Community Stories

Hodinkee Eight-Day Travel Clock LE

ReturnOfUltraman
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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.
Edited:
 
buramu
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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.

👎
 
SkunkPrince
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buramu buramu
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.

You do realize that's a nearly exact copy of various clocks of the era?
 
buramu
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SkunkPrince SkunkPrince
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'.
 
SkunkPrince
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buramu buramu
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. 😀
 
w154
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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.
 
buramu
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SkunkPrince SkunkPrince
"Being a designer..." suggess a lot. I mean this not unkindly. 😀

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.
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rcs914
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buramu buramu
I don't mean that in a pretentious way. It's my dayjob, and when I see something like this I imagine getting the assignment to design something like this. Wouldn't that be the design challenge of a lifetime? 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.
 
SkunkPrince
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buramu buramu
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.
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.
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Stripey
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rcs914 rcs914
I've created my own art from their "article" about this travesty. I call it "White Man of Privilege: Contemplation with Coffee"
White Man of Privelge.JPG
White man with terrible white trousers that look like painting overalls.
 
mz_cle
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kingsrider kingsrider
They have also become a source of fascination among the HODINKEE team, which is why, after stumbling upon a veritable stockpile of untouched vintage movements during a trip abroad a few years ago, we knew we had to take the opportunity to share them with the world. After years of development and a design process involving multiple iterations and prototypes, we're proud to introduce the HODINKEE Eight-Day Travel Clock.

This is some Urban Sombrero-level copy right here.

screen-shot-2016-04-13-at-1-56-20-pm-1.jpg
 
E-diddy
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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.
 
mz_cle
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E-diddy E-diddy
lost what has made them successful: that understanding of the common (wo)man

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.
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Foo2rama
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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.
 
Vercingetorix
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Foo2rama Foo2rama
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.
But the leather is signature Hodinkee grey....
 
Badwolf
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How can you join a waitlist if the 96 are already sold out? Very fishy.
 
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