... I personally have my question marks about the entry post of the topic for being unnecessarily offensive in tone, but that’s maybe just me. Anyway...
Right now none of us knows what this watch will be. I personally have my serious doubts about the assumption that the design is driven primarily by Hodinkee. But let’s wait and see.
The concept of making special editions for different sales points is not new. In fact the original Fifty Fathoms Barakuda from 1967 is a good example of a watch that would not exist if not a German Dealer asked for that special watch. I am sure there is a long list of now cherished vintage rarities that have been born from exactly that kind of collaboration.
There would be no Blancpain A‘Toute Vitesse if the wish of a Chicago AD had been ignored in the early 2000s... and I am personally very grateful that these very beautiful watches exist.
I am pretty sure none of the other ADs complained about special editions that were realized with one specific partner, since most ADs do not want to bear the financial risk that comes with a dedicated edition. Otherwise all ADs of all brands would have a big problem with the Bucherer Blue Editions.
Also, the topic is really not about Blancpain other than for the fear that the brand will surrender to hype. But honestly , being a Blancpain enthusiast for almost 25 years, the two words that I cannot connect are Blancpain and Hype 😀
So it’s probably more about a general tendency in today’s creation and distribution methods, involving a large number of brands. And the collaboration between various fora and blogs has proven to be a very successful new way of distribution, like with the Fratello Speedy Tuesday, the puristspro Chronometro, the Timezone Habring and the Hodinkee Vacheron Constantin Cornes de Vache. If one of those fora or blogs is more active, more commercially driven and maybe more successful, so be it. Some timepieces are created to celebrate anniversaries, some as a community watch, some just for business.
I actually see no harm in watches being created that would otherwise not see the light of day, as long as they respect previous limited editions and therefore the collectors who bought those.
One last thought on the hype issue: the question who buys those watches for what reason and with which purpose is definitely an interesting one. In fact those motivations are as diverse as we all are. If you like a hype, follow it. If you don’t, then don’t.
Personally, I am just curious as to what the Blancpain for Hodinkee will be.
Cheers
Henrik