Hodinkee. Among topics of conversation in the watch world, few subjects seem to provoke such strong emotion. They are the 800lb gorilla in the room. Sales of 6 and 7 figure watches have been known to be made or broken based on their recommendation. Hell, whole vintage brands have been elevated in price and prestige based on their wonderful articles. Yesterday, Hodinkee officially hung their shingle as watch dealers. This was not an unforeseen development. Back in June when Kevin Rose came on board he stated to the New York Times that this was part of the plan more or less. In fact, a lot of noble ideals were bandied about regarding inefficiencies in the vintage watch market and a lack of transparency. That sentiment was echoed again in Ben’s introduction of the shop yesterday where he described the process of purchasing a vintage watch as “downright painful” and borderline dangerous. Hodinkee was here to fix that, he said. And hey, to a lot of people out there, this is probably true. To the people that are buying $40k vintage Daytonas online, maybe not so much.
The idea that Hodinkee will bring about improvements in this industry is certainly an appealing one. Everyone has heard the horror stories that go around the forums and the watch GTGs of deals gone bad. What we saw in the H-Shop today can not be deemed a revolutionary approach. In fact, the build of the watch shop looks very similar to other online shops, even down to the verbose, sometimes over-the-top, sales pitches that accompany the watches. Certainly they deserve credit for pointing out the flaws of the watches which, by and large, they did (and some other dealers do). Were there some bumps in the road? Of course. An astute industry insider pointed out to me that the hands looked incorrect on the 1603 “Wideboy” that was sold (at the very least, they’re not “Wideboy” hands), the two-tone GMT reference number was wrong, and then there’s this thread on the Omega Forums regarding the Longines Calatrava dial. Mostly minor stuff, sure, but as I mentioned in an Instagram post the devil is in the details with vintage watches. I know first hand the level of hard work and commitment that vintage watch dealers put into their trade and for Hodinkee to live up to their lofty aspirations they need to work just as hard, if not harder. It’s not sufficient just to slap the Hodinkee name on the product and call it above reproach.
Rolex Datejust with Wideboy dial and hands — via HQ Milton
Hodinkee’s Datejust with Wideboy dial and standard hands
If I was in their shoes, the first thing I would do is introduce the team that is working on the watches for the shop. Who takes the pictures? Who chooses and vets each watch? What are their qualifications? Is Ben personally with inspecting each watch that goes up for sale? Next, I would address the elephant in the room and the thought on everyone’s mind, namely, is there a conflict of interest in being watch journalists with such influence in the market, and also selling watches? Back in that NYT article from June (linked above), Ben said, “This space revolves around trust, and we’re a totally independent voice.” Certainly that independence must be questioned now that direct sales are in play.
Let me make one thing clear. I love Hodinkee. I spent hours on the site back in the early ’10s pouring over their articles while working the graveyard shift in the dank basement of a hospital in Brooklyn. The site is largely responsible for turning my smoldering love of watches into a raging inferno. Ben deserves all the success and then some. That’s why I am so acutely interested in these new developments. When something you connect with so strongly changes its nature, it invokes a visceral response. Was today a new era in watch sales, or just a rose of a different color? I’m not entirely sure, but believe me the whole watch world is on notice and is eagerly awaiting the answer.
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Wally Pacman
Is that new? Some of your own main job is at a vintage watch resellers. Others are watch brokers.
Shane Griffin
Thanks, Wally. Some of us are involved in the industry on the sales side. However, we don’t make money off of W4L, and I also don’t think we can consider ourselves tastemakers anywhere to the level of Hodinkee. Perception is reality, and I think the perception for a lot of folks on this news will be that there’s a conflict of interest going forward.
Best,
Shane
Toronto_Time
Conflicting interests is not something new to Hodinkee. For years they have claimed to be un-biased and not sponsored by watch companies. Yet, their web page is swimming in Tudor ad’s.
Cédric
Indeed, the conflict of interest is obvious…
They’re loosing a LOT of credibility to me. Their “Bring a loupe” columns, in particular, won’t have the same objectivity anymore. So sad!
Michael
For better or worse, Hodinkee has changed from a publication to more a lifestyle brand. Kind of like Man of the World, except not hilariously overpriced.
JFPisa
Agreed. Hodinkee has certainly blurred the lines between blog, lifestyle brand and, now, for-profit website.
I for one started to become skeptical when nearly every single one of their “Week on the Wrist” pieces and other articles heaped praise on top of praise on the watch with little to no criticism.
Lazaro Andres Mesa
Hodinkee’s job is to cater to the elite. What we are seeing here is exactly what goes on in the dark corners of our corporate state.
Nick
Why does everyone get upset when a blog ticks over into profitability? This is the endgame of every serious blog or prominent social media figure for that matter. They spend years investing in their content and brand and naturally, they then want to turn a profit from that. What should they do? Remain a purist blog, a not-for-profit watch charity whose sole purpose is to keep wealthy watch collectors informed? If its founders were wealthy hobbyists, perhaps, but otherwise, I think not.
Do their opinions affect market value? Yes, that’s why prominent bloggers are called ‘influencers’. Is this form of power new? No; simply look to the art world, where prominent curators and gallerists can create and shift markets overnight and nepotism exists in a form that would be considered insider trading in any other field.
I don’t know what the answer is, but everyone should be realistic about blogs existing as businesses.
Shane Griffin
The folks who are mad I think fall into two categories: 1) old-timers who were collecting before it was cool, and are seeing passionate collecting being diluted by trend chasers, and 2) guys who loved Hodinkee from its beginnings up until a few site re-builds ago. There’s nothing wrong with blogs making money, but as they say, there’s more than one way to skin a cat. I think it’s perfectly reasonable for folks to complain about something they don’t like. No one has to listen, of course, but that’s not up to the complainers.
Shane
Dr. Truth
I would speculate that ultimately Hodinkee doesn’t want to be in the inventory business but in the transaction/marketplace business. This first foray into selling watches appears to me to be a ‘proof of concept’. A marketplace for vintage dealers which is digitally native (which all of the auction houses are not except ebay) is much more appealing to their CEO and investors than taking inventory risk. I guess time will tell what happens.