try on the red-dial one last year and like the dial very much. The price, though was kind of high and I felt like I still hadn’t worn the 2011 model enough, so I decided to pass. However, my buddy gave me a call a couple of weeks ago telling me that he just got a good deal on this watch and was wondering if I’d like to get one, so I rushed over to the store and got me a nice blue-dial version .

My friend who just got the red dial gave me an interesting observation that the red dial with the black chapter ring makes the watch face look small specially if putting on some big straps. After looking at each dial color carefully, I totally agreed with his opinion and decided to choose the blue instead of the red.

Since I’m obsessed with the Orient Beast series, I’d like to talk a little bit about history of the M-Force here before I continue with the watch . According to the orient-watch.com,

“The new Orient M-FORCE 200m inherits the tradition of a model released in 1999 and dubbed “The Beast” among certain aficionados, featuring an ISO-standard 200-meter water resistance for scuba diving and a special structure to absorb shock. In its latest incarnation, it is an all-new diver’s watch.

After several years of extinction, Orient released the M-Force model again in 2011. That time it was more to me like a trial project to see the feedback from the customers. The watch has some good and bad. I personally like the new movement which is hackable and hand-windable along with the fancy bezel that is similar to the Revolver. I however do not like the weird 23mm lug size and the plain dial. I also don’t like the power-reserve indicator design. Other than those, it’s a pretty good watch for me.

In an attempt to reincarnate the Beast series, Orient released the new M-Force model with the feel of the original Beast. You can see the resemblance from the picture below:

The original Beast was released with two variation: the one on the left has the reference code of WZ0191EX and the right one is referenced CEX04001H0. I don’t know the market segment of the two variation but they are just slightly different on the hands. I personally like the right one more. You can see from the reference numbers that they both contain “EX” which defines the movement code. According to the Orient website, the first generation of the Beast is called “EX04” while the 2012 model is called “EL06”.

Enough of the history, let’s see the watch’s detail. If you look closely on the picture, you can see that the new M-Force is influenced a lot from the original one. The hour and minutes hands design is obviously taken from the CEX while the power-reserve hand is from the WZ. The power-reserve indicator design is less fancy and moved to the bottom.
The case is pretty similar to the original but bigger (53mm to 49mm lug-to-lug) following the trend of sports watch nowadays. The date changing button at 10 is gone which makes it now ISO-grade capable dive watch. Strap changing is now much more fun with the 24mm lug width compared to 20mm. I also like the symmetrical design on the dial along with the shiny dark blue color which is cooler than the plain dial in the 2011 model. If you happen to own the original Beast, you’d already know that it has a problem with bezel alignment. The 120-click bezel aligns nicely with the chapter ring in the new model.

The watch does not come with the see-through case back like the original one. Instead, the case back is solid with an Orient logo and the word M-Force engraved on it similar to the 2011 model. The word “Air Diver’s 200m” indicates that it’s an ISO certified dive watch. It also comes with sapphire crystal without the date magnifier seen on the original model.

The crown is the same as in the 2011 model but now on the left side with much bigger crown guard. There is an Orient sign engraved on the crown. I’m not quite used to the left-handed crown, though.

The most important thing of a dive watch (at least to me) is how bright and how long the lume is. Luminosity is the weakness of the original Beast. Guess what, not anymore. The new M-Force has a very nice lume on the hands. The markers’ are a little bit weaker but can stay through the night. It’s still not as good as the Seiko Monster, though.

Now to some minor things that could have made the watch better. It would have been nice to have a see-through case back. The engraved case back is alright but make it hard to clean the tiny spots inside each character. On to the bezel, I would personally like to have metal-style or revolver-style bezel instead of just plain black. I also prefer a bigger power-reserve indicator hand like in the original CEX Beast.

In conclusion, the 2012 M-Force is a great watch. Orient design team’s done a great job on taking the classic design from the original Beast and enhance it with the modern/sports style which makes the watch absolutely stunning.

Have I mentioned how much fun I have changing straps?