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Hodinkee. What a damn shame.

  1. rkman11 Mar 20, 2019

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    I admit it, I was a fanboy early on. Who didn’t love talking watches? And what felt like an authentic watch collector’s opinion for the most part. But now? Oy!

    With so many brand affiliations, there is just a financial inability to say anything negative about any watch. (Insert big brand name here) takes a standing dump and puts it on a 20mm nato and they applaud the innovation. The focus is clearly on building those relationships to release ridiculous, overpriced, “limited addition” co-designed pieces. Gross.

    And talk about a waste of talent, with people like James Stacey and Jack Forster, who I’d put up there with some of the best in the watch game, it’s just a damn shame.

    Okay... off my soapbox and back to work now.
     
  2. Evitzee Mar 20, 2019

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    The natural tendency of any full time activity is to monetize it if possible. I think Hodinkee has gone overboard, but it is what it is. As long as you recognize it you have been vaccinated against its biases and effects. Filter out the chaff and fluff and concentrate on the hard facts.
     
  3. jimmyd13 Mar 20, 2019

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    Hodinkee was always intended to be a vehicle to monetise watches. When you choose to be a sales platform, you lose your legitmacy as a critic. It's possible to have a foot in both courts but only a very rare few have ever managed to do it successfully. If a salesman can say to you "yeah, don't buy what I'm offering. Go get one from Joe" then you can probably trust him ... but his boss won't.
     
  4. abrod520 Mar 20, 2019

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    lol Hodonkee really hit the nail on the head with this one. Posted last night when we all thought the horrible Tudor was a sick joke.

    upload_2019-3-20_13-25-43.png
     
  5. rcs914 Mar 20, 2019

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    Hodinkee needs to hire whoever writes "The Watch Snob" column for AskMen, just so they can have some semblance of an actual critic on staff.
     
    Uniqez and Waxtactic like this.
  6. JimInOz Melbourne Australia Mar 20, 2019

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    I thought that was Archie Luxury when he was on his meds?
     
  7. marco Mar 20, 2019

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    Archie L should team up with the big H. It would introduce a bit of colour and finish off the sitcom they have become !
    I can jst see it now " introducing Australian watch authority AL"
     
    LeonDeBayonne likes this.
  8. dsio Ash @ ΩF Staff Member Mar 20, 2019

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    Do you really have to go around reminding people he's Australian, we're doing our best to call him a kiwi wherever possible
     
    arcadelt, Spacefruit, Bbturbo and 5 others like this.
  9. Woops Mar 21, 2019

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    I largely agree with much being said about Hodinkee in this thread but reading 'Bring A Loupe' remains one of the highlights of my rather sad internet life. It is still everything which used to be so great about that site for me and is always brilliantly written.
     
    wristpirate, sdre and rkman11 like this.
  10. aap Mar 21, 2019

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    The watch enthusiast in me hates what they have become. But the management educator / consultant in me, is impressed.
     
  11. rkman11 Mar 21, 2019

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    I agree. Bring a loupe is great, as is talking watches. Sadly not enough of either, especially talking watches, to keep me clicking.
     
    Lucasssssss and patrick1616 like this.
  12. GMTspeedmaster Mar 21, 2019

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    +1
     
  13. mz_cle Mar 21, 2019

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    I came late to the site, but my initial interpretation was that it was positioned as a niche lifestyle platform for a particular set of watch collector or enthusiast, specifically someone who also wanted air cooled Porsches, double breasted coats, and every damn watch to be 36 to 38 mm.

    I developed a very specific loathing of the tone of one or two of their writers, and the podcast ratchets up the prior mentioned tone to an unbearable level for me.

    Their move to a brick and mortar retail space is an interesting choice, but one that is probably the truest indicator of the slide I've heard from many people and above on this thread.
     
    Spacefruit and rkman11 like this.
  14. Theluglife Mar 21, 2019

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    haha. gotta follow this account on IG/1
     
  15. JohnSteed Mar 21, 2019

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    That’s the edge that permits duplicity. View it all as a collector and there’s nothing but contempt to those ruiners of the great vintage watch hobby. Then again, exist many here who wouldn’t mind selling for a higher price though ,,, without the ... um... fluffy articles.
     
    Spacefruit and aap like this.
  16. Foo2rama Keeps his worms in a ball instead of a can. Mar 21, 2019

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    Every year like clockwork this thread happens.

    Some good guys turned their passion into a business. They worked thier asses off to get where they are today. Obviously they are doing something correctly or the brand would not still be growing.

    Ariel gets the same shit over at ABTW. Get over it and stop hating they did nothing to hurt you. You don’t like it? Then you go build a website and content for it and do it better, while building brick and mortar( which they have been doing since the start)
     
    MMMD, Lucasssssss, frederico and 5 others like this.
  17. JohnSteed Mar 21, 2019

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    Absolutist thinking. Goes nowhere. Let the guys vent without the brexit anthem. Sheesh :whistling:

     
  18. JohnSteed Mar 21, 2019

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    Calm down ppl. My throat itches when I eat apples, I make that crazy sound with my throat and nose the wife just loves. Not giving up on apples. But I’m not giving up period. Just because I loves apples I should shut up??

    Will speak up. Then...Move on. Life continues
     
  19. AJwala Mar 21, 2019

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    I too am new to this and I did follow Hodinkee for some reviews. I was actually unaware of this perception about Hondikee until recently. I dont have much idea about this but their content has been helpful to me. But at the same time the post about Switzerland (12 CHF diet coke) does send a certain message :p
     
  20. Foo2rama Keeps his worms in a ball instead of a can. Mar 21, 2019

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    I just don’t get the hate... there are things to be pissed at hodinkee for ie it really looks like they where involved with market manipulation at least 2 times. But being jealous of thier success bugs me.