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Berto1

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Vocans

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Yeah. Reason number 5,358 why Alden ******* blows. I love how they act like they're ******* Rolex or Patek, siphoning off "rare" (READ: bourbon shell that literally everyone else offers stock) to people that chug that mediocre cool aid. It's hilarious.

Alden doesn't even use bourbon shell. Funny how you'll defend Rolex for artificially creating demand with stainless steel sport watches when there's nothing intrinsically rare about it and Alden's rare shell was rare before Rolex even started their BS
 
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ErPupone4

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View attachment 1421530

unlined Sineu lasted chukka in bourbon grain shell and natural shell rear quarters. Absolute heaven on your feet, especially in 90*+ weather.
View attachment 1421531 View attachment 1421532 View attachment 1421533
Obviously this last pic wasn’t exactly timed perfectly ?
Love these chukkas. Makes me REALLY want my Kirby GMTO chukkas. Has anyone heard any updates on these? @hangerproject told me during the first week of June that they were slated to be done that week and ship to them shortly after. I know this has been discussed in the past, but I just want an update...

Hope everyone has a good Friday. Let's keep the Alden vs. Carmina shell debate civil ;)
 

lcdx22

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Yeah. Reason number 5,358 why Alden ******* blows. I love how they act like they're ******* Rolex or Patek, siphoning off "rare" (READ: bourbon shell that literally everyone else offers stock) to people that chug that mediocre cool aid. It's hilarious.
Alden doesn't even use bourbon shell. Funny how you'll defend Rolex for artificially creating demand with stainless steel sport watches when there's nothing intrinsically rare about it and Alden's rare shell was rare before Rolex even started their BS
bourbon shell - the poor man's whiskey shell


tenor (1).gif
 

fernando526

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bourbon shell - the poor man's whiskey shell

I actually prefer the burnished look of bourbon shell over whisky shell. I have two C&Js - Whisky Harlech and Whisky Pembrokes, and I slightly favor my Bourbon Carminas ?

Get out of town with that “poor man” nonsense! I don’t have a budget when buying shoes haha jk!
Only get the best available... no need to wait for BS Alden wait lists either.
 

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Neville Southall

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Alden doesn't even use bourbon shell. Funny how you'll defend Rolex for artificially creating demand with stainless steel sport watches when there's nothing intrinsically rare about it and Alden's rare shell was rare before Rolex even started their BS

Ok - fair enough. Allow me to clarify a few points:

1) Alden's "rare" shell isn't rare; and
2) Rolex woke up one day and said, "hey - we're the best pound-for-pound watch maker in the world and people love our stainless line-up. Let's artificially create a supply-vs-demand crisis and raise our overall market value and share." Why? Because they can and it's Rolex. Alden doing it is akin to Tissot suddenly implementing a similar strategy. They can - sure, but it's dumb because they suck.

I hope that clarifies things.
 

fernando526

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Ok - fair enough. Allow me to clarify a few points:

1) Alden's "rare" shell isn't rare; and
2) Rolex woke up one day and said, "hey - we're the best pound-for-pound watch maker in the world and people love our stainless line-up. Let's artificially create a supply-vs-demand crisis and raise our overall market value and share." Why? Because they can and it's Rolex. Alden doing it is akin to Tissot suddenly implementing a similar strategy. They can - sure, but it's dumb because they suck.

I hope that clarifies things.
LOL! That’s a good one haha.

I love my Alden shell cordovan shoes for that “Made in America” stamp, but the reality of things is that they’re indeed inferior to other European brands, let alone labeling cigar and whiskey as “rare” shell is just nonsense. I don’t want to infuriate any Alden owners as I own more Alden shell cordovan than anything else, so I am just sharing my experience as an owner and comparing Alden to its competitors. I can not justify waiting around when there are other brands that can make me any color of shell whenever I want and when I am ready to pay.

None of that “poor man” BS... I rather get my shoes right away, made by a better shoe maker, than waiting 2-5 years for a trivial, artificially-created scarcity, “rare shell” wait list. Just my two cents.
 

madhat

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LOL! That’s a good one haha.

I love my Alden shell cordovan shoes for that “Made in America” stamp, but the reality of things is that they’re indeed inferior to other European brands, let alone labeling cigar and whiskey as “rare” shell is just nonsense. I don’t want to infuriate any Alden owners as I own more Alden shell cordovan than anything else, so I am just sharing my experience as an owner and comparing Alden to its competitors. I can not justify waiting around when there are other brands that can make me any color of shell whenever I want and when I am ready to pay.

None of that “poor man” BS... I rather get my shoes right away, made by a better shoe maker, than waiting 2-5 years for a trivial, artificially-created scarcity, “rare shell” wait list. Just my two cents.
All shell becomes medium brown with a lot of wear anyway, so why bother even picking colors?
 

stook1

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I have been away from this thread for just one day and here we have an exact rehash of the Alden telenovela episode from last month.
I wonder if they are taking place around the 10th of each month. Does anyone know?

In fairness, I feel we're in a similar situation to sports announcers who have nothing to talk about. What are we supposed to do with ourselves locked at home buying more shoes we can't wear?
 

Vocans

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Ok - fair enough. Allow me to clarify a few points:

1) Alden's "rare" shell isn't rare; and
2) Rolex woke up one day and said, "hey - we're the best pound-for-pound watch maker in the world and people love our stainless line-up. Let's artificially create a supply-vs-demand crisis and raise our overall market value and share." Why? Because they can and it's Rolex. Alden doing it is akin to Tissot suddenly implementing a similar strategy. They can - sure, but it's dumb because they suck.

I hope that clarifies things.

I think it's a stretch to say that Rolex is the best pound for pound watchmaker in the world. I really like Rolex but their biggest strength is without a doubt their brand recognition. Ask anyone to name a high end watch brand and 99% of them will say Rolex. As far as the watches themselves go, are they really pound for pound better than Lange, Grand Seiko or even Tudor? What they ultimately did was leveraged that brand recognition they already had to try to build more brand cachet through an artificial scarcity.

It's kind of ridiculous to say Alden is Tissot when both Alden and Carmina use the exact same shell supplier and use the same construction method. Slightly more elegant lasts (a design choice Carmina made) and closed channels on the soles don't turn a Tissot into a Rolex. If we're using a watch analogy, they'd have the same in-house movement and be made out of the same Oystersteel but one would have a more elegant dial and no bracelet holes.
 

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