The Subaru 360 is a tiny 360cc car, which has been very popular in Japan since 1958, and it represents what the Fiat 600 was for Italians, a piece of our history that we need to protect and safeguard. Japanese people are proud of their history and products, like cars and watches.

Today, Orient and Subaru are among those companies that best embody Japanese culture. The former is the biggest Japanese manufacturer of mechanical watches, while Subaru is the world’s biggest maker of 4WD cars and the only mass-production automotive company to produce vehicles powered by boxer engines.

The partnership between these two companies produced a collection of sports timepieces dedicated to the STI range of performance cars and, in 2013, also to the creation of a watch that marked the 55th anniversary of the little Subaru 360 car.

The Orient Star Subaru 360 55th Anniversary is the quintessential Japanese mechanical watch, while the Orient Star collection represents an essential chapter in the history of mechanical watchmaking in the Land of the Rising Sun. Back in the days when Italian grandfathers were wearing a three hands Zenith watch, their Japanese siblings would wear Orient Star timepieces: the classic three-hands (four in this case) with a domed glass crystal.

Soon after buying an Orient ISO-certified watch like the Pro Saturation Diver, my next step was to look for a classic and easy-to-wear watch. I was searching for something reasonable in size since my current collection only includes timepieces whose case is at least 42mm in size.

What drove me to buy such a timepiece is that Orient, in comparison to any ordinary Orient Star, strongly customized its Orient Star Subaru 360 55th Anniversary: its dial features the exact same Pantone as the original Subaru 360, and it also sports the historical Subaru logo (and the Orient Star one) with the badge “Subaru 360” as once applied to the little car too. The same insignia is reproduced on the crown as well.

The case back displays the car’s silhouette, its name and the serial number of this limited edition collection (250 pieces), and it makes it a valuable timepiece, given the production was limited and it’s currently hard to find one. I bought mine new with tags through a Japanese retailer on eBay, and I was lucky enough to buy the last one he had in his online store.

The case is 37,5mm wide and just 11,2mm thick; it is fully polished, and the dial features applied indexes and a Power Reserve indicator at twelve, a handy feature since it houses the 48C40 hand-wind calibre with more than 40 hours of power reserve and a smooth-to-operate-crown.

It is one of the best purchases that I have ever made. Do you know why? It’s not just about price and quality; its vintage look and strong appeal triggered me to buy one. I got a unique watch with a nice story and a reasonably priced, entirely in-house hand-wind-calibre.

Also, the Orient Star Subaru 360 55th Anniversary is by far the most authentic, sober, and enjoyable timepiece I have ever bought. Finally, this timepiece elegantly blends together the longstanding tradition of two wholly different yet significant Japanese companies, which are the backbone of Japan’s industrial story.

(Photo credit: Horbiter®)

Gaetano C. @Horbiter®

@Gaetano Cimmino