Orient M-Force Beast Review

With the exception of their $2,500 Pro Saturation model, the M-Force Beast is Orient’s most serious dive watch option, boasting a more sophisticated in house movement than the one found in their very popular Mako and Ray models, as well as ISO 6425 divers watch certification, for what it’s worth. In short, the M-Force Beast is designed to be Orient’s version of the diver’s dive watch. Now we’re not not divers here at worn&wound, so we can’t speak to how it performs in the water, but having spent some time with the M-Force Beast, we’re prepared to see if it lives up to its roughly $550 price tag.

Case: Stainless Steel (brushed and polished)
Movement: ORIENT caliber 40N5A movement
Dial: Black
Lume: Yes
Lens: Sapphire
Strap: Stainless Steel bracelet
Water Res.: 200m
Dimensions: 47 x 53mm
Thickness: 14mm
Lug Width: 24 mm
Crown: screw down – 8mm x 5mm
Weight: approx. 220 grams
Warranty: 1 year
Price: $795 ($550 with Orient Watch USA online discount – use code “wornandwound” for 30% off)

As mentioned, the M-Force Beast is a step up in the dive department for Orient, in both design and function. One of the first things you’ll notice about the Beast is that it is, appropriately so, very large. But as the name M-Force, or Mechanical Force, also suggests, the Beast features a movement with some non-standard functions, at least when compared to Orient’s other movements. The Beast is powered by a 22-jewel, Orient caliber 40N5A automatic movement that beats at 21,600 beats per hour and features a date display, power reserve, hacking seconds and manual wind function. For those of you in the market for a mid-priced dive watch, the inclusion of hacking and hand wind capabilities is a bonus, albeit not essential for diving. The power reserve is also a nice touch, and may actually have some practical function for those of you considering the M-Force Beast as more than just a fashion statement.

It is also important to note that the M-Force Beast has ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 6425 diver’ s watch certification, which means that it meets certain criteria for water resistance, condensation resistance, magnetic/shock resistance, etc. There is some debate to the significance of this certification. Some argue that you are better off just buying a watch from a trusted brand that guarantees the performance of their timepieces. The argument is also made that because ISO certification is a costly expense for brands, that those pieces without it may be more reflective of a brand not wanting to spend money for a label, as opposed to a lack of performance. That said, the standards of the ISO are very real, and other brands that boast certification are Sinn and Seiko, so Orient is in good company.

Case
At 47mm in diameter, 53mm lug to lug and 14mm tall, the M-Force Beast lives up to its moniker, and with all that size actually manages to remain fairly wearable and include some nice functionality. And the Beast isn’t just a slab on your wrist – there’s a lot of interesting geometry and finishing to look at throughout the case.  The black bezel features large white numerals that really pop in both regular and low light, and its shape is fairly irregular. Rather than a simple, repeating coining or toothed design along its outer edge, the bezel of the Beast is textured with irregular notching and raised surfaces on its top and side. Further, the inner rim of the bezel, where white minute hash markings can be found, slants slight downward toward the watch’s crystal, breaking up the dial even further and serving to draw your eye inward toward the dial.

Texturing along the top and side of the Beast’s bezel was a smart design choice by Orient, as the bezel is actually recessed inward from the edge of the watch case, unlike many bezels that exceed the diameter of the main watch case. As a result, in order to get the best grip on the Beast’s bezel, you’ll place your fingers on the top and side of the bezel when turning, which is easy thanks to its shape. You’ll also notice, at six and twelve o’clock, that the Beasts case is slightly cut away to again assist with the turning of the bezel. The ease with which you can grip the Beast’s bezel is specially important as it is rather sticky. While it stops and stays in place precisely, it has a bit of a gummy, resistant feel to it.

Chunky geometry is seen further throughout the case of the M-Force Beast, as on both the left and right side you have case material jutting out, to create rather well balanced girth.  On the left side of the watch you’ll find the signed, gear-toothed, screw down crown surrounded by oversized crown guards. A small triangle printed on the lower crown guard matches with a red line on the crown itself. When the line of the crown and triangle of the crown guard line up, you know the crown isn’t fully secured and that you should address that before getting into the water. On the right side of the case is a seemingly superfluous slab of case that juts out slightly, but this actually works to balance the shape of the case nicely.

The lugs of the Beast are simple, but large and aggressively shaped. Slight line breaks halfway down the lugs and an angled design inward toward the lug bars helps to make the 24mm lug width appear just slightly smaller than it may otherwise.  On the lugs you’ll also see both polished and brushed finishing, but look close enough and you’ll see this two-finish design throughout the case. It is not a completely consistent pattern throughout, but for the most part the top side of most of the case is polished while the sides are brushed.

Dial
Sitting beneath a sapphire crystal, the dial of the M-Force Beast is designed with legibility in mind and incorporates some very nice finishing. Along the outer rim of the dial, on a slanted surface, is a chapter ring with thin but easily read numeric and hash markings for minutes/seconds. Moving inward are, you see applied markers for the hour indices, with polished steel outlining and cool green lumed filling.  Thick rectangle markers are at three, six and nine, with a double rectangle marker at twelve and dots for all other hours. A classic dive aesthetic.

At three o’clock is a date window, featuring black text on a white background. This coloring is the inverse of the dial, and serves to make the date window that much more visible.  At six o’clock is the power reserve indicator, with a red, lume-filled needle hand and grey numeral scale from zero to forty. Lastly, the M-Force logo and 200M water resistance indication are at nine o’clock and the Orient logo is at twelve.

The hour and minute hands of the M-Force Beast are big and bold, with moss green lume filling to match the hour indicators.  The hour hand is sword shaped, with a polished steel base and accents running through the middle, while the minute indicator is thick, but slightly tapered toward the end and features a large triangle at its end. The second hand meanwhile is a bright red, contrasting with the other center hands, but matching with the power reserve indicator. It too features a taprerd triangular tip with lume filling.

Straps and Wearability
The M-Force Beast comes with a two link stainless steel bracelet with deployment clasp. Its design is simple, but functional. The links are relatively thin, making the bracelet more comfortable than it may have otherwise been. On larger watches in particular, I find very thick, bulky bracelets to be almost unwearable. A nice detail of the bracelet is its finishing, which watches that of the case, with polished sides and a brushed top and back. The deployment clasp installed also features the Orient logo.

Changing the links on the Beast’s bracelet proved to be a bit of a practice of our patience. Using a link adjusting tool, we were able to successfully remove and add links as needed, but not without more effort and time put in than we would have liked.

Once sized to fit, the M-Force wears comfortable, thanks to slightly sloped lugs that allow the watch to hug your wrist well. That said, its size may be a deal breaker for some. On many smaller wrists the 47mm x 53mm design may prove too large. That said, the design of the M-Force is balanced and, while not aesthetically everyone’s cup of tea, the piece is pleasant and interesting to look at with some nice finishing. I would safely put this watch in the sport category, looking best with active or casual weekend wear.

The lume on the Beast can be found on all hour markers, at twelve o’clock on the bezel and on all hands. The lume is bright and easily read in low light. As you can see from the photo presented, the hands of the Beast are particularly bright.

Conclusion
So the M-Force Beast makes a strong case for the little extra you’ll be paying for it over some of Orient’s other dive options.  A more sophisticated movement, more interesting design, quality components and ISO certification put the M-Force Beast a couple notches above. But regardless of how the e Beast stacks up against other Orient’s, the question remains, is it worth $550? We’d say yes. There are a lot of options at this price range, so you really have your pick of the litter, but if you like the aesthetic of the M-Force Beast or you’re just a huge Orient fan, this may be the watch for you. To learn more, check out Orient’s website today.

By Blake Malin

Thanks to Orient Watch USA for supplying the watch for review