Broader question: does this spell the beginning of the end for Hodinkee?

Probably not. I think most will eventually let this gloss over (but not forgetting this, and the numerous “cock ups”). Once Hodinkee starts putting solid content back, then people will move on. Also, people new to the hobby will eventually come across their previous solid content (think talking watches, auction reports, 1675 and speedie reference points). Those new to the hobby may not even know about all these jokes that Hodinkee has now somewhat become.

But on the other hand - advertising is a big part of Hodinkee’s revenues. If the big watch brands and so on see that Hodinkee has now become a sham in the eyes of the online community and collectors, maybe they’ll start to pull back ads and potential collaborations etc, to avoid the risk of being associated with Hodinkee.

On the balance, i think Hodinkee will eventually pull through.... So they will launch a LE pocket watch with NOS movement next year.

 

It's not the end of Hodinkee of course, not by a long shot. But it is the jumping of the shark moment.

 

Frankly, I'm not so sure why people are so upset. What they're doing is no different than Omega trying to sell a 321 for 3 times what they should cost. If someone is willing to overpay for something with the manufacturer spinning a good story, who am I to stop them?

 

The end of Hodinkee was a long time ago for me

 

There's a local chef here in Portland who's been on his Supermarket Sweep TV show, and he's also featured two of her restaurants on his DDD series, and she scolded me when I made fun of his signature on her wall. She said he's really a great guy and very kind. Like all famous folks, they have good days and bad, so a few anecdotes are not necessarily a window into his true self.

 

I've heard getting featured on DDD typically catapults quaint local places into mob scenes for years, usually leading to expansion or additional locations. Basically it's like winning the lottery, except there is a lot more work for your cooks and dishwashers

 

Yes except the quality of Omega's work with the new 321 is evident, whereas this is just a shoddy ripoff of an old design, being sold for 20x the price.

 

I haven't been a fan of theirs for quite a while either, but it seems this has tipped the balance with majority opinion - hence, jumping the shark.

 

That's exactly what happened with her. She had a location in another town in the state, got on DDD, and opened the Portland branch. It's fairly popular, re COVID anyway, but I stopped going because the popularity made it hard for them to keep up with demand, and she's known for smoked meats, and well there's only so much meat you can smoke so the portions started getting smaller and smaller as the prices went up. Spend more for less? That's a no for me dawg.

 

The kit version hasn't sold out yet, and it's only $4,250.

 

Not sure what you mean, it's the same cranked out machined parts as their other watches. The only change is that they are using more manual assembly to try to justify the price multiple. It's still way overpriced and greedy.

 

I dunno, the watch looks like it's really well-finished to me. All of this stuff is overpriced of course but so far even though it's not for me, all of the live photos I've seen of the 105.003 reissue look like a seriously nice watch.

Meanwhile, this clock has movements that were bought off the shelf (not developed, not assembled, no tooling for a new assembly line, no raw materials costs for manufacturing said movements, etc) and clear quality issues with the so-called craftsmanship.

 

But Hermes is not doubling as a "news" / information entity. I think that's what troubles some of us with Hodinkee as their interests are truly conflicted at this point.

 

By not buying this travel clock, I actually felt my IQ rise a couple of points. Win-win.

 

There are two issues with the Hodinkee clock, design and price, that make the Omega 321 analogy not particularly relevant. Putting aside the ridiculous price of the donkey clock, Hodinkee ripped off a Jaeger LeCoultre design and, in so doing, did a pretty shoddy job of re-designing it and with obviously sub-standard workmanship for the price. Omega didn't copy another company's design for the 321 and that makes it a very different situation.

 

You can't even go back to those articles if you wanted to. Some guys were referencing how Hodinkee hyped UG but I can't find evidence of these articles anywhere. Then they basically stopped writing about anything vintage altogether. If they do, it's usually about auction prices for Patek and Rolex.

 

The comparation between cal 321 and a cheap 100usd movement clearly should not be discussed especially on OF

 

a simple google of “hodinkee + Nina “ shows your wrong.

 

I'm trying to picture in my mind who would actually buy this travel clock and I am drawing a blank. It certainly is not me or anyone I know.

 

In the grand scheme of things $6k on watches isn't "that much" anymore to Hodinkee. To the wannabe watch collector this clock ticks all the right boxes- limited edition, a unique movement, and its HODINKEE. That buyer is who they were after here. Plus the wannabe knows if they don't buy it quick it'll sell out! Oh and if they don't want it in a month they can sell it for MORE than they paid, right?

When I first saw it I had no idea if $6,000 was reasonable, exorbitant or cheap because I've never looked into this type of clock.