Something Worse Than Tariffs Is Hitting the Watch Industry

A year ago it was tariffs. Now it's something potentially worse — a movement shortage that's hitting the entire micro brand watch industry hard. https://www.LongIslandWatch.com The Seiko NH series (NH34, NH35, NH36) is becoming increasingly scarce on the open market. The likely reason? Seiko's own watch sales have exploded, and they're keeping their movements for themselves rather than selling them to third parties. Sound familiar? It's almost identical to what happened with ETA movements in the early 2000s when the Swatch Group threatened to cut off outside access — forcing the entire Swiss industry to scramble and giving rise to Sellita and others. Where things stand right now: NH34/35/36 — increasingly rare, prices have gone from ~$30 to over $100 Miyota 9000 series (9039, no-date variants) — also tightening as micro brands flood in Miyota 8000 series — still relatively available for now What this means for Islander and maybe other brands you enjoy: Islander will use Miyota as stopgap protection where it makes sense. Movement changes will always be communicated openly — nothing will be swapped in quietly. In the meantime, paying premium prices to fill existing production gaps. It's not ideal, but it's the reality right now. If you want to see how bad it's gotten — search NH34 on eBay.