| OrientMako (Mako-3) | Seiko5 Sports SKX Mid-Size | |
|---|---|---|
| Price (US) | $375 | $350 (edge) |
| Reference | RA-AA0820R39B | SRPL79 |
| Movement | Orient F6922, automatic | Seiko 4R36, automatic |
| Power reserve | About 40 hours | About 41 hours |
| Rated accuracy | +25/−15 sec/day (edge) | +45/−35 sec/day |
| Hacking / hand-winding | Yes / Yes | Yes / Yes |
| Jewels | 22 | 24 |
| Beat rate | 21,600 vph | 21,600 vph |
| Case diameter | 41.8mm | 38mm |
| Thickness | 12.8mm | 12.1mm (edge) |
| Lug to lug | 46.8mm | 44.2mm |
| Lug width | 22mm | 20mm |
| Crystal | Sapphire (edge) | Hardlex |
| Caseback | Not published | Exhibition, screw-down (edge) |
| Water resistance | 200m (edge) | 100m, not a diver’s watch |
| Bezel | Unidirectional, 120 clicks, color-matched insert | Unidirectional rotating elapsed-time bezel, black |
| Crown | Screw-down | Not published |
| Lume | Luminous hands and markers | LumiBrite on hands and indices |
| Bracelet / strap | Steel bracelet, fold-over clasp with safety | Stainless steel bracelet, three-fold clasp with push-button release |
| Warranty | 3 years (Orient Watch USA) | 3 years (Seiko USA, purchases on or after July 1, 2024) |
Price
The Mako-3 in bordeaux, reference RA-AA0820R39B, is $375 at Orient Watch USA. The grey RA-AA0819N39B costs the same and was in stock on October 6, while the champagne RA-AA0821S39B was sold out.
Seiko USA sells the mid-size 5 Sports SKX SRPL79, with a charcoal dial and gold accents, for $350. The ivory-dial SRPK31 from the same 38mm family is also $350 on seikowatches.com, but it was sold out at seikousa.com, Seiko USA’s online store.
So this time the Seiko is the cheaper watch, by $25. Both makers give a 3-year US warranty.
Design
The Mako is one of Orient’s longest-running dive watches. The first, the EM65, arrived in 2004 with the 46943 caliber. The Mako II followed in April 2016, among the first watches with the F6922, and Orient Watch USA dates the current Mako-3 generation to 2023. It shares its case, bezel construction, sapphire crystal and movement with the Kamasu, and differs in the dial, the hands and a bezel insert matched to the dial color.
The Seiko is a smaller take on the full-size 5 Sports SKX series, whose name points back to Seiko’s SKX dive watches. Monochrome dates the 38mm mid-size collection to 2023, and Seiko’s published dimensions for the SRPL79 match that case. Its unidirectional elapsed-time bezel is black.
The Mako looks like a conventional diver with a more decorative dial. The Seiko keeps the SKX-series outline in a smaller package. Neither design is the clear winner.
Movement
Orient’s F6922 has 22 jewels, beats at 21,600 vph, stores about 40 hours, hacks, hand-winds and shows the day and date. It is made in Akita Prefecture by Akita Epson.
Seiko’s 4R36 has 24 jewels, the same 21,600 vph and about 41 hours of reserve, with hacking, hand-winding and a day-date. The mid-size uses the same caliber as the 42.5mm SKX-series models, so choosing the smaller case costs nothing in function.
On paper the two are near twins. The Orient’s tighter accuracy rating, covered below, is the meaningful difference. The Seiko’s display back is the other, since it puts the 4R36 on view. Orient Watch USA does not state the Mako’s caseback, though Monochrome describes the AA08 Mako’s back as solid and screwed. Our guide to Orient’s in-house movements covers the F6922 in more depth.
Case and Dimensions
The Mako measures 41.8mm across, 12.8mm thick and 46.8mm from lug to lug, with 22mm lugs and a screw-down crown. The Seiko measures 38mm, 12.1mm and 44.2mm, with 20mm lugs.
So the Seiko is 3.8mm narrower, 0.7mm thinner and 2.6mm shorter, and its lugs are 2mm narrower. Seiko lists the mid-size at 140g, against 170g for the full-size SRPD.
Seiko does not publish the SRPL79’s crown type. Monochrome reports that the crown on the mid-size models it reviewed, SRPK29 to SRPK35, does not screw down and sits between guards, and that group includes the SRPK31. We have not confirmed it for the SRPL79, so the table shows it as not published.
Dial
The Mako-3’s bordeaux dial has a grained finish, with Arabic numerals at 6, 9 and 12 and a day-date display. Its hands and hour markers are luminous, and the bezel insert is matched to the dial.
The SRPL79’s charcoal dial carries gold accents beneath a black bezel, with LumiBrite, Seiko’s own luminous material, on the hands and indices and a day-date display. The SRPK31 swaps in an ivory sunray dial, which Monochrome calls cream, with a dark gray bezel.
Both are legible dive-style layouts. The Mako’s partial numerals give it a little more character, and the Seiko’s smaller dial carries the same information in less space. This round is a matter of taste.
Crystal
The Mako has a sapphire crystal. The Seiko has Hardlex, Seiko’s hardened mineral glass.
Sapphire is considerably harder than mineral glass and far better at resisting the fine scratches of daily wear. It is the clearest practical advantage the Orient holds, and it is a big part of what the extra $25 buys.
Accuracy
Orient rates the F6922 at +25/−15 seconds a day. Seiko rates the 4R36 at +45/−35. Orient’s window spans 40 seconds and Seiko’s spans 80.
A rating is the range a maker will stand behind, not a promise for any single watch. But it is the only published basis for comparison, and the Orient’s is clearly tighter. Our guide to reading a watch spec sheet explains these figures.
Water Resistance
The Mako is rated to 200m and has a screw-down crown. Orient makes no ISO 6425 claim and does not label it a diver’s watch.
The Seiko is rated to 100m with a screwed caseback, and Seiko does not class it as a diver’s watch. It has a rotating bezel and a diver’s outline, but it is a sports watch.
Neither is a certified diver. The Mako has twice the rating and a confirmed screw-down crown, which makes it the better choice for a watch that will spend real time in the water.
On the Wrist
This is the section that decides the comparison. On the published dimensions, the Seiko is smaller in every direction.
Lug-to-lug is the figure to watch. At 44.2mm, the Seiko spans almost exactly as much of the wrist as Orient’s Bambino 38 dress watch, which measures 44mm. The Mako’s 46.8mm is compact for a 41.8mm diver, but it is still 2.6mm longer, and on a small wrist that can be the difference between a watch that sits within the wrist and one that overhangs it.
The thickness gap is smaller. At 12.1mm, the Seiko is only 0.7mm thinner, so it is the narrower watch rather than a much flatter one. Relative to its width, it is the taller of the two. We looked at that pattern in The Quiet Return of the 38mm Watch.
The Mako has the advantage for larger wrists. Its 41.8mm case and 22mm bracelet have more presence, and many buyers will find 38mm too small for a sports watch. Orient’s nearest answer to the Seiko’s size is the 39.9mm AC0Q Diver, which we compare in Orient AC0Q Diver vs. Seiko 5 Sports SKX.
Quality
Neither maker publishes much about finishing, so this section rests on components and reports.
The Mako comes on a steel bracelet with a fold-over clasp and a safety catch. The Kamasu, which shares its case, has a stamped clasp, and reviewers report hollow end links on its bracelet, which Orient does not confirm. Whether the Mako’s bracelet shares those traits is not confirmed either.
The SRPL79’s steel bracelet closes with a three-fold clasp and push-button release, and the SRPK31’s is a brushed three-link design. With the display back added, the Seiko has the more finished presentation and takes Best Finishing. The Orient’s advantage is in the parts that protect a watch, the sapphire crystal, the screw-down crown and the 200m case.
Long-Term Ownership
Both come with three years of cover. Orient Watch USA offers a 3-year warranty, and Seiko USA offers 3 years on purchases made from July 1, 2024 through Seiko or an authorized dealer.
Over years of wear, sapphire should keep the Mako’s dial clearer than Hardlex will keep the Seiko’s. The 4R36 and the F6922 are both current mainstream calibers, used across many of their makers’ watches, so neither should be hard to service.
Value
By the numbers, the Mako gives more for its money. The extra $25 buys a sapphire crystal, double the water resistance, a screw-down crown and a tighter accuracy rating, which is why it takes Best Value despite costing more. The Seiko’s $350 buys a display back, a lighter and smaller case and the full 4R36 day-date.
The Mako is the better-equipped watch. The Seiko is the one that fits wrists the Mako cannot.
Buyers who like the Mako’s specification but not its dial can have the same case, crystal and movement in the Kamasu, also $375. Our comparison of the Kamasu and the Seiko 5 Sports covers that pairing, and the Mako against the Citizen Promaster covers a more expensive rival.
Verdict
- Best Value
- Orient Mako (Mako-3)
- Best Movement
- Orient Mako (Mako-3)
- Best Finishing
- Seiko 5 Sports SKX Mid-Size
- Editor’s Pick
- Seiko 5 Sports SKX Mid-Size
If a 41.8mm diver suits your wrist, buy the Mako. It costs $25 more and brings a sapphire crystal, 200m of water resistance, a screw-down crown and a tighter accuracy rating, and those earn it Best Value and Best Movement.
Our Editor’s Pick still goes to the Seiko, because size is the real question in this comparison. A 38mm sports watch with a 44.2mm lug-to-lug, a day-date automatic and a display back for $350 is uncommon, and none of the Orient divers we have covered matches that footprint. Buy it knowing it is a 100m sports watch with Hardlex rather than a diver with sapphire. For buyers who want the smaller case, that is a trade worth making.
