Digital watch publisher and e-commerce purveyor, Hodinkee, launched a limited edition timepiece today, as they have many times before. This time was different, though.
Somewhat unusually, Hodinkee launched not a wristwatch but a mechanical clock. Although, what is the norm — despite these highly abnormal times — was that the clock sold out in a matter of hours.
Dubbed the Hodinkee Eight-Day Travel Clock, the highly portable clock measures 4.5 inches long x 2.5 inches wide x 1.2 inches thick (which can fit in your coat pocket), not including the matching zippered leather protective case. Housed inside a rectangular PVD-coated case stainless steel case, which is wrapped by hand in gray pebble-grain goat leather — the clock functions include hours, minutes, seconds, and an alarm.
Designed with inspiration from early international travelers who carried travel clocks in their luggage starting in the 1920s and 1930s, the vintage aesthetic is a fitting throwback to the early 20th century. Perhaps most interestingly, the typeface for the numeral hour markers is a modern font called “Decimal” and created by watch collector and renowned designer, Jonathan Hoefler specifically, for use on horological objects.
As described by the Hodinkee, these early travel clocks, often used by weary travelers to keep track of the time, fascinated the team and “after years of development and a design process involving multiple iterations and prototypes, the Hodinkee Eight-Day Travel Clock came to fruition. It’s a contemporary version of the classic clocks long appreciated, designed from the ground up at Hodinkee’s New York office as a tribute to those early pioneers of travel.”
The Eight-Day Travel Clock is powered by a manually wound vintage movement with an eight-day power reserve and an alarm that was originally manufactured by Pontifa, located in Les Ponts-de-Martel, in the canton of Neuchâtel. Founded in 1850, Pontifa produced movements for pocket watches, dashboard clocks, and specialized in eight-day travel alarm clocks. This clock is limited to 96 pieces, based on the amount of NOS (new old stock) movements that could be sourced.
To construct the clock with the vintage movements, Hodinkee collaborated with renowned Swiss brand L’Epée 1839, which specializes in manufacturing high-end clocks and complications. You’ll likely recall some of their clocks made in collaboration with MB&F such as here, here, and here. Each clock comes with a numbered certificate, a handmade shell cordovan carrying case with a suede interior, and a three-year warranty. Expedited worldwide shipping is included with each order.
The retail price is $5,900. Learn more at Hodinkee.
