Is a Smaller 38mm Bambino A Better Bambino? 5 Reasons to Buy & 5 to Avoid the 38mm Orient Bambino.

[@williamfavata3922]

I am happy to see watches trending smaller. I hope it continues

[@Constantin-or6oc]

Amen to that!

[@jansommerlund5497]

My absolute favourite brand. You simply can't beat their value for the buck

[@demonstructie]

Completely agree with your assessment that 40 isn't necessarily and a priori too big for this style of watch. The bambino is like a chukka boot; next to today's ultra casual sneakers it's a lot more dressed up, but that doesn't make the chukka boot a dress shoe.

[@cecilyau4440]

Good morning, Shane. Cecil here, owner of your Bambino v2. Your watch was the exact version I wanted out of the many Bambino offerings, so I was very excited to have bought it from you, along with the cachet of “formerly owned by famous KZbinr” 😉. Over the past few years, I did consider selling it on to, you know, fund other watch purchases. But then, I would wear it to church or to the office, realize again its style and uniqueness, and back in the watch box it goes. And finally, out of my dozens of watches, my Bambino is only 1 of about 5 watches I own where my wife says “That looks really good. You should wear it more often.” So, thanks again, Shane, for selling me your watch. And to assuage your regret, I think you should go ahead and buy that new small seconds Bambino. 😁👍

[@RelativeTime]

Great to hear from you again. Glad it's still being enjoyed. I will buy that new one, just not sure which. Cheers!

[@HarryH-o7s]

That dark blue is the icing on the cake!

[@FredHenry1850]

I like the cream colored Bambino dial. It just reminds me of an old watch, something my grandfather might wear. Other companies have their version of the color "champagne," but Orient does it right - not too dark, not too light. For a person who has never owned one, I think I ought to pick up a 38mm. For me, 40mm is too big for comfort.

[@williamhill7312]

The Bambino is respected all over the watch world for good reasons, I have a Generation 1 that I still wear; great review

[@turnbasedtoddy7664]

Beautiful watch and this is the most proportioned bambino I have ever seen as the hands actually reach all the way to the edge but it’s still too big if you ask me. It’s a dress watch with a large open dial so I think it needs to be 36 mm. I know Orient already has one of those, but they’re very hard to find.

[@Mrtellitlikeitis]

I have a pearl white bambino with blue hands on a grey nato. Makes the watch casual dressy. Its a great look

[@cappy2282]

I never dress up but I think dress watches are my favorite

[@bill7868]

Me too. Soooo sick of dive watches. Who the hell dives?

[@troppotime9179]

6:51 Love the strap toss.

[@GuidoErnst-xt8zu]

Love Orient and love a smaller size. However, I prefer my champagne coulored, small seconds version. I'm not a big fan of Roman numerals so till they come out with a smaller one in champagne and small seconds, I stick with what I've got.

[@gorillasinthewrist]

A great value and beautiful watch, bit of an Orient fan boy here

[@watchalot919]

I have an Orient Star, and it's so much better than their cheaper watches. That said, some of the Bambinos are gorgeous

[@chronos-calculus]

Great review! As with any watch brand and style, it's always nice to have options. I've looked at the Bambinos many times, but have never taken the plunge and bought one. Maybe these 38's will give me more to consider.🤔

[@larrydalton2205]

Still have my original larger V2 Bambino in the same colorway you sold. That lighter white color is much better than the almost yellow version you have here. I don't start it often but not getting rid of it. If I didn't already have one I would probably get the small seconds one. Good review as always.

[@patrickhartmann1540]

40mm Bambino small seconds was my first automatic cuz it reminded me of my dad’s Gruen from back in the day. In time, decided 40mm was too big a dress watch on my 6.5” wrist. The 38mm is tempting, but Orient should reduce its thickness to match the smaller diameter.

[@thebitterfig9903]

For some of these high-domed crystals on vintage-style watches, maybe the solution it to borrow from Timex’s playbook and go for acrylic. If you can’t have Sapphire scratch resistance, acrylic repair-ability and overall flashiness might be better than mineral.

[@cunawarit]

38mm is definitely better and more in keeping with traditional dress watch styles.

[@younusimam-thesalamproject6340]

The cream Gen 2 Bambino with Roman's is my favorite dress watch. There's just nothing I see that matches the price I paid for it in 2022. Really liking the idea of this one with the displayback, but the prices are near double the original.

[@robertschriek1353]

I specially love the first few seconds of your vids where you move into the shot. No one does that quite like you :-). and thanks for covering the more quirky pieces! and my sweet Lord I pray ... please add sapphire, Ill happily pay more 🙂

[@RelativeTime]

Yeah lol. I started doing it on a whim, but people kept telling me how much they liked it. Now it's just expected. 😎

[@rangorango7545]

love the first version, i have the creme dial, classic, complex, stunning, real vintage vibes, thanks buddy, great vid!

[@joostkiefte7683]

I went with the new copper-coloured dial, which is great

[@CDC678]

As I watched this I just kept thinking this is the best watch review I have ever seen.

[@RelativeTime]

Thanks! I spend a bit of time putting these together.

[@hrs.ai2018]

Yes , buy for daily wear. It does not look good for collectiom, all the component looks lousy and cheap. However it looks suitable when wear on wrist. It is a simple watch that looks nice to wear om

[@Phil-S8]

It still has a mineral crystal... That's why I am so glad I got the gen 2 Orient Symphony that had the sapphire

[@RelativeTime]

I almost forgot about the symphony. I had one for a little bit, but never got around to doing a review on it.

[@larrydalton2205]

​@@RelativeTimeI wish the lug width on the Symphony was narrower.

[@garethhanna9173]

I have the white dial, it's a nice little watch that I don't wear much but apprciate when I need a dress watch to pair with a suit and tie.

[@simonthomas5113]

I have the RA-AC0M04Y10B mostly featured here and I cannot disagree about any point made other than the colourway is great for my personal taste. I'd pay an extra £50 for sapphire crystal so I could wear it at work.

[@Walnutman5700]

Nice job Shane! Well rounded review! I have some Orients and Orient Stars and would like to see more reviews on these brands.

[@monologic4806]

Thanks. That 38m with the small second hand looks promising

[@adk7962]

I’m just not a dress watch guy so this watch has no pull for me, but Orient’s other watches are different story. Thanks for sharing. Although I do think I may like that new small second hands one…🤔

[@aubsta1]

The answer is yes 😊

[@younusimam-thesalamproject6340]

I wish some Ali Express watches would jump on this market. Minimalist, high dome crystal, but use sapphire/acrylic and a beautiful movement like the Hangzhou 5000 with a displayback at a reasonable dimension. It would sell so well, especially with an option for Eastern Arabics

[@Aliens_Gonna_Get_Ya]

Always such great reviews… Luv’n the Bambino… 😎

[@johntaylor6654]

I have a 1952 Tissot bumper, gold case, gold hands, white dial, and sub dial seconds, it's only 33mm so I like a small case. I really like the dial design on the 38mm orient with the sub dial but as I have a watch with a sub dial, I would like to see that dial with a sweep seconds hand ivory face with blue hands, please. Vintage look with a contemporary touch to it.

[@crybabychrononaut]

Love your voice, dude!!! Great reviews too 😂

[@RelativeTime]

Thanks!👍

[@jaydub9509]

I definitely appreciate the appeal of the Bambino line. However, if I wanted that much of vintage look I'd be more inclined to purchase an actual gently used vintage watch, despite the likely absence of upgraded materials at a similar price point.

[@chrisb5986]

Hi Shane. No color matched date wheel, except on the white dial. Arg.

[@bill7868]

Love the Bambino

[@thenexthobby]

Retro = homage. What’s great about Bambinos is how they introduce new buyers to classic styles. I’m not of the opinion this style makes sense in larger sizes even for large wrists.

[@jethrojacinto2798]

Wait they're actually making another variation of the 38mm with the smalls seconds and roman numerals? I think I like that way better than the 1st iteration because I found it a little boring.

[@benjaminvis]

But isn't it so that these are now blued hands, but blue hands? Not all blued hands always show up so strongly, but I always feel it's a turn off when something is made to look like something it's not. This and the lack of sapphire are also my mai criticisms of the Baltic HMS.

[@epaws8403]

Can someone tell me the model number of the small seconds at 0:45? Thanks in advance.

[@zillsburyy1]

I got the regular size in cream

[@DumasMoran]

Escapement Time vh31 King Seiko homage is affordable perfection.

[@CyberSammael]

It seems that there was a time when Orient was the go-to suggestion for affordable watches, and the benchmark for divers and dress watches. But they seem to have dropped off the collective attention, I guess because they just keep updating existing models and not really releasing much new and interesting. It's a shame, and I wonder if some of the Ali brands are stealing some of Orients focus now.

[@RelativeTime]

I know what you mean. When I first started the channel Orient was the affordable watch. I loved how it was like this little secret only people in the watch community knew about. It's strange to think that some new collectors aren't getting that same experience.

[@DumasMoran]

My Bambinos are 40.5mm with a 21mm strap. Are there others I've not seen?

[@RelativeTime]

I went back to double check and I was mistaken. Most of the bambinos had a 21mm strap. I was thinking it was 19mm. Still an odd in-between size, but a different odd in-between size. However there was the version 4s, which were also a bit of an odd duck at 42mm and a 22mm strap. If they are following the same convention, I think these are Version 7, and those new small seconds 38mm would be Version 8. Getting hard to keep track of.

[@thebitterfig9903]

@@RelativeTime 19mm is really common on a lot of the old-logo 7R26 Seiko 5s, like the SNXS.

[@etebol]

Smaller watches are great for man with slender wrists and the ladies who don’t like ladies watches. I have thick wrists and a

[@zplapplap]

Smaller cases in dress watches is more about fit with a suit and shirt cuffs than it’s about skinny wrists. But, variety is needed and good for proportionality in any context. I completely understand those that either need or simply prefer (slightly) larger dress watches.

[@jacobgreenmanedlion1863]

Couple of years ago I bought an Omega that looks like this… for dramatically less.

[@RelativeTime]

How old was it?

[@jacobgreenmanedlion1863]

@@RelativeTime 60s. A 601.

[@jasongennero2080]

Orient watches rarely have a sapphire crystal , so they aren’t really for me, they are usually made somewhere else besides Japan now and their movements hardly ever change or get upgraded and like other Japanese and Chinese brands the date takes half a day to flip over just to flip over at like one a.m. yeah, not for me I can see ppl just getting into the hobby that don’t have 300 dollars to spend on a watch buying one but once you get to a point where you have 300 dollars to spend on a watch you can just buy a Swiss made automatic brand new grey market. I don’t really understand why ppl actually buy watches like these, like seiko or orient or citizen. Just save up 300 dollars and buy a decent entry level Swiss made auto. And if you don’t have 300 dollars to spend on a proper decent watch then this is probably the wrong hobby for you. But that’s just my opinion and to each their own i suppose.

[@Kevster-dp7tt]

Large dress watches look ugly in my eyes. I have a 1965 Tissot dress watch and the dial diameter is 36mm. I'll buy a 38mm Bambino but no bigger.

[@RogerSartet007]

If they had really 'listened' they would have made a no date version long ago

[@nedflanders3769]

Lol the strap sucks. Truer words have never been spoken.

[@stavros_katsopr]

Always had a problem with the Bambino (maybe comes from the name itself too), as it's the watch a teenager would like to buy to match/remember/honor/"wannabe" his grandfather's watch. And that is a sign of immaturity in my opinion, thus a big turn off, right from the start. Didn't get one when i started my watch journey, no chance i'm getting one anymore.

[@musik4u343]

I'd argue that all sapphire types are now very affordable at scale and from China. So that argument doesn't hold water as to why they aren't using sapphire. There are $50 watches with sapphire and let's be honest...orient uses and has the same access to cheap materials as any ali express watch. So that alone is a deal breaker for most especially in 2024

[@RelativeTime]

You may be right, I have seen some cheaper domed sahppre. Although none quite as tall as the Bambinos.

[@limacuan]

Even Q&Q offers a super affordable dress watch with sapphire crystal that costs less than 50 USD

[@RelativeTime]

@@limacuan q&q?

[@limacuan]

@@RelativeTime it's a Citizen sub-brand that offers super affordable watches, mostly resin based models but the overall quality is actually OK for the price tags

[@gritsteel4559]

@@RelativeTime Sure it's tall, but it also distorts. There are some at AE that are high-domed but with less distortion, by design.

[@asensibleyoungman2978]

5:04 That's the ugliest strap I've ever seen in my life. What is it, a bit of old carpet you found at the local dump?

[@RelativeTime]

Well since you asked so nicely... It's a Harris Tweed strap from vario. So Scottish leather on the front and leather on the back next to your wrist. Really nice strap, but the style's not for everyone. However, with dress watches, I think it adds something rather than just a standard generic black strap.

[@asensibleyoungman2978]

@@RelativeTime It looks ridiculous on a dress watch. It's like someone wearing a suit and flippers.

[@dennisvillacorte4122]

Timex fanboy😅😅

[@bobbailey6398]

They gotta lose that stupid date window.