Reply With QuoteI just read it he doesn't come out of it very wellOriginally Posted by swanbourne
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Quite lengthy and lots of comments.
http://forums.timezone.com/index.php...=7500977&rid=0
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
I just read it he doesn't come out of it very well
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Just read the link.
A bit of a bastard it would appear.
Especially when it comes to doing hard working folk and charaties!
A son of a bitch. Hope karma catches up with him
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Good grief, that's damning.
What an asshat.
Wow sounds a complete b-&£)(; not very good for the brand
It would appear the guy is a crook with no morals at all. I don’t understand how people like that can sleep at night.
I’m gobsmacked anyone would behave this way.
What an ar$ehole!
Always liked the brand styling and guess I was sucked into the goodwill factor. A damn shame if it was all smoke and mirrors. Hope justice is served and he pays up what is rightly owed to those he betrayed.
Still have the first Kobold watch (1 of 20) Kobold 323, but in reality it was a helping hand / step up from Helmut Sinn, much like he did with Bell & Ross.
Does Goblins a disservice, scum of the highest order. Nice piece of detective work though from Jessica.
Especially when he's been ripping off a Navy Seals charity. I imagine there are a great number of people who wish him harm and who also have the skills for visiting it upon him. It's probably a good thing that he no longer has a US visa
Despicable. Would make a great candidate for presidency, alas, wrong citizenship.
He always came across as self-serving. I have a vague recollection that he had problems of some kind a fair few years ago, but cannot recall what that related to.
Just seen this linked on the FB Microbrand Watches group.
Ripping off charities for your own personal gain is absolutely disgusting.
Well I read the comments first before reading the article and thought a bit over the top. But upon reading it, he really is a prize one. Think he needs to spend some quality time in the nearest State Penitentiary.
Am I right I’m thinking Helmut Sinn trained him? Probably find out that was a load of old tosh as well
Last edited by Mark lowman; 27th January 2018 at 20:27.
What a complete rat.
Wow that is pretty shocking really. There are some pretty nasty people about and no mistake.
An utter shop front.
As far as I recall, he was trained by Gerd Lang, the founder of Chronoswiss.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
What an absolute piece of scum. Sadly it renders the Kobold watches in circulation virtually worthless as nobody will want one now
Cock socket extraordinaire
I imagine there must be a lot of people who would like a serious few minutes with that nasty piece of work. What goes around comes around, he'll get his comeuppance for sure.
You certainly feel sorry for those poor sherpas particularly the one who died. RIP Lakpa Thundu Sherpa
A thoroughly dislikable piece of work.
We've all probably come across someone at least a bit as brazen as him - from wealthy means, coasting on contacts and a cynical coat-tails hanger, bullsh*tting his way though life, exaggerating his accomplishments and selling overpriced rubbish.
I see he has taken to Instagram to defend himself. Doesn't refer to the article once, but in a series of posts he targets each allegation:
Displays a copy of his Nepalese ambassador appointment letter (fair enough), but accuses the sherpa watchmakers (one since deceased, and who saved his wife's life, remember) of being lazy, 'candy-crush' addicts who didn't want to know.
On the Cousteau charity watch, he claims he still has many of the 150 left, and "once all 150 ... are sold, we will donate a portion of the profits to Earth Echo". He's defending himself, but really that looks very poor - a decade later, some watches sold, and yet still no profit has actually made its way to Earth Echo?
Tellingly, he admits to not raising anywhere near $250,000 for the Navy Seals charity, but has promised them to donate money from... his upcoming book!
That last bit sums it all up nicely for me. A man who failed to meet his obligations, but who seeks to profit from this whole mess (and this publicity, adverse or otherwise) by releasing a self-publicising book, in which he will no-doubt continue to stand on the shoulders of better men than he, and flog the memory of a dead man.
Despicable.
Disgusting. It takes a special kind of character to rip off a charity. I hope that no one will deal with him in the future
Yowza... what a scumbag.
Karma will come around for him
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Disgraceful and exploitative behaviour.
Hope he gets his comeuppance someday.
Wow what a read. Actual sheister!
Hasn't one just arrived on SC?
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Perfect timing me thinks!
Helmut Sinn gave MK 20 Sinn 156's and let him rebrand the dial as a helping hand to kickstart the brand. He also did the same with Bell & Ross. Guess I'm a bit biased as the current owner / seller, as I've always loved the brand and its history, especially Sinn. Just disgusting that the sales pitch for his subsequent models was such a big fat lie and the lives of the people he never supported is beyond forgiveness.
Mr C,Perfect timing me thinks!
Helmut Sinn gave MK 20 Sinn 156's and let him rebrand the dial as a helping hand to kickstart the brand. He also did the same with Bell & Ross. Guess I'm a bit biased as the current owner / seller, as I've always loved the brand and its history, especially Sinn. Just disgusting that the sales pitch for his subsequent models was such a big fat lie and the lives of the people he never supported is beyond forgiveness.
And a cracking looking watch it is, GLWTS.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
In my experience these types and i have met a few seem to go from strength to strength they are that good at BS and are bereft of any emotion or guilt
==================================================
Kobold's Founder
Our company's founder is Michael Kobold, the German entrepreneur, author, filmmaker and motivational speaker. Michael started his eponymous company at the age of 19 while an undergraduate student at Carnegie Mellon University.
Since the age of 16, Michael has been the lifelong protege of master watchmaker Gerd-Ruediger Lang, founder of Chronoswiss watches and himself the protege of Jack Heuer, the former head of Heuer Chronographs, and Walter Lange of A. Lange & Soehne. Michael is in charge of product design at Kobold and his style is heavily influenced by the teachings of Bauhaus, the German art school and design movement of the early 20th Century.
In the literary world, Michael has collaborated with the author and explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes on his bestselling books The Secret Hunters, The Feathermen, Captain Scott, Cold, Heat, as well as Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know. Michael splits his time between his home in Pennsylvania, as well as Germany and Nepal.
==================================================
WOW
Is all the article true?
I don’t get how 2 Sherpas suddenly become watchmakers just like that for instances?
His website is apparently back up and he is now spouting utter b****cos about reasons for poor service.
https://koboldwatch.com/pages/kobold-news
Who believes his bull about his staff ALL suffering from "personal problems"?KOBOLD NEWS UPDATE
A Message for our Watch Customers
Dear Friends and Supporters,
In my function as founder of Kobold, I enjoy a number of privileges. First, I get to meet an extraordinary number of people who love watches and other handcrafted items and who are just good fun to be around. By the same token, I also am the first to hear when we don't meet your expectations and carry ultimate responsibility to rectify the problems.
Unfortunately, in the last 2 years, I have received considerably more negative feedback from you than any founder likes. First, successive members of our customer service team in the U.S. caused significant headaches by not answering emails and calls. While this could be chalked up to the team's eagerness to assist the Merry Oaks-based production staff in catching up with orders, this ultimately caused more problems than it solved.
After making several attempts to break this cycle, I ultimately made the decision to base our customer service team in our Kathmandu, Nepal operations. This ensures that calls don't go unanswered (please note that our telephone number has changed to 1-888-SOARWAY) and while the team in Nepal is learning fast, they still have some catching up to do before they're as well-versed as you and I would like them to be. I ask you for your patience in dealing with the customer service team in Nepal. They're very eager to please but they just don't have all the answers yet.
Next, I discovered a number of other things about the way Kobold U.S. was run that I didn't like. I subsequently lost confidence in the operations there and decided that more sweeping changes would be necessary.
What led to these problems?
After a phase of major growth, we relocated our U.S. operation from an industrial park in Pittsburgh to Merry Oaks Farm in Amish Country. That growth spurt, however, left Kobold ill-prepared for the challenges of in-house case production. We initially expected it would take 6 months for our in-house case production to come online. In the end, it took 24 months and cost us well over five times the budgeted amount. In a nutshell, while we fully appreciated how complex the design of the Soarway case is, we had not previously understood the complexities of its manufacture.
Finally, once past the hurdles of in-house case production, a number of employees experienced personal problems, causing extensive leaves of absence from work. Things got so bad that I, personally, began machining watch cases using our in-house CNC equipment.
The delays and cost overruns developed into a cascading series of other challenges and ultimately led to extraordinary delays in the manufacture of new watches, as well as in the servicing and repair of used watches.
One of the reason this problem was difficult to solve is Merry Oaks' remote location, making it difficult to find qualified specialists.
Today, after far too much time has gone by, I am relieved to announce that we have finally added watchmakers to our U.S. operations who will help manage the backlog. In addition, a new expert CNC machinist has joined our team at Merry Oaks.
I would like to apologize to you most sincerely for the considerable inconvenience these delays have caused you. They are quite possibly the most ridiculously long delays in an industry famous for ridiculous delays. I alone am responsible for this fiasco and I can assure you I do not take this responsibility lightly.
We will need some time to get through the backlog of work and so I ask you for some more patience. We will get your watch to you as quickly as possible. In order to concentrate on clearing this backlog, we are also not accepting new watch orders until April 2018.
After filling all past orders for new watches, and after returning your service watches, we will work hard to make all this up to you. We fully understand that it will take time to regain your trust. We will start by including a number of our luxury accessories with your watch and by performing the watch's next service free of charge. After that, you will continue to hear from us whenever exciting events occur near you. We will also send you a number of other items later in the year.
A small handful of you have had to wait so long for your watches, that we are going to take extraordinary measures to regain your confidence. Whether it's an all-inclusive visit to our watch manufacturing facility at Merry Oaks Farm, an hour north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, or an all-inclusive trip to Nepal to inspect our accessories workshop there and explore this exotic and beautiful country -we will go the extra mile to show that we care about you.
After speaking with a few of you who have started to receive your watches, I have also come to understand, that once your Kobold watch is on your wrist, the headaches caused by these delays are slowly forgotten. As one happy customer put it: "There is nothing that comes close to a Kobold."
My apologies to you once again.
As ever - Embrace Adventure!
-Michael.
Oh my God. Does he really think anybody is going to buy this nonsense?
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
Michael is a complete bullshitter.
Having just picked up a SMG-1 from Chinnock, which is a cracking watch, from a cracking forum member.
Kolbold's antics certainly hit a nerve with me, and I am thoughly disgusted .
Will i sell the SMG-1! To be honest I don't know, but the shine has certainly been taken of the watch for me. I will more than probably stuff it at the back of the watch box like a black sheep for the time being.
Last edited by davie0146; 28th January 2018 at 12:31.
Full of sh*t.
All expenses paid trips to visit Nepal for unhappy customers?!! Really?
If he has the money for that, why couldn't he just sub-contract out the servicing (like many other internet brands do)? For the most part, these are just generic off-the-shelf movements placed inside parts-bin specials from Third Party suppliers. Hardly rocket-science to fix.
Why are the Customer Service operations being moved to Nepal, and why isn't he in the US to address complaints from people who've been without their watches for months & months? The Timezone article refers to alleged visa issues. This is a guy who was deported from the US circa 13 years ago as a result of prosecution related to his impersonating a police officer to access a secure area in an airport.
I'm sure we'll read all about it in his book.
Last edited by Stringer; 28th January 2018 at 12:16.
Ultately his very bad behaviour is down to cash flow and his desperation to keep his dream alive. Business’s sadly fail everyday , people end up losing their houses. The vast majority pick themselves backup and become stronger for the blow. Some people of course end it all. An element though go very bad indeed and will literally do anything to keep things afloat . This appears to be the case of Mr Kobold , charity thief and possibly someone quite dangerous to know
What a truly distasteful individual. I honestly don't know how some people can look at themselve in the mirror.
J
What annoys me is he selfishly sacrificed a great brand with "potential" high principles for just his own personal gain, wealth, ambition, ego etc.
I've always loved the watches, and still will. Unique, innovative and the perfect combination of form and function. Had he stuck to the bullshit he spouted and actually did what he promised, I believe the man and his watches would have been held in very high esteem. Unfortunately short sighted greed has now ensured the brand will be no more.
As a watch lover this is very sad, but not in comparison to those who were promised yet never received just so Mr Kobold could increase his own personal fortune.
Utterly disgusted!
Never known anything about him but he certainly doesn't come out well in the article. As others have said, what comes around goes around. Appalling ethics.
Liked the humblebrag comment, we'll all know someone who does that.
The guy is a classic opportunist aka con merchant, watches were just a vehicle for him to satisfy his ego and make some money, charities just the same - I wouldnt be surprised if a Kobold electric car pops up next to jump on that bandwagon. Its been said already but worth repeating, nothing more than a scumbag.
Keith
Seems to be the case.
Andy
Wanted - Damasko DC57
He has just taken advantage of the BS that surrounds 'luxury' watches.
He was using Fricker made cases and ETA movements. West Coast Time were using the exact same cases and movements for their watches but charging only a quarter of Kobold prices.
He then moved production of his cases to Merry Oaks in the USA allegedly. No neutral person has ever visited this 'production line', no pictures exist. The only pictures show Merry Oak as a normal lived in property. I have heard it said he just gave a Fricker case to a Chinese company and asked them to clone it so he could just pocket even more profit, whilst claiming 'USA Made' on his watches.
Why anyone would believe a single word of this con man I don't know. Why people have bought his grossly overpriced generic watches I understand, it is 'luxury' don't you know!
Mitch
A bit more on how he dropped the Sherpas in it and mention of the fire trucks.
http://forums.timezone.com/index.php...d=0&rev&reveal
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Wow. How'd I miss that / what a douche
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wow that is low.
I've just bought a Kobold SMG 1!! I was really looking forward to receiving it, and I guess a little bit of the excitement has disappeared.
I suppose one has to be pragmatic.
I am buying a watch, a concept, a lifestyle object, not the owner of the company. An inanimate object which is given meaning when I strap it on my wrist. It knows nothing of it's history, and owes nothing to it's maker. It is a machine which has a purpose, and will operate within strict accordance with it's design parameters which are unaffected by anything which may happened since it left the hands of the ateliers who put it together.
It is just a watch. It is no less the watch it was just because the company owner turns out to be less than honest.
I WILL enjoy wearing it. It is the same watch it was a week ago. So what If Michael Kobold is a Crook?
Many chief executives of companies have been crooks, but have people owning products sold by these companies either returned or stopped buying their products?? Probably not. Did owners return their VW's or stop buying them following the fraudulent claims made and lies told by management? No of course not.
The UK political parties are probably more corrupt now than they have ever been, yet we contiue to vote for them.
Kobold will continue to sell watches. Most potential buyers will buy them simply because they are Kobold. They will not read articles here, or in the watch press, so they will not be aware of these issues. If Michael Kobold is jailed, or is forced to resign, a new Chairman will probably be installed, debts will be paid, and promises fulfilled. People will forget. They always do.
I'll wear my Kobold. Why not?? Why should I be made to feel guilty for wearing it because of a bastard like Michael Kobold!
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