2018 holiday season recap - why I'm in the NBZ!

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Locoboy5150

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This holiday season was, by far, my biggest haul in terms of number of watches purchased. I have never bought four watches in such quick succession and typically I buy a new watch every two to three months. It seemed that the 2018 holiday season had lots of sales on watches that really catered to my particular tastes. So, now that I'm in the NBZ (I swear that I am) I thought that I'd post a recap of what my 2018 holiday season was like, watch-wise.

The season started out with a bang when I learned that one of my long-time grail watches, the Orient saturation diver with the red dial (SEL02003H0) was going to be on sale for Black Friday at Long Island Watch for just $800 shipped. That was the lowest price that I've ever seen on that model.

1200Wx1200H


https://www.orient-watch.com/Collections/ORIENT/Sports/ORIENT:-Mechanical-Sports-Watch/p/EL02003H

The only problem was that I was going to be on vacation in Shanghai over Thanksgiving week and there is a 13 hour time difference between EST and China. I woke up bright and early on Thanksgiving day in Shanghai, hoping that I'd be able to get a jump on the great deal on the Orient saturation diver the day that it was available. Unfortunately, it was sold out. I wasn't too worried though because after leaving China I was next headed for Japan, home of Orient and lots of watch dealers.

When I arrived in Osaka to start the Japan part of my vacation, I had the Orient saturation diver on my mind. I really wanted it but I did not want to pay more than $800 for it. I found a Bic Camera store in Osaka that had the exact model that I wanted with the red dial and for the first time in my life, I actually got to hold it and try it on. It was a fantastic watch and photos and website descriptions don't do justice to how wonderfully chunky it felt on my wrist. The only problem was the price. It was a little over $1000. That was just too far out of my budget, so I kindly thanked the salesman and left Bic Camera empty handed.

My trek through Japan took me to Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, and Tokyo. I had an absolutely fantastic time, as I always do when I go to Japan, but I never found another Orient saturation diver with the red dial. I found the black dial model at several other locations but never the red one. All the ones that I found were also in the $1000 price range so I left Japan and came back to the Bay Area without a new watch.

I wasn't heartbroken because $800 is still a lot of money. As I found out, there were plenty of other watch deals to come back here in the US. A few days after I got back home, Aragon had a fantastic deal on an Enforcer with 68 tritium tubes and a black dial (A164SLV.) I didn't have a tritium tube watch in my collection and I always had my eye on that model Enforcer but it was too expensive originally. I quickly placed my order for $262.00 shipped.

A164SLV-2T.jpg


https://www.aragonwatch.com/product_p/a164slv.htm

I thought that that was it. I thought that I'd quit while I was ahead. Oh no...that was just the beginning of my watch purchases this holiday season.

Next up was an Invicta Reserve Grand Diver with a mother of pearl dial and iridescent bezel (22861.) Once again I had my eye on that model for a while and I was just waiting for the right price to come along. It was $181.98 shipped after using a discount coupon.

catalogshot_l.jpg


https://www.invictawatch.com/watche...el-stainless-steel-black-dial-sw200-automatic

Note that I'm wearing that Grand Diver as I type this. It's a fantastic watch and I love it!

From then on the ball just kept on rolling. Next on my list was an Invicta Reserve Scuba Diver with a Coke bezel and black dial (22997.) I have one of the reissued Scuba Divers (6925) with the SII NH25A movement and it has always been one of my all time favorite watches. It was the watch that I wore on my wedding day and thus I'll never ever part with it. This new version is larger and with a Sellita SW200 movement. It was $239.98 shipped and it arrived at my door earlier this week.

catalogshot_m.jpg


https://www.invictawatch.com/watches/detail/22997-reserve-pro-diver

That's it - I'm done! At least, that's what I thought.

Aragon had a good deal on the new Sea Charger. I always liked the Charger but one thing kind of bugged me about it - the stationary bezel. It looked like a dive bezel but it didn't rotate. Fake watch elements are a big turn off for me, even if I don't really use them every day. While I always loved the Charger's bracelet, the non-rotating bezel always kept me from buying one. I must not be the only person that felt that way because the new Sea Charger fixed that problem and its bezel does indeed rotate to show elapsed time.

I bought a 50 mm Sea Charger with a gray dial (A081GRY) for $140.88 shipped after using a coupon. It just arrived at my door yesterday and it's a great watch.

A081GRY-2T.jpg


https://www.aragonwatch.com/product_p/a081gry.htm

So, the final 2018 holiday watch bill for all four of those purchases is $824.84. So, I ended up spending about $25 more than the cost of what I originally set out to buy back on Black Friday, the Orient saturation diver for $800. I guess that that's not too bad considering that I got four new watches for just a little more than the cost of just one.

But that's it - I'm done! I'm *officially* in the NBZ...I swear! My credit card is torched beyond recognition so I'm not buying another watch for a while and I'm sitting on the sidelines.

But...my birthday is coming up soon... :wink:
 
I must admit, you dove into the NBZ in style!:good::cool2::applaud:
 
Wise decision....IMHO...I'm like you....I'd rather have 4 nice $200 watches than 1 very nice $800 watch to wear and enjoy ...
 
Thanks for taking us along with you on your international holiday watch Journey!

Winners all!!!
:hand:
 
Too bad you missed out on the OSD( I've seen used models sell for $750+), but you did quite well. Congrats on the holiday haul. :up:
 
pulling the trigger like BILLY THE KID morphs into hi-diddle dee NBZ for thee...been there...enjoy the journey !
 
Looks like you did alright. So, we don't want to hear any complaining about being in the NBZ for a while OK? :grin
 
Very nice haul for the holidays now jump head first into nbz and enjoy your bounty!
 
Your never done till your done ! You will buy more :drink:
 
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