Actor Aldis Hodge Moonlights as a Watchmaker, a Hobby He Picked Up as a Teen
You may have seen Aldis Hodge in Straight Outta Compton, Hidden Figures, or Showtime's City on a Hill. Now, he's receiving Academy Awards buzz for his performance in the drama Clemency (he was just nominated for a Gotham Independent Film Award), and he'll next be seen in February in The Invisible Man with Elisabeth Moss.
But Hodge has had a second, less conspicuous job for more than a decade—watchmaker. The 33-year-old has been a self-taught horologist since he was a teen, eventually learning how to build watches along with designing them; he is close to debuting his own label, A. Hodge.
As he told an audience of enthusiasts last month during a panel with T&C's style features director Erik Maza at The Vault at Saks, his curiosity began inauspiciously enough—when his mom bought him a Mickey Mouse Timex watch—but it's become such a passion he was a judge just last week at the Oscars of the watch world, the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. In short, he's the perfect candidate for the first edition of our newest column, The Connoisseur, a lightning round interview with celebrities and experts on the products they love, trust, and never take off.
What’s the holy grail of watches…
Hands down Greubel Forsey. Their work is what initially inspired me to become a watch designer. They're top of the charts when it comes to finishing, decorating, innovating. I can’t specifically say which one of their models is my grail; I’ll take any one. I’m a big fan of the innovation behind the Art Piece 1. I love the harmonious mix of simplicity and complexity in the 24 Secondes Vision, the sheer bravery of developing a mechanical computer inside the QP à Equation, the handsome new case size of the Balencier Contemporain, I could go on and on...
An absolutely necessary indulgence…
Solitude. My time alone is when I can reset, address the necessary growth that needs to happen, and hear my own thoughts. I absolutely love it.
What’s your drink and who makes the best iteration of it…
Either a Tennessee Mule (Moscow Mule made with whiskey) or two fingers of Bastille whiskey, neat. The best place for any drink would have to be the Brandy Library in New York. The stock they offer is insane.
If you had to take just one thing with you in a fire…
It would have to be my Strathmore sketchbook with all of my watch designs in it.
One piece of jewelry you never take off…
My David Yurman eternity band with pavé black diamonds. Black diamonds are my favorite among the carbon element family. Growing up, I had to learn how to love my black skin in a world that was trying to enforce negative ideas that my skin was less valued or ugly. In learning to love myself, I likened the beauty of black skin to the beauty of the black diamond. So to me it's the representation of loving something mysterious, powerful, gorgeous—and it's only because of the fact that it's so dark.
Things you never travel without…
My Tumi book bag, MacBook Pro, sketchpad, and Beats by Dre headphones. I have to have my music–can’t go a day without it. Oh, and about three different watches.
Favorite hotel in the world…
That’s a hard one. I dig the Public Hotel in New York. And I love the Langham in Chicago.
If you could live anywhere in the world for a year…
Probably France, Switzerland, or Nigeria. The first two would force me to practice my French. But Nigeria would be the start of the cultural education I’ve been seeking for a while—the missing part of my people's history.
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