Orient Ray - The best $150 I've spent.

I currently reside in coastal California where the beach is just minutes away. 2 years ago on a very sunny and hot day went into the water without realizing that I had left the crown half open on my Orient Mako. Salty water invaded the inside of the case in just seconds. When I realized what happened it was already too late, my beloved Mako was full of water. I went home that night and open the back of the Mako. I had no idea how to repair a watch. I took the water out and used a bottle of compressed air to dry out the movement. The next day I picked it up and shook it around and to my surprise the second hand starting moving. Two years have passed after that horrendous day and the Mako finally decided to stop working in May 2015. Rest in peace dear Pepsi Mako, rest in peace... As a watch lover, I couldn’t pass the opportunity (or excuse) to buy another beater watch. My budget was around $150. I know 150 bucks is not much but it's enough to yield a few options. First I looked at the Seiko SKX007 series. The 007 was well positioned within my budget. With a mechanical movement, Hardlex crystal and a simple and classic design was one of my top choices. My second contender would be just another Orient Mako. Just like the 007, the Mako offers an in-house movement, a day and date display and good lume. However the Mako offers something that in my opinion the 007 lacks. I am taking about a very original dial and hand design. The positioning of the Arabic numbers in the 6,9 and 12 positions along with a second crown in the 2 o’clock position gives the Mako a very unique look. The other options were some Citizen Eco-Drive, Invictas, Bulova, Casio and Deep Blue. I am going to be truly honest with you. There was always something that disappointed me about these other options. Either because they were quartz driven, too expensive or just plain ugly. So, the battle was between the Mako and the SKX007. Which one did I get? None of them! Instead I went with Mako’s little brother: The Orient Ray. The Ray has the same DNA as his older brother. They both have the same movement and the same curvilinear case. The crystal is unfortunately still the same, and is still a magnet for scratches. Yet, the Ray manages to be more refined and more adaptive to all kinds of situations. Orient focused its improvements in the hour markers, the hands and the bezel. The numbers were removed completely from the dial and the rectangular makers on the Mako were replaced by rounded and highly polished hour markers. The skinny sword-like hour hand was improved by a big fat arrowed hand that improves on readability and aesthetics. I also noticed that the lume was greatly improved and it can now compete better with the lume on other diver watches such as SKX007. The numbers on the bezel were made bigger again for visibility and symmetry. All these subtle changes make the Orient Ray a classier watch. The Ray is so good looking and so versatile that I would dare to say that if I added a sapphire crystal to the equation, I would have a perfect watch for the summer. This is a watch that you don’t have to take off on Monday morning after that weekend getaway to the coast. This is without a doubt the only diver’s watch under $150 that you wear with a suit.