Tony Duronio
3T WIS
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Greetings fellow watch enthusiasts!
First of all, I want to thank the many thousands of you who tuned in to support the Watch Show's launch here at Shop At Home, making it by far the biggest launch with which I’ve ever been involved. It greatly surpassed all predictions, and we truly have you to thank for this early success. Your confidence in us will be rewarded, I assure you, as we have many exciting brands, products, concepts, and guests on the way as our ever-expanding timepiece program continues to unfold. There is so much more already in the works, and I look forward to sharing it with you.
Swiss Watch International (SWI)
SWI is coming to town! Many of you may know them not only from the watch world in general but from their television appearances over the last few years, and so it is indeed my pleasure to welcome the co-CEO of the SWI group, Izac Ben-Shmuel, as our guest live on the show this weekend (beginning Saturday at 9pm ET).
Givenchy Saqqhara Mens Chronograph Watch Swiss Quartz
item no:
our price:
25000190
$179.98
Seiko and Movado
Two of the brands we’ll concentrate on this week are Seiko and Movado, both of which were founded in 1881.
Originally named Seikosha, the brand we know as Seiko began in clock manufacturing, producing the first Japanese wristwatch in 1913. In 1924 the Seiko brand came to be, growing steadily and reaching the “over one million watches in a year” mark in 1938. Other landmarks would include the first Japanese self-winding watch in 1956 and the official timekeeping devices to the 1964 Olympics, a feat they would later duplicate in 2002. As you can see, this brand has been making news for over 100 years.
By the 1980s, Seiko had become one of the most recognized brands in the world--not just among watches, but among all brands of any product. Today they continue to innovate and produce watch designs at numerous price levels, with some current models listing at $3,000. In my view, Seiko is a brand that you can own with confidence, especially at these prices, knowing you will get many years of solid use from your new watch.
Where to begin when discussing a legend like Movado... Founded in 1881 by a 19-year old in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, Movado has designed and created more than 100 patents and won 200 international awards for both artistry and technology. Movado, which means “always in motion” in Esperanto (a utopian language created in Europe during the late 19th century), has historically created some truly landmark timepieces. Consider the 1912 Polyplan, which developed a movement to fit a case curved to the wrist, and the innovative 1950s Kingmatic series of rotor-driven automatics.
Of course the contemporary legend is mostly known by the look grown from the Movado Artist’s Series, hence the Movado Museum Watch with its legendary dial. Designed by American artist Nathan George Horwitt in 1947, the dial was selected for the permanent collection of New York's Museum of Modern Art in 1960, being the first watch dial to achieve this distinction. Today, approximately 17 Movado watches are in prominent museums worldwide, the Museum dial being without question one of the most famous and recognized luxury dials in the world.
Seiko Chronograph Watch w/ Rubber Strap, Black Dial, Purple Sub-Dials
item no:
web special:
30043032
$119.94
Seiko Chronograph Two Tone Watch with Silver Dial
item no:
our price:
30043021
$269.49
Movado Mens Museum Dial Watch w/ Quartz Movement
item no:
our price:
30043054
$449.97
Movado Two-Tone Stainless Steel Watch Your Choice Mens or Ladies
item no:
web special:
30043056
$649.98
The Watch Commander Returns
On to Sunday’s show, when we will again be welcoming the Watch Commander to the show for his much-in-demand encore. As anyone who watched last weekend knows, he delivers the full spectrum from affordable to opulent watches, all at great savings and with warranty, plus with a wonderful energy on the show. Small wonder that we are answering the demand by getting him back again as soon as possible!
I thought this issue would be a good opportunity to expound on Orient, one of the brands that the Watch Commander champions. Orient Watch traces its roots back to 1901, though officially it keeps its founding date in 1950. For many years, Orient was one third of the Japanese watch-making triumvirate, with Seiko and Citizen. While the other two saw success riding the advent of the quartz wave in the early 1970s, Orient, while also producing quartz, maintained a more classic footprint by continuing in the manufacture of mechanical and automatics.
Today, Orient has manufacturing facilities in Japan, Singapore, and Brazil and offers a wide range of watch designs and styles, including quartz, mechanical, and light powered (similar to Citizen’s Eco-Drive line). Interestingly enough, Seiko Epson thinks enough of how Orient designs and builds that they now own a controlling interest (52%) in Orient, and the two have established a joint factory, which today produces a range of automatic and quartz watches under the Orient banner, ranging from the affordable to a few listing as high as $7,000.
Orient Mens Sports Watch Automatic Movement
item no:
our price:
25000179
$129.98
Orient Open Heart Mens Automatic Watch
item no:
our price:
25000181
$349.98
The Watch Show Sweepstakes
Most Sincerely,
Tim Temple
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