Mako 40 RA-AC0Q14L the compact Mako finally gets better hands

What is new about the Orient Mako 40 RA-AC0Q14L?

Orient announced five new Diver Design 40 models on 10 February 2026; Orient UK sells the series as the Mako 40. The RA-AC0Q14L is the navy blue version, and the change is all in the dial. It gains a sunburst finish with a circular gradation that runs from lighter in the centre to darker at the edge, plus a revised layout: bar indices borrowed from Orient's larger divers, a bold arrow-shaped hour hand and a diamond-shaped minute hand long enough to reach the minute track.

That handset matters. Gear Patrol, covering the same dial update when it reached the US in June 2026, singled out the old hands as the earlier model's weak spot and described the new ones, taken from Orient's Kamasu, as the fix. The case, movement and bracelet carry over from the existing Diver Design 40, which is no bad thing.

How big is it, and how will it wear?

Orient's published dimensions are:

• Diameter: 39.9 mm
• Lug to lug: 46.5 mm
• Thickness: 12.8 mm
• Lug width: 20 mm

This is the compact Mako. Without crown guards and with a short 46.5 mm lug to lug span, it should suit wrists from around 15.5 cm up without overhanging, and it will look neat rather than sporty on larger wrists. At 12.8 mm it is not thin, but the date-only dial and lack of crown guards keep it visually clean. Orient positions it as a sports watch that works as easily with a shirt as with a T-shirt, and the proportions back that up.

What movement does it use, and how accurate is it?

Inside is Orient's in-house calibre F6722, an automatic with hand winding, hacking seconds and 22 jewels. Orient quotes accuracy of +25 to -15 seconds per day and a power reserve of over 40 hours. Bi-directional winding means it tops up efficiently on the wrist.

Those figures are typical for an affordable Japanese automatic. In plain terms, it may gain or lose up to a few minutes a week, and if you leave it off the wrist for a weekend it will probably have stopped by Monday morning. Hand winding and hacking make resetting it quick.

How well is it built?

• Crystal: flat sapphire, so the dial is well protected against scratches
• Water resistance: 200 m, with a screw-down crown and screw case back
• Bezel: unidirectional, in solid stainless steel rather than an insert
• Bracelet: 316L stainless steel with a trifold deployant clasp, push button and security latch

Orient's own press release is clear that the Diver Design 40 is not an ISO standard diver's watch. It is a dive-styled sports watch with enough water resistance for swimming and holidays, not a certified tool.

Is it good value against rivals?

Orient UK lists it at a £379.99 RRP. Seiko's 5 Sports SKX series SRPL83 has a £390 RRP on Seiko's UK site, so the two sit almost exactly level, and the Mako's sapphire crystal and in-house movement make it a strong alternative for anyone shopping in that bracket. Drop down to Timex's Deepwater Arctic at £240 RRP and you get a ceramic bezel and quartz convenience in a similar size, but no mechanical movement.

For a buyer who specifically wants an automatic, sapphire and a 40 mm case from an established Japanese maker, the Mako 40 is one of the more complete packages under £400.

What is the catch?

Three things to weigh. The power reserve is only just over 40 hours, so it is not a watch to rotate with others without resetting. The daily accuracy tolerance is wide compared with quartz. And the steel bezel, while durable, lacks the colour contrast of an aluminium or ceramic insert, which makes elapsed time slightly harder to read at a glance.

There is also the US pricing to bear in mind: when the same dials launched there in June 2026, they were offered at a launch discount. The UK RRP is the figure to judge it by here, and at £379.99 the specification still stacks up well.

“The case was already right. The new hands make the dial match it.”

What do owners say?

Themes from public owner feedback, paraphrased. We never copy Amazon reviews or ratings.

• Reviewers of the earlier Diver Design 40 (AC0Q) felt its hands were the weak point; Gear Patrol's coverage of the updated dial says the Kamasu-style handset solves this. This is review feedback rather than long-term owner experience, as the new dial is too recent for that.

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