Reply With QuoteI totally agree - he will be a big loss to Hodinkee…..but somewhat surprised he is going to Watchbox as not sure they are a great fit for him. Anyway, I wish him well.
https://www.watchpro.com/hodinkee-ed...p-to-watchbox/
Seems like a big loss for Hodinkee, I always felt like he had more integrity than a lot of their other staff.
I totally agree - he will be a big loss to Hodinkee…..but somewhat surprised he is going to Watchbox as not sure they are a great fit for him. Anyway, I wish him well.
Me too, I guess they must have promised him creative freedom to use their stock to create content how he sees fit.Originally Posted by Woody74
https://youtu.be/mXgyGZqyxDY
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I’m not sure if you meant Hodinkee or watchbox. Either way, money talks.
I like Jack Forster’s insights but sometimes it comes across a bit over-intellectualised and self aggrandising. Hodinkee has a certain smugness about it that really grinds on occasion.
I was replying to Woodys statement "but somewhat surprised he is going to Watchbox as not sure they are a great fit for him", it made me wonder how much freedom Jack really had when they also had a director of content and many enthusiasts on the board.
I definitely enjoy Jacks written content more than the recorded stuff, for the reasons you listed, if he is going to focus on YT then he needs to become more fluid like Ben Clymers old interviews.
I used to find this but the more I read and listed to him the more I warmed to his style. He’s by far my favourite contributor. In spite of what his knowledge and intellect of the subject might suggest I don’t actually think he takes it and himself as seriously as it appears and has quite a sense of humour about the whole thing. Without diluting the content too.
I agree with what Jacks saying here, in particular, I have noticed there is social pressure in watch collecting which I wasn't expecting when getting into the hobby.
I pretty much stopped watching the videos when Ben stopped doing them. I know Hodinkee in general can be a bit polarising nowadays, but I found Ben's "Talking Watches" interviews entertaining and interesting, latter day ones not so much.
Agreed, Ben was far more accessible. He would happily talk about G-shock in the same conversation as the history Khanjar Rolexes and make it interesting for enthusiasts of all types.
This is interesting - not least because of the complete lack of mention on Hondinkee’s channels. I believe Forster has been with Hodinkee since the beginning and so not having any real goodbye is bizarre.
Hodinkee is in an odd place at the moment. Phenomenally successful but really adding very little to the the discussion of watches at the moment - for all their claims of editorial being seperate from sales, their editorial increasingly comes across as adverts for watches and they keep muddling in pieces from their “Brand Editor” into the rest of their supposedly impartial output.
Jack Forster on His Journey Through the Watch Industry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaEbYbO86r0
"The whole purpose of mechanical watches is to be impertinent." ~ Lionel a Marca, CEO of Breguet
Good move Jack!
Brodinkee is a commercialized joke these days. Clymer sold the business and its soul/integrity to the highest bidder. And well here is the result.
Must hurt losing what amounted to be the brain child of the operation!
That's an interesting comment. May I ask, where have you noticed this? On forums, on other social media, face to face?
Seems like many of their increasingly large number of staff are not watch enthusiasts but rather are bringing their transferable skills in sales, copy writing or whatever. There are still interesting things on there occasionally but it really has gone from a handful of passionate enthusiasts to a corporate machine.
I think on forums and face to face.
On forums, there's a lot of box ticking where I think people seek peer approval, anti-homage/made in China from peers I observed while researching modern vintage style divers. Helson would probably sell multiples more by simply having "made in Switzerland" on the dial.
Face to face, more so with people who aren't into watches, I've noticed people will often have an Omega, TAG or Rolex for that dopamine fix from recognition.
There's an awareness on social media that influencers are often sporting fakes.
I definitely have been affected by peer pressure since starting the hobby last year:
I bought a 9400 rangeman because everyone told me it was the best g-shock, even though I preferred the 9300 mudman.
I purchased a CWC SBS not because I really wanted one but because I wanted the interaction and recognition of owning it.
I have a Seiko SNA411 Flightmaster that I have never worn because of The Urban Gentry YT channel, although I must confess I do like the watch, and I have kept it so far because I will probably replace the hardlex with sapphire. However, I may sell it too.
I don't have the 9400 or CWC SBS anymore, and the recent dress watch thread I posted helped me learn to think more clearly about why I'm buying a watch.
I think many do this way but eventually you stop caring what others think and buy based on your own learning experience and buying and selling watches to work out where your tastes lye. It’s easy to get caught up in the Rolex, op, ap, new Tudor hype and buy just to buy. Sometimes it’s good to go through this to get it out of the system.
Whatever stage you are in, it will change. You change, the hobby (hobby?) changes. Some of us are very many years down the line and it still changes. It would be boring if it didn't. The more you learn the more you will enjoy. Most of them are amazing products no matter who is pushing them.
"The whole purpose of mechanical watches is to be impertinent." ~ Lionel a Marca, CEO of Breguet
Jack was one of the few bright spots left at Hodinkee. Specifically the Hey Hodinkee series had a good level of fun, knowledge, and whimsey.
These days I will only really read the James Stacey articles, the rest feels like promotion for their store, or clickbait for comments.
(Apologies for the delay in replying)
Thanks for this. It is a very interested write up of your perception of social interactions.
Last edited by markrlondon; 13th September 2022 at 05:25.
Yeah, I find Jack hilariously pretentious but he gets away with it by being deeply knowledgeable and passionate about the subject. I’m not quite sure he’s that self aware, but I don’t mind. Will be a loss for Hodinkee for sure and I’m interested in checking out Watchbox now.
I don't find him pretentious. I mean how do you get much higher than editor-in-chief for Hodinkee short of owning it?
There’s more to watches than Hodinkee.
What strange behaviour. You must be a teenager.
You have a long way to go in watch collecting.
In terms of his chosen industry isn't Hodinkee sort of the Vogue of women's fashion?
The stars are the watches and not the influencers or the websites/magazines.
"The whole purpose of mechanical watches is to be impertinent." ~ Lionel a Marca, CEO of Breguet
Nice gatekeeping. I don’t share Kitsan’s thoughts but I don’t think they invalidate him. Not very friendly really
I assumed he was having a bad day, as the post wasn't logical. I decided it wasn't worth tangling, but I thank you for your reasoning and pragmatism.
I'm perfectly aware that I'm going through a journey, and it's likely it won't reflect my thoughts in 12 months as I learn and experience more.
I felt like being utterly candid in case others are going through a similar phase. After all, social pressure is often unique as there are so many variables.
I wouldn't bother engaging tbh.
Peer pressure exists on TZ, it might not be acknowledged or recognised but you can watch forum darlings come and go in waves sometimes, at least thats something ive observed in my time here. People have an incoming that others haven't seen or noticed before, its interesting, there's a flurry of popularity, people buy them, sometimes they stick, sometimes they move round SC.
Nobody is sticking a gun to anyones head and its not necessarily pressure, but peer encouragement (lets call it that) absolutely exists and many, myself included have been caught up with it.
My peer influenced purchase was a Magrette Moana Pacific diver which enjoyed a peak of popularity years back, never heard of it before it hit TZ, interested, bought it, hated it, flipped it same day to somebody else who presumably had read the glowing owner comments on the forum and decided to give it a go.
Not a teenager, and if ive got further to go in watch collecting id be fascinated to hear it.
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