This is precisely what people are saying about it. This literally is the main crux of the scandal.Originally Posted by gcleminson
And this is always what creates such a scandal...just like the Panerai Brooklyn Bridge. It's the company absolutely knowing the quality of the product they are putting out and trying to rip people off that gets people's heckles up. It's actually very similar to Montres Allison and verges on being a scam.
You’ve misread my post (or I’ve worded it poorly) - that was in reply to Raffe’s comment about certain Rolex models.
Terrible as it is, I can genuinely see what they were thinking. A smaller and more beautiful version (probably based on a different design) could have been appealing, if a bit pointless in this day and age - imagine one made by Patek Philippe or a genuine JLC reissue for instance. The idea of not waking up to the sound of an iPhone alarm could be appealing too - at this point, after one too many early starts, all the available iPhone alarm sounds make me physically sick.
If it was genuinely beautiful and clearly high end, the concept could have worked, it was really the execution combined with the price and the branding that turned it into a joke.
Last edited by Itsguy; 27th July 2020 at 13:48.
With even the earliest mobile phones having an alarm I don't think i've used a travel alarm clock since about 1998!
For me any one of either ugly or overpriced does it.
Some serious dodging and reframing there...
Fails to justify the cost, the poor QC, the terrible alarm and the basic movement that somehow manages to be overly-complicated to use.
Well hand-made at Swiss labour rates, possibly can justify some of those costs. However the lack of further info on the movement is still glaring.
Not sure why people getting bent out of shape.
Don’t like, don’t buy. It is a small run for those that like it.
Not for me but doesn’t bother me that they went where they did.
I think it matters because people see Hodinkee as having some sort of community responsibility to hold up. Naive thought because they’re a commercial entity, but they themselves do recognise its a fine balance they have to maintain otherwise people will stop visiting/trusting the site.
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There's an interesting story on this guy's Instagram. Looks like hodinkee forgot to put a bell cover on.
Story uploaded 10 hours ago so presumably another 14 hours until it expires.
https://instagram.com/orologium?igshid=19gst5aavyj2n
Even made onto gizmodo......
https://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2020/07/th...one-is-busted/
Ah, sorry, my mistake.
Online Gizmodo to heap a load of snark onto a topic the author is recycling from elsewhere. Gave up with that site ages ago, their content is terrible
Hodinkee have now posted a response. Part explanation, part justification, and a limited apology for turning off comments, which backfired spectacularly. For some the clock seems to symbolise the brand’s move from being ‘us’ to being ‘them’, but perhaps what it really shows is just how accountable brands have become to their audience in a digital age. The world really is a stage now, there’s applause for getting it right but a hail of rotten tomatoes for going wrong. It was hubris, but I almost feel sorry for them - for a digital and social platform, cocking up is an incredibly public experience.
All in all a bit of a storm in a teacup though really, they can chalk it up as a strike and move on. No one has to buy it and no one has to visit their site, but they still provide tons of free content with nice pictures of watches in the end. Maybe their next project will come out better, you learn by taking a few knocks.
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/a-...-clock-edition
Completely fails to address the main crux of people's anger...the quality issues (no real movement finishing or even a bell cover and poor leather work) which lead to people feeling like Hodinkee were trying to rip them off.
The problem is that even for those that had no intention to ever buy one, it still feels like a company that thinks it's followership are stupid enough to be treated like mugs. I'm pretty sure thats why issues like this or the Panerai Brooklyn Bridge saga get such a strong widespread reaction...you don't want to be part of a group that a brand thinks is dumb enough to be conned.
One of the worst things a brand can do...Gerald Ratner knows this all too well.
Last edited by Christian; 28th July 2020 at 12:48.
A rereading of the original Hodinkee sales text shows the efforts they made to lure buyers by painting a deceptive account of this clock, and its origins. Anyone who chooses to trust these people has only himself to blame. They show nothing but contempt for their audience.
Mind you, that’s been obvious fo a long time....they think their readers are mugs.
Very true. People may be willing to spend unnecessary amounts on luxury items but they aren't stupid and being treated with contempt isn't a great feeling...I can't imagine the Hodinkee resposne will help much as the damage has been done already.
Complete load of crap and looks like something you'd have received 'for free' as part of a magazine subscription 'back in the day'. I enjoy Hodinkee but stuff like this makes me view their site with even more cynicism.
What I find baffling is that nobody at Hodinkee stopped this from going out. Surely there were meetings, discussions, and decisions made about the design, movement, alarm sound, finishing, cost, launch and marketing. And at every point the team has agreed that:
The design is spot on, alarm sound is perfect, the customers will love the movement and its finishing, the cost offers 'good value', and the launch will be spectacular.
Or there was little thought about it, it was left to an intern and launched without the team giving much thought about how it'll be received by their audience.
Either way, its a massive fail.
Since day one I have seen Clymer & Co come like money-eating vermin.
I guess projects can get their own momentum and it can be hard to change course. There’s the sunk cost fallacy, or schedule, or contract, or it seems prohibitively expensive to go back and change course. Presumably they also have limited experience in designing and manufacturing things themselves, generally they are consultants to more experienced brands in collaborations. Perhaps it looked better on the computer but surely they must have had their doubts as it got nearer to completion. But they held their breaths and hoped it would be given the benefit of the doubt due to their brand name.
save yourself some cash and get one of these instead
https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/a...b-ac0100e44435
*unlike the hodkinkee one it will also be worth more than 50 pence as soon as you get it
I see that they are sold out somehow but how many were available does anyone know???
96
blimey, they raked it in then. madnesssssss!
Another story from Perez Cope showing what a shambles this really is.
https://instagram.com/stories/perezc...92595401397059
lol, that really sounds horrendous!
Jeez, that's bad...I hope this finding gets traction...Hodinkee cannot ignore this!
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