bressoniac
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no customers really knew
We went to a party where it was insinuated something "new" would be shown...but we had no idea what it was and it was put on-line for purchase at the same time as in person. They even said we could check out on our phones, but I let one of the Hodinkee young ladies do it for me on her iPad.
By the time I walked across the floor to say "I'll take one" the number I wanted had already been taken by someone on-line ...that's how fast the whole thing went down and sold out. I turned to a friend and said, "Damn, they could have made 100 and easily sold out" and I guess I wasn't the only one who noticed as the (just ousted) CEO of Zenith was there too.
I wonder how the other colors may sell without Hodinkee explicitly marketing them though? They were no small part of moving the editions they have done so far...
So how many slap in the face is this?
Zenith Heritage "novelties", same design same movement same size just different color dials: Blue and coffee. I remember hodinkee claimed they took part in designing their "exclusive" edition. Pls enjoy: Photo credit: Ctime???...
These dial colors look nice
Maybe even nicer than the grey dial. Will have to see in the metal.
I have never said these arent good looking ones
Just wonder how the people who bought hodinkee version feels.
Agreed.
Almost bought the hodinkee version. If I had bought it, I would not have been too happy either. Glad these are available for more people to own.
Ditto. I too almost pulled the trigger on the H-LE version. That was a close one.
I guess the only thing LE about that watch then is the Grey dial color?
BTW is this official ? the link doesn't bring me to the photos..
and is not on the Zenith website ?
No, not yet...
From what I've learned it will be official by 15th of this month. The source came from Zenith in China and was posted by(as the link I provided above)one of the major horology medias in China. The post seems like a conference held by Zenith. BTW really lo...
thank you for sharing I love these exclusive information ;)
Is a great watch so I think that it will sell well. Blue and brown are very attractive colours and is priced well so it might open a new market for Zenith! Thanks for the compliment ! I think the more enjoy this Zenith the better...so no hard feelings for...
This is from ctime.
Which is the most authentic website for watches in China, withe website address: The photos were taken during the PRE SIHH event held in Hong Kong by the Chief Editor of ctime.
Do you know more about this watch?
Is that regular new watch (I did not know it existed and it is not on their webpage), a local special edition? Do you have the reference number? In any case, it is a beautifully designed watch just like the Hodinkee version. But I am certainly with you, e...
They will be regular new collections...
under Heritage series. I do not have the reference number and I don't think it is on their official website either. From the link I provided it seems like a media conference held by Zenith and I know this is from China. And the post is basically saying "i...
Maybe Zenith had this design before Hodinkee.
Then they did a different dial color and launched it first.
well I own the hodinkee one :) and..
is a great watch as you can see I don't feel really bad about Zenith issuing it in different colours. After all the HDK run was really small (25 pieces) so why not offer more in a different colour ? This is really no different than many other brands. Pate...
Christian, you really summed it up perfectly...
"Let's face it: there is no such a thing as exclusivity as everything in the modern watch space can be bought ..at a price" - I think this is a very useful way to look at the issue, and at the industry generally. Best, Magnus
well they were correct when they launched it....(well some working may be not) but
this didn't exclude that Zenith launched one after them I think that is great that such a collaboration can open a new market for Zenith: traditional, smaller, no date.
thank you Magnus
I really think that the exclusivity card is somehow overplayed so one should buy for the enjoyment/wearing the watch. Of course it always feel good to own a special model, limited etc. but there will always be something similar in the future so one should...
I love you attitude and echo everything
you say in the whole discussion under this thread. Cheers, Luis
I still love the grey dial...
and it looks great on your wrist. There are a lot of blue dials around and even through I think it will be the best seller the grey is available in the smaller number. You are spot on, there is very little exclusivity in the watch industry and this one wa...
Yes grey is nice
I agree with you Andrew that blue has been a bit abused recently -- it seems that it was an easy way to every manufacturer to "upgrade" any line ...with a blue dial -- and the grey one is nice but from the photos the brown looks really similar to the grey...
that's always the problem with so called limited editions
And not only Zenith does it that way. How many LE speedmasters have been made ? How many Panerai, How many ... The only thing they do is change a tiny thing. Other hands, other dial color, an extra logo or inscription I't a pity but that's the way it goes...
...
I hope you realize this isn't about the fact that it was a limited edition. It's how Hodinkee presented the watch. And when you read their article again it sounds like THEY came up with this watch and design, THEY wanted a vintage inspired watch, THEY cho...
thats exactly the whole point here...(or most?)
Certainly Hodinkee has no control whatsoever on Zenith's decisions, but their claims should therefore be more subtle or at least less bragging...
"THEY" used to be a great blog
But that changed dramatically Years ago it was a blog I read daily, today I try to look at it once per month. The only thing I\'m still interested in is their "talking watches" But since the choose to become way too commercial I gave up reading it. That H...
I don't necessarily see a contradiction here...
I personally think the situation stinks for owners of the Hodinkee version (although there's at least one owner in this thread who doesn't seem to be bothered by it), but I'm going to play Devil's advocate here and assume that Hodinkee did have a signific...
good point Logan! but perhaps
I imply some good faith. I think that if Hodinkee had struggled to sell the LE Zenith would have not issued these two. OR, even if it was planned all along, the statement of hodinkee was correct at the time of publishing but can obviously not guarantee wh...
It's all about the language used...
It's a pretty strong statement to say that these features are "available exclusively on this limited edition model". Sure, Patek, Panerai and other manufacturers release LEs and then release other versions of the watch with similar features. But I don't t...
they did but certainly did not have an IP over this design..
that (as explained in the article) was based on some vintage Zenith models. So nothing wrong in allowing more people to enjoy this watch!
For me, I'm not surprised a different color variation(s) is out
I would expect that as a consumer after getting used to what Panerai does. The only thing that would bother me if I were a Hodinkee edition customer is that I would have paid $700 more (I believe that is the difference in the retail price between these 2 ...
but why upset?
I don't think is a huge difference (10%?) for a LE of only 25 pieces. I mean compared to everyone else in the industry this is really not a huge price difference for a more limited run.... I believe that neither Hodinkee or Zenith didn't expect such a suc...
I don't own the watch...
So I don't have a dog in this fight but, if I were an owner, there are a few reasons I might be upset about the appearance of these new versions from Zenith: 1) There was at least some implication that the Hodinkee version was an exclusive and that the wa...
thanks for sharing Logan well as an owner..
I don't really feel bothered and don't follow your point 3). With more of these same available the LE (if anything) would be more desirable and not less (since the non limited will be available but the limited not? ) anyway I didn't buy to resell it and f...
Some clarification
Point 3 was simply about the caseback engraving which I personally would not have wanted. If I were a buyer looking to buy a used one of these 38mm models I'd probably choose the one without the engraving if I found the blue or brown dials just as appeali...
you raise a good point indeed..
perhaps I am being stupid here but I don't follow your logic as per point 3. If (and again this is a big IF) a limited edition becomes popular the second buyer would indeed want the engraving on the back (or in the case of Patek latest innuendo, even on t...
Apologies if I'm not explaining myself well...
Here's the crux of my point: I wouldn't want a reference to Hodinkee on the case back of my watch as I have no interest in having the name of a watch blog permanently engraved on it. So that makes the other non-Hodinkee versions more attractive to me. I c...
By the time the watch goes in for its first or second service there might not be a Hodikee (or Internet)
We can't predict the future ... but simpler is better in my book (don't tell that to Rolex collectors, ie COMEX, etc)
zenith
I'm also an owner and I don't think that it especially effects the desirability of the watch that they have released another color of the same edition. It certainly won't effect my wearing of it. I can vouch that Louis, at Hodinkee, designed the visuals o...
glad to see another owner here..thanks for sharing some further information..
I knew really little about this watch till it was announced and I rushed to order one as I loved the concept and colour. I missed out on the M&F (not because of timing but because of the amount that was indeed much higher for a watch to be bought at a whi...
no customers really knew
We went to a party where it was insinuated something "new" would be shown...but we had no idea what it was and it was put on-line for purchase at the same time as in person. They even said we could check out on our phones, but I let one of the Hodinkee yo...
The real-world difference is likely quite a bit more than the 10%
Once you factor in the typical AD discount given on Zeniths. This is assuming that one would be just as happy with the blue or brown dials. If the grey dial was one's preference then the LE was the only option.
Its happened to me several times with different brands
but I fell in love with the watch which is why I bought it in the first place and life goes on... 10% was reasonable, it included some of their own straps. I still don't understand why they only did 25 when they had pre-sold most anyway, but its a bonus f...
Andrew..,great point re: straps
the set had 3 straps vs 1 so that pretty much covers the price difference and the hodinkee straps are nicer than what I see in these photos. I think that Hodinkee didn't know how many they would sell so preferred to be conservative...:OR it was planned to...
Great job Zenith!
Zenith again puts the customer first and offers what we have asked for! This is a win-win in my mind. The more popular the blue and brown dials the more valuable the grey will become. Seriously, in the watch-world in which we define exclusivity or rarity ...
Reply from Hodinkee including some exclusive Behind the scene of our Limited Edition
Hi everyone, Thanks a lot for chiming in on this interesting topic; to be 100% transparent with you, we were as surprised as you to discover those prototypes, which obviously were really close to the watch that we had designed with Zenith as an exclusive ...
thanks!
Thanks again Louis, for sharing more of the "behind the scenes" going on's in the creation of the Hodinkee edition Zenith watch. No matter what Zenith does now with the watch you guys created...I'm glad to know that you were so integral to the way my watc...
well said and in fact the Zenith watch has a very different dial
www.zenith-watches.com . Proud owner of the Hodinkee one
Unlimited limited editions are a joke
Thank you for your very interesting post and the pics! Frankly, I'm tired of unlimited limited editions and special editions from brands and watch clubs or magazines or webzine collaborations. Except for puristspro ones of course lol! this is because this...
actually these photos do not seem to reflect the new watches launched...
see dial very different from the hodinkee one
Haha fantastic!
I love how this exposes the marketing bull of Hodinkee. On the other hand, if they did "help" design it, knowing it was going to be used in other models within Zenith, They were a bit disingenuous about advertising their Limited edition. The new watches a...
I think Zenith...
Should be thanking HODINKEE. The HODINKEE limited edition was the wake up call that was needed, highlighting how far Zenith was straying off track away from what real watch fans want. I wonder if the massive positive reaction to that watch was what made J...
I don't think anyone is arguing that this is a winning design from Zenith here. Bravo Zenith.
All I was commenting on, is the carefully ambiguous and somewhat misleading advertising copy from Hodinkee to sell their LE of 25 pieces. If you read it (and I have just done again), throughout the text it implies that their edition was a one-off release ...