Writing about watches can be a slightly precarious business. On the one hand you hope to have access to all of the news, meet the key players - and ideally have positive relationships with those folks. And when you start out, you do whatever you think is necessary to make that happen.
Not all of us get flown out to cover events, wined and dined and then PAID for the "exertion" of it all.
For many of us, we do it because we love it. And love is a dangerous emotion, because it can oftentimes blind you to things that maybe should have been obvious. You try to be polite, you try to be understanding - sometimes while enduring a great deal of condescension. But as a rule, you suck it up and move on. This is particularly true when it becomes evident that the "emperor is naked".
We get so caught up in the "story" and the mystique, we sometimes have a tough time seeing what is right there in front of us.
Hanhart - there, I said it. Hanhart in many ways has been missing in action for quite some time, and this is not a recent development. It is an example where failure had many "fathers".
Think about this - brand announced and re-launched with great fanfare, exciting watches like the Desert Pilot are announced, and then never seen. Supply and delivery issues. Distributors announced, and then terminated within months with little or no explanation. Management change, a second management change and now if the rumors are to be believed, there are now no retail locations for Hanhart here in the US, with retail stores having returned all of their stock.
I drank the cool-aid, I believed, I saw beautiful flowing robes as the emperor walked past.
I got it wrong. I will try to be more vigilant from now on.
Not all of us get flown out to cover events, wined and dined and then PAID for the "exertion" of it all.
For many of us, we do it because we love it. And love is a dangerous emotion, because it can oftentimes blind you to things that maybe should have been obvious. You try to be polite, you try to be understanding - sometimes while enduring a great deal of condescension. But as a rule, you suck it up and move on. This is particularly true when it becomes evident that the "emperor is naked".
We get so caught up in the "story" and the mystique, we sometimes have a tough time seeing what is right there in front of us.
Hanhart - there, I said it. Hanhart in many ways has been missing in action for quite some time, and this is not a recent development. It is an example where failure had many "fathers".
Think about this - brand announced and re-launched with great fanfare, exciting watches like the Desert Pilot are announced, and then never seen. Supply and delivery issues. Distributors announced, and then terminated within months with little or no explanation. Management change, a second management change and now if the rumors are to be believed, there are now no retail locations for Hanhart here in the US, with retail stores having returned all of their stock.
I drank the cool-aid, I believed, I saw beautiful flowing robes as the emperor walked past.
I got it wrong. I will try to be more vigilant from now on.
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