As
longtime readers of Orient Place know, I’ve been compiling stats about
this blog’s activity for years – often sharing some fun insights in the annual
anniversary posts. This time, I thought it would be interesting to look
outward: to dive into publicly available data about Orient’s actual watch
releases and see what patterns might emerge.
Over
the past ten years, Orient has been consistently enriching its catalog with a
mix of new models and variations on existing designs. By analyzing over 170
releases between 2015 and 2024, some patterns become clear – and they offer clues
not only to the company’s product strategy, but also to what we might expect
next.
The
Big Picture
I
scanned around 175 releases, as advertised on the brand's website. I was
interested in release dates (as I wanted to observe seasonality), and also
wanted to separate new designs from variants (such as new dial colors or
plating options), and to distinguish between Orient branded releases, Orient
Star, and other "fashion" sub-brands like "iO" and
"Moussy".
Overall,
releases were split quite evenly between 81 new designs and 94 variants. Among
the three major product lines:
- Orient Star led with 99 releases, focusing heavily
on variations.
- Orient followed with 61 releases, showing a
balanced mix of new and variant designs.
- The Fashion lines saw only 15 releases, most of
them new. Note that while Orient would rarely release "new"
models with very slight changes from existing ones, this is much more
likely to happen with the Fashion lines, which are driven more by design
than function.
When
Are New Watches Released?
There’s
a clear seasonality to Orient’s release schedule. The busiest months are February,
April, and September, with February being the top month overall – a time that
coincides with the end of the Japanese fiscal year. This timing might reflect
strategic planning cycles, or simply a desire to capture seasonal market
energy.
- February and April are rich in new designs, suggesting
a focus on innovation early in the year.
- September and October lean toward variants, likely to
refresh existing lines before the holiday season.
- The quieter months – January and December – see almost no
action. The single December release, a fashion watch, likely some
Christmas gift idea!
Anniversary
Years: Special Attention
Orient’s
major anniversaries in 2015, 2020, and now 2025, clearly mark moments of
heightened activity. During these years, Orient released an average of 9 watches
per year – nearly double the annual average of non-anniversary years. This uptick
includes both new designs and variants, with each type seeing roughly a
75%–100% increase over typical years.
For
Orient Star, the trend is more nuanced. In non-anniversary years, the brand
tends to favor variants, releasing more than two variants for every new design.
But in anniversary years—like 2016 and 2021—this pattern reverses. The average
number of new Orient Star models per year nearly doubles, surpassing the number
of variants and reflecting a deliberate push for innovation during milestone
moments.
In
short, anniversaries are not just symbolic for Orient – they are creative peaks,
often bringing with them some of the most interesting and original designs the
brand has to offer.
Trends
Over Time
Looking
at year-to-year shifts, a few longer-term trends emerge:
- A variant-heavy strategy has been dominant since 2018,
especially between 2021 and 2022.
- New designs spiked again in 2020 and are trending upward
once more in 2024.
Meanwhile,
product line activity has shifted:
- Orient Star consistently leads in activity –
this makes sense, as the likely higher profit margin justifies more
research and development.
- Orient models dropped off slightly in the late
2010s but are now recovering.
- Fashion lines peaked in 2015 and have been
minimal in recent years.
Forecasting
the Future
Orient’s
release schedule over the past decade reveals a certain rhythm—one that allows
for cautious speculation. While each year brings its own surprises, the
clustering of releases around February, April, and September appears consistent
enough to serve as a rough guide. This year's activity so far supports the
trend: Both February (actually starting January
31) and April
brought about plenty of new releases, mainly variants.
Anniversary
years in particular have shown a tendency to concentrate both volume and
variety in these peak months. If 2025 follows the precedent set in 2015 and
2020, we may well see more activity in the autumn, likely in the form of
additional variants and, perhaps, a few new designs.
Naturally,
no chart can predict a design team's creative process. This analysis is offered
in the same spirit as much of what we do here – part appreciation, part
curiosity, and mostly just for the fun of it.
Final
Thoughts
Of
course, there are many factors that influence when a watch brand chooses to
release new models—market demands, production schedules, and global events to
name just a few. This analysis isn’t meant to be predictive in any serious way.
It’s just a fun look at how Orient has operated over the past decade, and a
small way to appreciate the rhythm and strategy behind the brand’s ongoing
evolution.
And
who knows? If the numbers hint at what’s to come, all the better for
us collectors.
P.S. Yes I did pick the Grand Prix Triostat for the accompanying photoshoot. It's about stats. And it's a triostat. Sorry...!
