Table of Contents

• Hodinkee Sells to Watches of Switzerland

• Friendship, Personal Growth And The Aventi Pink Ch …

• A Trip To The Bovet Castle

• NWA! - The Ocean to Orbit Lhotse WEM Limited Editi …

• Is Patek ok?

• Quote of the month

Hodinkee Sells to Watches of Switzerland

Last month Hodinkee announced that they have sold to Watches of Switzerland. The news came shortly after Ben Clymer wrote an article about how they had lost their way and were moving away from their own retail strategy to focus more on editorial, the way Hodinke used to be. News of the acquisition felt like a weird move to me, like they were just jumping back into retail after they said they would distance themselves from it.

This raises a big question, can you produce content independently when you’re owned by a company that sells the products you are talking about? Let’s look at Rolex for example. Accounting for 60% Watches of Switzerland’s sales, the brand is responsible for keeping their lights on. If someone at Hodinkee writes an article, video or Instagram comment that doesn’t favour the crown, I could only imagine the consequences. A black van with Swiss plates would be pulling up to the Hodinkee headquarters in New York.

Retailer-controlled media seems to be a trend that is only gaining steam. Watches by SJX is rumoured to be financially supported by The Hour Glass, and Fratello is owned by Chrono 24. At the end of the day, they can say they act independently but you never know the conversations happening behind closed doors, the articles that aren’t published and the opinions that change.

Editorial businesses need to make money, but the way you go about it can’t interfere with your integrity and the honesty of your content. You should be able to say what you mean without fear of retribution. It’s going to be an interesting time ahead for Hodinkee!

Friendship, Personal Growth And The Aventi Pink Champagne

I’m going to let you all in on a little secret, one that may destroy what little credibility I have as a 'serious' watch writer - I very rarely have anything to do with the brands that I write about.
In most cases, I have as much information as the rest of you. It's not without trying, however. I’m constantly sending emails to press contacts and watch brands just to be treated like a walk-in at a Rolex boutique. That is to say, completely ignored.

It’s worked out pretty well for me so far, having some success getting a brand's attention after I’ve written about them. Still, it's nice to occasionally write about a brand that I have some personal experience with and offer some insight that you can't get anywhere else.
So in the spirit of original journalism, this is a story of meeting someone who would change my life forever. I know that sounds dramatic (what do you expect from me?) but it’s true.
Let’s talk about Aventi and the man that built it.

A Trip To The Bovet Castle

I have to keep reminding myself how far I’ve come since I first decided to write about watches. My article about the Skydweller was my first. The Subdial has come a long way, and it’s about to go even further. After writing a couple of articles on Bovet (you can read them HERE and HERE) I’m taking a trip to Château de Môtiers, in the North-West of Switzerland to visit the Bovet Manufacture.

I’ll be there for the day, exploring the castle and diving deep into their collection in full. During the trip I’ll be taking a million photos and talking to the watchmakers about the incredible brand. Expect an article or two on my return, but I’ll send through an email with some highlights the night of. Follow me on Instagram for live updates @mitchjhbarber

NWA! - The Ocean to Orbit Lhotse WEM Limited Edition

There’s more to come on this one but it’s going to be my companion in Europe and I cant wait to put it through it’s paces. Ocean to Orbit is an Aussie brand founded by two ex-car designers. Check out their stuff here https://www.oceantoorbit.com/

Is Patek ok?

At the risk of leaving you with a bad taste in your mouth, I wanted to share an image that has supposedly ‘leaked’ from an unreleased copy of Fortune magazine. I’ll let you make your own judgments on aesthetics but I’ll just say this - something doesn’t feel right.

Patek is one for perfection, and if you look at the 8 in the date window, it’s not aligned properly. I just don’t think they would let this happen, especially in a press image.

Quote of the month

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