Orient Watches Sells on ShopNBC

By JCK Online Staff -- JCK Online, November 24, 2008

Orient Watch Company has partnered with ShopNBC to sell its watches on television. This marks the first major retail deal for the Japanese company, which entered the United States earlier this year. Its live debut was Nov. 17.

The hour-long segment will featured watch models ranging in price from $200 for a fully-automatic semi-skeleton watch to $1,300 for a 300-meter saturation diver with power reserve indicator. ShopNBC watch expert Jim Skelton and Mark Kim, chief marketing officer for Puritime (Orient's U.S. distributor), hosted the event. Kim said the partnership provides “a unique opportunity to introduce the United States to the Orient brand. We have already doubled our initial stocking.”

Established in 1950, Orient is Japan's largest producer of mechanical watches, using its own in-house movemernts, producing over 2 million timepieces annually.