In all seriousness, it's sad to see the evolution of Hodinkee. It started off 10 years ago as a great place to read and review watches. I remember reading them around 2009-2010, and the articles were well-written and you could tell there was a lot of thought behind it. It was engaging and the content was actually more relatable. Years go by, and articles and stories just seem to become stale with a few exceptions, and it seems like it turned into one giant marketing scheme to become a major retailer. I think Ben and the team only care about one thing, and you don't need three guesses as to what that is. I don't care to read much of their stuff anymore, and that's a shame because when it was good, it was good.

 

The sad thing is that they failed on the most essential aspect: they didn't manage to make it a desirable object.

I suppose (since we're all hanging out here) that we all recognize the feeling of "wow that's expensive, but dang if I wouldn't want to own that". The Leica of travel clocks. When I look at a Rolex Explorer (which I don't own, but definitely would like to) it makes me long for a trip to Mt. Everest. This thing doesn't give me that sensation at all. It's just a bland, uninspired and -dare I say- derivative design.

They could have designed an object around those movements that resonates with the wanderlust that many of us feel right now that we're stuck at home, but all they did was create a cheap looking case. It doesn't even tick all the "cool retro" boxes. It's just bland.

It's a big $6000 meh when it could have been a desirable 2020 interpretation of the travel clocks of yore.

 

You do realize that's a nearly exact copy of various clocks of the era?

 

Yes, but a very uninspired and lazy one. Being a designer it almost makes me angry how many missed opportunities there are in that 'design'.

 

"Being a designer..." suggess a lot. I mean this not unkindly.

 

Isn’t this the very first timepiece they’ve released that’s really an own label product ? I think everything else has been “Swatch x Hodinkee”, “Heuer x Hodinkee”, etc. That makes it even worse. This should be representing the start of something special.

 

I don't mean that in a pretentious way. It's my dayjob, and when I see something like this I imagine getting such an assignment for a design. Wouldn't that be the design challenge of a lifetime - or at least a really fun one? Being allowed to design something at a $6000 pricepoint means you can go wild with interesting materials and manufacturing techniques, instead of cutting corners to keep things cheap and cheerful. A project like this would be every designer's dream (if they're interested in clocks and watches, obviously). I don't see that kind of passion shining through in this product.

 

That's just it - they could have used rhodium plating, maybe some interesting bakelite, etc. Instead they "spent months" designing this and came out with something that is just a complete yawn. It utterly fails at being desirable. You can buy a BRAND NEW JLC Atmos for this same price. And I know which one is the better value. This is absolute tone-deaf hubris.

 

I know you didn't. You put me in mind of Henry Dreyfuss and the Westclox Style 5 Big Ben.

Plus, I'm a railfan and grew up within a mile of Brooks Stevens's business, what was left of it.

 

White man with terrible white trousers that look like painting overalls.

 

This is some Urban Sombrero-level copy right here.

 

It's seems out of touch to me to release a TRAVEL clock during a pandemic. I've been a H fan since their early years -- they made watches relatable and often romantic to the average person. I can respect that they expanded to e-commerce to pay the bills, but a release like this indicates to me that the have lost what has made them successful: that understanding of the common (wo)man. Hopefully this is temporary.

 

They have responded..

 

Did they really ever understand the common person? Their staff routinely manifests an extreme casualness towards items of exceeding and - frequently - ridiculous levels of luxury.

They are attempting to expand beyond a niche and into a lifestyle brand, but I wonder who that lifestyle appeals to.

Admittedly I also read the site more than I should, and I listen to the Grey Nato podcast. Maybe I should be examine myself more closely.

 

Shop says it is sold out already. Some people have so much money they don't know what to do with it.

https://shop.hodinkee.com/collectio...utm_campaign=cta-three&variant=31724511854667

 

Normally I would jump in here and explain what exactly they where thinking and you need to see it from a business standpoint....

yeah not this time.
Dial could have been epic with a fume or sunburst pattern. The leather seems all wrong and it needs more detailing.

 

The formula works

 

But the leather is signature Hodinkee grey....

 

How can you join a waitlist if the 96 are already sold out? Very fishy.