| Benjamin "Ben" Clymer | |
| Occupation: | Executive chairman of Hodinkee |
| Known For: | Founder of Hodinkee, watch expert and entrepreneur |
Benjamin "Ben" Clymer (born 1982) is an American businessman known as the executive chairman and founder of Hodinkee, a luxury watch and lifestyle website.[1] He is an authority and influencer in the world of watches.[2] [3]
Clymer was born in 1982, and grew up in Brighton, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York. As a youth, he was an avid collector, and first became interested in mechanical watches when his grandfather gave him an Omega Speedmaster MK40.[4] [3]
Clymer graduated from Brighton High School in 2001. He earned his bachelor's degree at Syracuse University and his master's degree at Columbia University School of Journalism.[5]
After graduating college, Clymer worked as a project manager at Swiss investment bank UBS.[3] When the financial crisis hit in 2008, Clymer took a severance package from UBS and enrolled in Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism to earn a master's degree.[6] While at Columbia, also in 2008, he founded Hodinkee as a fan site and blog for watch aficionados. In 2012, Clymer launched Hodinkee's e-commerce platform based on Shopify, and in 2013, Time named Hodinkee one of the 50 best websites in the world.[7] [5]
In December 2013, The New York Times dubbed Clymer "The High Priest of Horology", noting his watch and style consulting work with brands including Club Monaco and Gilt Groupe.[3]
By 2015, Hodinkee was known as the most respected influential online resource in the traditional watch industry.[6]
In 2018, at age 35, Clymer was named to Crain's New York Business 40 Under 40 list.[8] In December 2018, Clymer led the collaboration efforts on the Slim d’Hermès Limited Editions with French luxury goods company Hermes' creative director Pierre-Alexis Dumas.[9]
In September 2020, Clymer was named to Fortune 40 under 40 list, in the category of Media and Entertainment.[10]
Clymer is an avid collector of watches and cars, and his collection has been featured in GQ and The Wall Street Journal.[2] [11] [12] Through their shared passion for watches, Clymer has struck up friendships with other well known watch collectors such as musician John Mayer and actor and comedian Aziz Ansari.[3] [13] Clymer's vintage Porsche 356 Zagato Coupe was featured in The Wall Street Journal[1] He is also the proud owner of an un-pristine 1967 Porsche 911S.[14] Clymer is engaged to Cara Barret who also used to work at Hodinkee and lives in Manhattan.