We’ve all heard a fisherman’s tale or two over the years; whatever your career, your studies, your interests, there’s always a story that teeters on the unbelievable and seems to grow with time.
You shoulda seen it, I tell ya! Yellowfin all the way, what a fish. 250 pounds as I stand here!
*the next month*
Clear as day, 300 pounds! On my honor! A beast in every sense of it.
*the next month*
At least 350 pounds, six feet of pure power! Hours it took from me, hours fighting tooth and nail in the cold, unforgiving belly of the sea…
*the next year*
And when I tell ya this beautiful monster was no ordinary fight…seven foot, 500-550 pounds, I swear up and down as the day is long it was, that I know! I’ve the scars to prove it, I do!
*finally one listener asks what happened to the tuna*
That’s the tale of woe my friend - the likes of which a fish I’ll never see again, line broken it was, and back out to sea she went. My white whale, my maritime grail, and so for the rest of time I’ll wail, only in my despair th-
…you get the idea.
There’s the experience, then there’s the story. In the world of watches, and horology in general, we too have these stories. Someone who was so close to getting their hands on a limited edition release only to have magically had the cart check-out act up at the last minute. Or the ever-present narration of someone who had the chance to buy a Red Sub for $2000 but passed it up for some other thing that was definitely a Hublot but is currently spoken about as “a different itch that needed scratching.” The one that got away is a trope as old as time (sorry, couldn’t resist), but as much as that is and always will be fodder for some rum and story time, I’d like to propose the second evolution of the one that got away:
The one that never was.
The one that got away implies that there’s a chance - if ever so slight - that the one could return or be found again. It could be a fish, or a car, or a person/relationship (if this last one speaks to you, godspeed), or, for our purposes here, a watch/timepiece. I specify timepiece there because, to me, the one that never was is a genuine piece of horology mythology, a timekeeping piece so elusive, so controversial, and so mysterious that in all my searching, I’ve never once seen one outside of its launch photos in any way, shape, or form…well, except for this one time on a shelf. No grey market flipping, no Instagram posts, no watch meet-up showcasing, no owner-in-review share-outs, no hands-on impression write-ups or videos. Nothing in the public eye.
I’m talking about the Hodinkee Travel Clock, a 2020 release that not only broke the watch internet like Kim K and champagne, but then disappeared entirely and without any further development.
To completely disappear in the age of the internet is, to be frank, absolutely remarkable.
To completely disappear when there was hardly a smidge of positivity surrounding its reception is even more remarkable.
Its disappearance has even prompted some on the internet to wonder, “did it even exist in the first place?”
According to Hodinkee, there were 96 examples created, “no more, no less.”
In a digital era where finding a proof of ownership and use of a 1:1 McLaren is oddly possible, at least one of the 96 Hodinkee Travel Clocks should, in theory, be able to be tracked down. But to date, I’ve not been able to find anything about a single one of them, and while I’m certainly not the FBI of watches, I’m pretty decent with my research skills and have continually come up empty. Which leaves me with the three following possible outcomes for the fabled clock:
It was produced, and sold out, in its original 96 units, with the owners of each owning them in complete privacy and not venturing to flip them at any point
It was produced, but not sold in its intended production state; rather, given the rather forceful and negative pushback on the clock, the small batch of initial units - if even more than one - were given/allocated to Hodinkee staff, stakeholders, friends, etc., also resulting in incredibly private ownership
The full production was scrapped and simply noted as sold out to end the project
My inclination is that outcome #2 above is the most likely. Hodinkee noted in the product release that the full number of clocks still needed to be built, but that they had “secured a number of clocks for immediate delivery.” Which could mean that somehow, somewhere, a few Hodinkee Travel Clocks may very well exist.
And I really, really, really want one. Let me explain.
This is not a bash-the-clock article. Those exist and are just a Google search away.
Likewise, this is not a praise-the-clock article. Those exist as well.
Both sets of articles lack a hands-on impression; each expressed their opinions and judgements based solely on the launch photos from Hodinkee itself. I’ve searched all over for some type of user/owner review or opinion piece - no luck. This is a controversial piece of modern horological history, one with arguably the most secretive potential ownership list that currently exists. Even the Tiffany Blue Nautilus, one of the most exclusive releases of the last 10 years, has been spotted multiple times and confirmed to be in the possession of someone, anyone. And yes, part of this is due to the obvious fact that you wouldn’t wear an actual desk clock on your write, but part of the mystique exists, for me, in the why behind the lack of visibility. It’s almost as if those who own it do not want to share it, and given the negative perception at the time of its launch, I could see how that could be the case. But now, two years on, the Hodinkee Travel Clock has moved from its previous status as a lightning rod for backlash to more so an old fisherman’s tale. Do I have any tangible proof that the Clock still exists? Beyond its lone appearance on the shelf, not exactly. But the intrigue of seeing something that provoked such an intense social reaction is something that continues to grow.
Let’s talk a little bit about what the Hodinkee Travel Clock is/was/was written to be. It was meant to be a callback to the timekeeping practices of the 1920s-1930s, when wristwatches really weren’t in any kind of heyday but travel was becoming more accessible. The travel clock was meant to be a durable, compact, and functional mobile time-telling device that could accompany the owner as the world started to shrink. The Hodinkee Travel Clock drew its identity from this period, utilizing vintage movements and a functioning alarm function to both hold historical appeal and modern functionality for the new or seasoned traveler. With this vintage movement being key-wound with an 8 day power reserve, and a compact size to make it an amicable travel companion, the design really did make sense.
Problem: It was July of 2020.
The pandemic continued to pandemic. Nobody was traveling anywhere. Much of the pushback centered around how this particular product launch went down was that at a time when COVID-19 was absolutely wrecking everyday life, a clock calling on 96 of us to channel our inner early 1900s traveler felt a bit tone deaf. And to the credit of many who said so, well, it was. Obviously, products like this clock are put together well in advance of their launch date, so the thought process for this piece undoubtedly began long before anyone had to stick a large swabby testy thing up their nose. But the product launch happened anyway, much to the delight of anyone looking to rant about something online. Which brings me to the next point of controversy:
The price. $5900. It was…a large number for the product.
I don’t doubt for a moment that the time and effort that went into - or would have gone into, remember these may not actually exist - would justify a decent price tag. Hodinkee did make mention of each one being handmade, with parts and components that were both high quality and hard to source/finite. But at a time when five digit Rolex Explorers could be had for between $4300 and $6000, it was a hard sell to get the watch community to drop that kind of money on something that wouldn’t end up on the wrist. Let’s not kid ourselves - watch people spend an unnecessary amount of money on the whole, and for some watches that just have no business costing what they do. But the justification is often that the piece will more or less live with the wearer, getting scratched, sharing experiences, and being part of one’s core ensemble. Unless you’re a flipper, in which case, well, you’re probably not reading this anyways!
Add in the reality that old-school, vintage travel clocks could - and still can - be found in the neighborhood of $300 to $700, and what we had was a double whammy of internet rage. Except that, through no fault of Hodinkee, it was a triple whammy of rage; remember, this was mid-2020, an incredibly difficult time in more ways that I could even describe here, filled with loss, frustration, pessimism, anger, rage…every range of emotion that a person could experience.
People on the internet needed an outlet for this emotion. And the Travel Clock gave it to them.
Now I know this may seem like a stretch, especially if you’re someone who even casually moved through Twitter at the time, where everyone seemed to be mad about everything always (hmm…come to think of it, that’s Twitter regardless of the year). However, most issues have a right vs. wrong side, a left vs. right, moral vs. immoral, you vs. me, us vs. them type of division.
The Hodinkee Travel Clock fielded no such balanced divide. Just about everyone jumped on the bandwagon of dumping all over it, even to the point of Hodinkee venturing into completely uncharged Instagram waters and *gasp* turning off their comments. That’s how bad it got. People put aside just about all of their own disagreements, in one of the most difficult periods in modern history, to unite in their hatred of this clock. It represented everything that people couldn’t do at that time, evoked feelings of nostalgia that were met with hostility, and made the economic hardships of many feel even more pronounced. Hodinkee achieved something (though unintentionally) that world leaders have struggled and failed to achieve time and time again: unity of the people.
This is what makes the Hodinkee Travel Clock a piece of modern horological mythology; all of this outpouring of emotion, all of the outrage, the retractions, the apologies, the backtracks, the justifications, the reputational repairwork, all of it over…an item whose existence is still more folktale than reality. This is why I will continue to search for the Hodinkee Travel Clock…again, beyond the shelf. The need to wind it up, set the alarm, set it on my desk, and watch it work is one that I don’t think will ever leave me. Part of it is because, well, I just need to see what all the fuss was about. Is it worth its value, both monetarily and in terms of time spent by folks arguing about it? How does the vintage movement work present day, and how satisfying is the sound of that manual wind? Does the design look worse than, as good as, or better than, the stock photos, which happen to be the only known photos of it that exist? I just need to know.
The other part is that I want to be able to feel that time period of controversy stem from the clock itself. Similar to how a particular song will take you back to a particular memory, or the smell of certain foods will throw your brain into the past, I believe that there’s a strong link between objects, sensations, and our ability to recall time periods. After all, that’s a significant part of watch enthusiasm, isn’t it? The feeling that comes from holding a vintage watch, or a watch passed down by a family member, or a watch whose identity is centered the upstart story of the brand’s founder; these are all feelings that stem from an object, regardless of how much weight we place on the details of that piece.
The Hodinkee Travel Clock, to me, would be the same sensation; the physical manifestation of a product launch’s perfect storm.
Now that you’ve read my take on this mysterious clock, I would love to know your thoughts; drop me a note in the comments, and if you happen to read this and are one of the few to have actually seen one of these clocks in real life…let’s just say a guy’s gotta know!
As always, wherever you are, and wherever you’re going, many thanks for stopping by.
Incredible article!! I’ve tried to do some of my own research and have to agree, the paucity of information is astounding! Would be so cool if you’re able to find one though. Probably should DM Ed Sheeran or Hodinkee to see what they have to say… speaking of Ed Sheeran, interesting interview. Didn’t realize he’s a watch guy. And can we also LOL at the fact that he got the nautilus as compensation for paying someone’s (a very wealthy someone’s) bar mitzvah? Haha anyway, as always beautifully written and intriguing! Thanks Mike!
It’s an Enigma Wrapped in a Riddle sprinkled with some mystery. The controversy combined with the fact that you can’t find any pictures of it never mind any for sale just adds to the intrigue!