Why Nordic Marine Instruments Doesn’t Participate in Black Friday

Black Friday has grown into a global shopping ritual, a day where discounts seem too good to ignore and brands compete to slash prices as low as possible. But there’s a part of this story that's rarely discussed: if a company can afford to drop their prices dramatically once a year, it usually means that the regular prices weren’t honest to begin with.

At Nordic Marine Instruments, this is exactly the practice we choose to avoid. We don’t inflate our prices during the year just to cut them later for a quick marketing win.

We build watches for people who appreciate authenticity, high finish level, and the clean beauty of Nordic design.

Our pricing reflects the true cost of producing our watches

When it comes to pricing, transparency matters. Our watches aren’t built around marketing margins, they’re built around real production costs. The finishing level we aim for is considerably above what’s typical in our price range:

• Black polishing (Mørk Finish) that requires slow, manual work with diamond-polishing-paste.
• Multiple stages of hand-polishing and brushing on every case.
• Low-volume production, where each dial and component is inspected and often refined again.

This level of finishing is expensive and extremely labour-intensive, and that’s exactly why our margins are not huge. We keep our prices as fair as possible for the quality we deliver, not inflated to create “discount moments” later in the year.

Everything we earn goes directly back into new projects, better tools, improved manufacturing, and future collections. It’s a long-term approach, the kind that builds a brand slowly and honestly, not one that relies on yearly fire-sales to drive short-term spikes.

That is why we don’t do Black Friday discounts. Not now, not ever.

We want every NMI owner to feel confident that they’ve received the fairest price, whether they buy a watch today, next month, or on Black Friday morning. Nothing is more frustrating than buying a watch at full price, only to see it discounted shortly after. With us, that will not happen.

Our production capacity is naturally limited. We don’t mass-produce, and we don’t cut corners. That said, we still want to celebrate the season, but in a way that doesn’t compromise our values.

Exclusive Benefits for Our Community

We may not offer discounts, but our closest community members still enjoy benefits that matter:

✓ Newsletter subscribers get early news, behind-the-scenes updates, and exclusive access to upcoming releases – Furthermore, first time customers will receive a welcome discount upon subscription:
https://nordicmarineinstruments.com/pages/newsletter

✓ Our Facebook community stays connected through updates, discussions, and first looks at what’s coming next:
https://www.facebook.com/NordicMarineInstruments/

It's our way of giving something back without compromising the integrity of our pricing.

If you have any questions or need advice on choosing your strap, our team is always here to help.

Thank you for supporting independent watchmaking and for being part of our journey.

Your NMI Team