The Orient Mako/Ray family are now absolutely classic divers with a completely unique design sensibility. If you're a watch collector, or just someone looking for an affordable, serious diver, you owe it to yourself to consider them. This goes doubly so for the Mako II / Ray II series. Some highlights:

- Absolutely bulletproof, accurate Orient in-house movement
- Hacking and hand-winding
- 200m water resistance that actually holds up (unlike some other "affordable" segment divers)
- Solid-link bracelet with fold-over deployment clasp
- Solid and substantial without being ridiculously heavy or garish
- Will run for years and years and years without service
- Fabulous base for "upgrades" to make into a "serious" watch

Weaknesses:

- Aluminum rather than ceramic bezel
- Fold-over end links
- Mineral crystal

You can absolutely dive in the Orient dive watchesthey do keep the water out. And the Orient movement family, all based on the classic 46943 series of movements, is one of the two most common in the world. There are millions of Orient movements out there spread across Asia that have been running for 20, 30, even 40 years without service and lube. It is a simple, rugged design that holds up and that is surprisingly usually more accurate out of the box than most other non-COSC automatic movements.

But the real highlight of this series is the unique design. The particular angle of the bezel is unique amongst divers, as is the thinness of the bezel, and this lends a sleek, sporty appearance that most other divers don't have, while drawing additional attention to the dial. The chapter ring is similarly small and sleek and at a high angle, yet the same color as the dial, also unusual. The markers are pushed slightly toward the edge of the dial compared to most other divers, making the face wear large even though the case isn't particularly large. Applied markers/indices and great lume round out the picture. Unlike most divers, the Orient diver family can be work in dress, casual, and sport situations.

Best of all, with the Mako II/Ray II you have a great base to start fromif you add or have your watchmaker add a sapphire crystal for well under $100 and add one of the many aftermarket solid-end-link bracelets out there, you can put together a very competitive high-end quality diver that competes with Swiss for well under $400one that, unlike most ETA-based divers, could run for half a century without needing to be seen by a watchmaker.

Basicallythere are two classic divers in the affordable spacethe Seiko SKX and the Orient Mako/Ray family. If you like this style of watch, or even just want a serious watch at a low price, you owe it to yourself to pick one of these up.