Before the acquisition, Watches of Switzerland USA had no real content creation element.

Everything Watches of Switzerland distributes (via magazines, billboards, TV ads, social media, etc) looks polished and perfect — just like a luxury watch ad — but there’s no long-term educational or entertainment value behind that type of ephemeral (advertising) content.

In contrast, Hodinkee specializes in (editorial) content that provides long-lasting educational and entertainment value.

With this acquisition, Watches of Switzerland also receives a turn-key watch insurance operation, which provides a valuable service to buyers without needing to develop it internally. And don’t forget about the access to Hodinkee‘s coveted customer list, as well as data — which is certainly something every watch retailer (or watch brand) would like to get ahold of.

Creatively speaking, Watches of Switzerland now has the leverage to host collector events of an unprecedented level, such as (potentially) an epic Watches and Wonders-grade watch show in the US or UK — which to date has been impossible due to the dynamics of the watch industry.

The stroke of genius in this deal could be that owning Hodinkee provides Watches of Switzerland USA (and WOSG internationally) the ability to create and quickly sell out limited edition collaboration timepieces in a way no other entity has ever done.

Whether WOS got the evaluation exactly right, or not, is probably beside the point because the price they paid was not likely much more than a rounding error for a group of that scale. What they bought is time — and time is priceless.

 

Photo of Ben Clymer taking a close-up at the launch of Omega Seamaster Diver ETNZ Limited Edition in 2013 in San Francisco — taken by Professional Watches.