The Orient collection has been known to be one of most well-rounded and accessible in the industry, encompassing classic watches, sport watches, divers, casual watches and pieces that are vintage-inspired. But it never used to be made up of sporty divers and classic watches—there is and was an even more vast collection that bolstered the Orient brand. And it was marked by three stars on the dial.

While the logo and its variations have been seen on Orient watches since the 1956 Jupiter model, the actual TriStar collection (also referred to as the 3 Star collection) has been manufactured since the 1970s. Its conception was fueled by the times and what was happening in the industry, specifically the Quartz Revolution (or Quartz Crisis, depending on who you’re talking to). The Quartz Revolution ignited after the proliferation and popularization of the quartz (battery-powered) movement by Seiko and other manufacturers in the early 1970s. By this time, Orient Watch had been developing and building its own mechanical movements for over 20 years. And instead of having its manufacturing fully succumb to the trends, it sought out to create a mechanical watch that could compete with this new technology and to meet global demand for an accessible timepiece. Orient Watch stayed committed to its brand identity and to its craft.

The logo of the TriStar collection is symbolic of three ideals: quality, design, and price. While these watches went toe to toe against the low-priced, battery-powered watches of the era, they also catered to those living in developing countries. Mechanical watch technology may not have been as accurate as its quartz counterpart, but the automatic TriStar watch required very little maintenance, less work to get it to start running, and was not cost-prohibitive. This made the TriStar watches appealing to people living in developing countries since batteries in general were hard to find. It truly became the people’s watch.

The TriStar collection has come a long way in its near 50 year history. It’s been presented in all shapes, sizes, colors, and strap arrangements, with quality of materials being improved as time went on. In a sense, it is the free-spirited younger brother to the Orient and Orient Star collections, and we’re excited to announce its addition to OrientWatchUSA.com.