So long, 2020!

Exactly one year ago, we were looking forward to 2020. Orient's 70^th year in business was supposed to be fantastic, a time to celebrate this respectable event marking our favorite brand's anniversary with cool watch releases, both new designs and reissues.

Well – we know what happened next… 2020 was a bit of a letdown, wasn't it. But since this blog voices the optimist view of hopeful hobbyists, we'll keep it positive.

 

Orient did manage to stick to its release plans, as many other watch brands have – indeed, it is an industry that sells grown-ups' toys to sentimental consumers looking to add some joy to their wrists. So, regardless of actual sales figures (which we're yet to see annual summaries of), this industry kept ticking.

Most of Orient's 70^th-anniversary releases were indeed covered in depth on this blog. While most of the new models we're fine, some were more impressive than others. The blog's favorites – a completely subjective list of course – includes the unmistakenly-Orient reissues of the Retro Future Camera and King Diver, and that very sharp-looking "Contemporary" Moonphase Orient Star.

So what's next? We're all hoping that 2021 would be a year of returning to normal. Not that "new normal", thank you very much – just plain old normal. A year when we can all go to our local AD and shop for watches, mask-free; when we can go out to dinner, sans the distancing, with our favorite dress watch on the wrist, or just travel freely with our GMT piece.

 

One last thing – we'd like to introduce a new Instagram hashtag for the blog… We'll be following #OrientPlace (yes there's a few unrelated posts with this tag, but we'll soon outnumber those). So if you wish to draw our attention to your new watch purchase, review, or just a cool photo, feel free to use #OrientPlace and we'll take note.

So, till we return in January, we wish you all a happy holiday and a very happy new year!