The last time I did a rich man watch poor man watch story- it pit the Rolex Submariner vs a Citizen 7 Diver. If it’s not already obvious, I’m not going to be comparing movements and build quality because that would be like comparing apples and oranges. Instead, what I’m trying to establish is this- We don’t all have Bruce Wayne’s trust fund, naturally we’re going to like the style of certain timepieces. We might not always be able to afford the high end ones, I certainly don’t endorse replicas or fakes, so all we’re left is the homage piece. This week’s luxe for less, we look at:

Zenith Elite Captain vs. Orient Bambino in Rose Gold

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ― Leonardo da Vinci

I’ve established many times over that simple is elegant. Here, the Zenith Elite Captain Central Seconds is the kind of watch you’d wear to the office and black tie events. The Elite Captain comes in two versions- stainless steel or 18k rose gold- you can expect excellent chronometric performance from the manufacture caliber Elite 670 with 28m800 vph. The 9mm thin timepiece carries a 50-hour power reserve and is rated up to 50 meters water resistance. At an angle, you can see that the lightly domed shaped dial has a silver metallic/sunray finish.

In the other corner, we have the Orient Bambino in Rose gold and like the Zenith, the Bambino is 40mm and slightly thicker by 0.5mm which at cursory glance is barely noticeable however when worn on the wrist, definitely perceptible. The rose gold Orient is also water resistant up to a depth of 50 meters and in terms of movement, very little is known because unlike the Captain, there’s no sapphire caseback on the Bambino. That said, the finishing on this Orient watch is no laggard either and comes with a similar alligator strap as the Zenith timepiece. Aesthetically, both come with sword hour and minute hands. Check out the gallery to look at the watches up close.

Bout Results: Zenith Elite Captain – $5600. Orient Bambino – $150.