WATCH: Dave Portnoy Melts Down As Critics Drag His ‘Cheap’ $2400 Watch Company

Dave Portnoy is fighting off critics this week after the launch of his newest venture, Brick Watch Company, failed to dazzle watch enthusiasts.

Earlier this month, Portnoy posted a sneak peak of the watches, oddly displayed in an egg carton which received lackluster praises from fans.

Last Friday, he officially announced that he was launching the company via Twitter. He claimed to have worked on the project for over two years, pouring millions of dollars into creating a “clean, simple, good-looking, well-made watch.” There’s just one catch — they’re all priced at $2,400.

He signed off his message in a way only Portnoy could get away with, “Hopefully people buy the watches and like them — and if not, well, fuck you.”

The accessory quickly caught the attention of menswear enthusiasts, whose reactions got Portnoy particularly irked.

The website Gear Patrol reviewed the watches and questioned their quality right off the bat.

Brick Watch Company launched two designs to start with, a self-winding one and quartz version. Gear Patrol pointed out that watches with similar specs went for well under $1,000.

There’s little indication as to what makes Brick watches more expensive than those with similar descriptions — aside from simply targeting a price bracket where they think they can sell.

Although the company’s website says the watches are “designed, engineered and built in the United States,” it later states that they “use Swiss and imported parts where necessary to ensure the highest watchmaking standards.”

Another website High Snobiety pointed out that although Portnoy’s watches could be priced for being “built in the United States” a similar brand, Shinola, based out of Detroit, offers watches ranging from $300 – $600 with more flashy and unique designs.

The issues did not end there. Twitter user @dieworkwear, a menswear writer, took to the platform to offer his two cents about the new company.

The user pointed out that the address on Portnoy’s watch website was the same as that of another company: American Watch Company.

American Watch Company is a watch manufacturer specifically designed to “provide creative development, manufacturing, and merchandising strategies for watch brands.”

A screenshot from the website appeared to show the basic watch combination for sale at around $42, suggesting Portnoy is profiting over just over $2,300 per watch.

Another eagle-eyed Twitter user pointed out that the legal templates on Portnoy’s website had simply been copy/pasted from their original source and never actually filled out, including the return policy.

The allegation that the watches cost just $42, was the straw that broke Portnoy’s back. He took to Twitter to call an “Emergency Press Conference” and delivered a scathing eight-minute rant about not only, @dieworkwear, but anyone willing to criticize his beloved company.

He alleged that his own haters had joined forces with “watch nerds” to form a gigantic volcano of hate in order to bring down his new venture.

He warned @dieworkwear and those alike to beware, “the beast is waking up!”

Portnoy bashed the idea that the watches cost $42 to make. “I can’t wipe my ass for $40 dollars,” he said bewildered.

“What would make you think me, who’s got pretty high-class taste, if you follow anything I do — is making a $40 watch. People think I’m that desperate for fucking money,” Portnoy said.

“Buddy, I got a hundred million in the bank. I like being an entrepreneur. I like trying new things. You think I woke up, I’m like, ‘I’m gonna fucking try to scam people.’ Are you outta your fucking mind?” he asked.

As the rant continued Portnoy addressed the watch manufacturer that his Brick company was linked to.

“Here’s a little bit of what went on with Brick Watch, I think that’s prompted this $40 fucking thing. Somebody who is considering themselves like an internet sleuth is like, ‘Oh my god, Dave didn’t make the watches. He hired a company to make the watches for him,'” he said.

“Uh, no doy. As the kids say in the street. What do you think I did? After I was done eating pizza, I went home, lit a candle, put on a monocle and started making watches?” Portnoy said.

“News flash. I don’t know how to make fucking watches. I had to hire a company to make my watches,” he added.

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