Community Stories

The Hodinkee House Style, April 2020

krogerfoot
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Ben Clymer, "A Personal History with the Speedmaster":
"So what’s my favorite Speedmaster? The MK40, the H10, my 2998 with military provenance, sure. But also the Speedmaster with that amazing story that I haven't discovered yet. That’s my favorite."

Steve Martin, "Drivel":
"She came back and looked at me. 'This is not just drivel," she exulted. 'It's pure drivel.' The butterflies in my stomach sopranoed a chorus of 'Hallelujah.' That night, we celebrated with a champagne dinner for two, and I told her that her skin was the color of fine white typing paper held in the sun and reflecting the pink of a New Mexican adobe horse barn."
 
STANDY
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Jack Forster:
In my own case, I find it impossible to separate the Speedmaster from the era in which I first got to know the watch. Like Jason Heaton, there is for me a very deep, extremely sentimental connection with the Speedmaster, and also with the time that for both of us, the watch represents – the Apollo era. Like so many youngsters who grew up listening to men like John Glenn speaking to ordinary earthlings from outer space, space exploration seemed exciting in a way difficult to understand today. It was not just an exercise in optimism, or jingoism, or patriotism, or a poke in the eye during the Cold War to the Soviet Union. It was much, much bigger than all that – one had a sense that as a species, human-kind held its own destiny in its hands and that we were poised to become part of both a physically and spiritually larger world. I don't want to oversell it, but that's how it felt.

———————————————————————————————————————————————-

Standy
This is a watch that most just jumped on the sheeplle band wagon. And now they are spruiking the moon landing dribble connected to it like it was a life long inspiration.
2012 there was probably 10 people here that were passionate about them and only 3 that were moonwatch/astronaut passionate
2005 they were a $500-1000 watch that took months to sell.

I have one and flog it like a tool watch by wearing it to work everyday like someone would have 40 years ago.
FECF6B4A-D6A8-4526-B900-8A87302956B7.jpeg
 
krogerfoot
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Unlike a lot/most/nearly all of Hodinkee's articles, "Editors pick their favorite Speedmaster" isn't entirely terrible writing. Ben Clymer's bit, however, really exemplifies the house style in being solely focused on how the products under discussion reflect on the writer's savvy and affluence. Other editors at least convey what it is that attracted them to these watches, even the ridiculous-looking ones. Clymer can only report that he got one from his grandfather and it kicked off his career as an entrepreneur and gentleman collector. Despite his "simple appreciation for story telling (sic), design, collectibility, and wearability," he is only able to relate how his watches mark him as a sophisticate with rarified tastes.
 
Dr No
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krogerfoot krogerfoot
Ben Clymer, "A Personal History with the Speedmaster":
"So what’s my favorite Speedmaster? The MK40, the H10, my 2998 with military provenance, sure. But also the Speedmaster with that amazing story that I haven't discovered yet. That’s my favorite."

Steve Martin, "Drivel":
"She came back and looked at me. 'This is not just drivel," she exulted. 'It's pure drivel.' The butterflies in my stomach sopranoed a chorus of 'Hallelujah.' That night, we celebrated with a champagne dinner for two, and I told her that her skin was the color of fine white typing paper held in the sun and reflecting the pink of a New Mexican adobe horse barn."

"Even your bullshit . . .


. . . is bullshit."

::rimshot::
 
sjg22
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The hate-on for Hodinkee is one of the few things I don't care for about this forum.

I like watches. Hodinkee produces regular, new watch content. Therefore, I am happy Hodinkee exists, even if they don't bat 1.000.

This is a great forum - these pissy threads aren't what make it so.
 
Archer
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sjg22 sjg22
The hate-on for Hodinkee is one of the few things I don't care for about this forum.

It's one of the things I don't mind at all about this forum.
 
janice&fred
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krogerfoot krogerfoot
he is only able to relate how his watches mark him as a sophisticate with rarified tastes.

"rarified tastes"? Judging by all the speedy dweebs on this forum that isn't gonna pop up here very often as well.

speedy dweeb 1: "If you look close with a 1000X microscope you can clearly see the .0004 mm difference in the length of my second hand"

chorus of other speedy dweebs: "oh yes great find and another truly rare speedy variation" 😁
 
STANDY
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sjg22 sjg22
The hate-on for Hodinkee is one of the few things I don't care for about this forum.

I like watches. Hodinkee produces regular, new watch content. Therefore, I am happy Hodinkee exists, even if they don't bat 1.000.

This is a great forum - these pissy threads aren't what make it so.

They were not that bad until they lost contact with your average joe that drinks a beer out of a can and doesn’t use a coaster.

Years ago they had a article about never buying a vintage watch without seeing the movement.

Now they sell dubious vintage watches without movement shots.
 
S.H.
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krogerfoot krogerfoot
Ben Clymer's bit, however, really exemplifies the house style in being solely focused on how the products under discussion reflect on the writer's savvy and affluence.

I don't think it is a bug, but rather a feature. If you wish to sell watches with a price tag pushed to the max, sometimes all the way to the delirious, actual characteristics of said watches don't matter. Vintage watches = status object.
 
sjg22
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STANDY STANDY
They were not that bad until they lost contact with your average joe that drinks a beer out of a can and doesn’t use a coaster.

Years ago they had a article about never buying a vintage watch without seeing the movement.

Now they sell dubious vintage watches without movement shots.
I'm not sure their target audience was ever the average joe that drinks beer out of a can without a coaster - I love canned beer (most great craft beer comes in cans...), but ALWAYS use a coaster 😁.

Their website describes their average reader:
"HODINKEE has seen significant growth over the lifespan of the company, with an average of 650,000 unique visitors each month, and over 3,000,000 monthly pageviews. The typical HODINKEE reader holds a master’s degree or higher, browses from his professional office, earns more than $200,000 per year, owns seven watches, and purchases, on average, three watches per year with an average value of $7,000 or higher per watch."

That is who their advertisers are trying to target and thus the demographic their content is geared towards - they spell that out quite specifically in the "Ads" section of the site. Like it or loathe it, I'm happy to have free, regularly produced content I can choose to read (or not read) about a topic near and dear to my heart. The easiest answer is: if you don't like it, don't read it. As for the watches being sold and information being provided: caveat emptor. Or, as the good book says, a fool and his money are soon parted.
 
STANDY
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sjg22 sjg22
I'm not sure their target audience was ever the average joe that drinks beer out of a can without a coaster - I love canned beer (most great craft beer comes in cans...), but ALWAYS use a coaster 😁.

Their website describes their average reader:
"HODINKEE has seen significant growth over the lifespan of the company, with an average of 650,000 unique visitors each month, and over 3,000,000 monthly pageviews. The typical HODINKEE reader holds a master’s degree or higher, browses from his professional office, earns more than $200,000 per year, owns seven watches, and purchases, on average, three watches per year with an average value of $7,000 or higher per watch."

That is who their advertisers are trying to target and thus the demographic their content is geared towards - they spell that out quite specifically in the "Ads" section of the site. Like it or loathe it, I'm happy to have free, regularly produced content I can choose to read (or not read) about a topic near and dear to my heart. The easiest answer is: if you don't like it, don't read it. As for the watches being sold and information being provided: caveat emptor. Or, as the good book says, a fool and his money are soon parted.

You do realise
The typical OMEGA FORUM member is anyone from around the whole world who all they need to do is hold a phone or a mouse. Can buy as little or as many watches as they like, don’t even need a job and are quiet free to comment on the forum their opinions

and

On the free content of Hodinkee, Nothings free and your paying every time you buy a watch as Hodinkee is on the Swiss marketing payroll bigtime 😗

also

the caveat emptor comment, the good book does say something about “thou shall not steal”
 
krogerfoot
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sjg22 sjg22
The easiest answer is: if you don't like it, don't read it.

You know this advice works for pissy forum posts as well, right? I’m not sure we disagree, though. I’m agnostic about Hodinkee’s business practices and watch scholarship. Those areas are far beyond my expertise, though not beyond the expertise of many of the people reading these words, including yourself, I think. I too like watches and always note that Hodinkee first sparked my interest in them. As for their target audience, it’s a bit rich for any of us here to mock people for spending a lot of money on watches. (Mon semblable, mon frère!)

If anyone wants to defend the quality of Hodinkee’s writing, on the other hand, let’s hear it. First, however, read the article about the editors’ favorite Speedmasters and share what you learned about Clymer’s choices. The other contributors at least make an effort to convey what it is they like about these watches, while Clymer’s piece is just self-congratulation. All that pious bloviating about storytelling, but the only stories he cares to relate are about his acumen and prominence as collector and entrepreneur.

That is the house style of Hodinkee. Their writers could tell us a lot about watches and why they—we—love them and want to talk about them. Sometimes they do. Very often, however, Hodinkee only wants to tell us that a particular watch is killer, oozes class, is cool and collectible, has the 321 movement which everyone who’s anyone knows is the only movement worth having or discussing and I only paid thirty grand for it and even then my friends “goaded” me about it. This kind of lazy snobbery is what makes the writing bad and worthy of mockery, I think, and that’s why I mock it.
 
DanT
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Jack Forster:
In my own case, I find it impossible to separate the Speedmaster from the era in which I first got to know the watch. Like Jason Heaton, there is for me a very deep, extremely sentimental connection with the Speedmaster, and also with the time that for both of us, the watch represents – the Apollo era. Like so many youngsters who grew up listening to men like John Glenn speaking to ordinary earthlings from outer space, space exploration seemed exciting in a way difficult to understand today. It was not just an exercise in optimism, or jingoism, or patriotism, or a poke in the eye during the Cold War to the Soviet Union. It was much, much bigger than all that – one had a sense that as a species, human-kind held its own destiny in its hands and that we were poised to become part of both a physically and spiritually larger world. I don't want to oversell it, but that's how it felt.

———————————————————————————————————————————————-

Standy
This is a watch that most just jumped on the sheeplle band wagon. And now they are spruiking the moon landing dribble connected to it like it was a life long inspiration.
2012 there was probably 10 people here that were passionate about them and only 3 that were moonwatch/astronaut passionate
2005 they were a $500-1000 watch that took months to sell.

I have one and flog it like a tool watch by wearing it to work everyday like someone would have 40 years ago.
FECF6B4A-D6A8-4526-B900-8A87302956B7.jpeg

I hope this isn't an example of the OF house style
 
STANDY
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DanT DanT
I hope this isn't an example of the OF house style

No, just a hard working guy that gets his hands dirty each weekend, telling it how he see,s it 😉
 
DanT
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We're all hard working brother - and we all love Omegas, and if you could buy them for $500 15 years ago then fair play -
We all appreciate the advice and knowledge here on the forum - you dont get that on Hondinkee
 
sjg22
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There is room in the world for OF and Hodinkee - my general point can be summarized as “different strokes for different folks”. There’s room on the internet for everyone and I happen to like a diversity of viewpoints, perspectives, style and content.
 
JanV
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STANDY STANDY
Years ago they had a article about never buying a vintage watch without seeing the movement.

Now they sell dubious vintage watches without movement shots.
The problem with credibility of this type of houses are not their general articles.

The problem lies in the way they may post in between their articles stories of dubious watches with questionable provenance, that lures these “typical XX reader holds a master’s degree or higher, browses from his professional office, earns more than $200,000 per year, owns seven watches” to go out an buy either this particular watch in the article or similar ones on the open markets without questioning.

This is what pi...es me off.

When facts are misled, abused or blatantly ignored by greed in order to sell or verify questionable watches.

Remember that these kind of articles “stick” on the internet, creating a “new truth” because it has been written...

And thus the ball is set rolling and people loose their money on dubious watches, just because their readers aren’t collectors and just thrust the written media.

It doesn’t help at all that many of these questionable articles usually come out prior to an auction to generate traffic and interest to it, as a possibly greedy favour to some of their colleagues wanting to unload a watch with questionable provenance.

So if you can’t identify what collectors here could call “correct” articles written against some questionable articles, then what can you thrust in their content as whole?

A simple mistake in a few articles can happen to anyone, but when collectors notify their observations and information to these houses, and they still refuse to correct their statements or their articles, then it’s just...

One rotten egg spoils the whole batch, as they say...
Just my 2 cents on this topic....
 
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