1931 GOLDSMITH A-2 Limited Edition of 25

[Technonut2112]

If you have a thing worth having, be happy.
If others come to have it too, don't worry.

Now if there's a private air show for the first 25 buyers, or you get entered in a contest for a free trip to Scotland and tour of the Aero factory, that's another thing entirely.

Then, there is simply no point in offering a Limited Edition of anything in the first place, is there? Almost like the ridiculous notion going around that 'everyone wins, there are no losers, everyone gets a trophy'...

EDIT: It's also about the build-up, and then, sense of urgency involved. The Goldsmith is discussed in-depth in the Button Flap Thread... Lot's of interesting discussion... Twists, Turns, etc...New Thread opens, and the announcement is made: LIMITED EDITION ONLY 25 WILL BE MADE.... Then, the sale announcement: ORDERING NOW OPEN TO THE FIRST 25 ONLY.. Damn, I really do like this, and only 25 will be made, I'll bet they're almost sold out already.. NEVER to be offered again...WHAT can I juggle to make this work?!?.. YEEESSSS!!! Figured it out!!..Better get my order placed NOW!!!!

See what I mean? EDIT: I mean that after all of the build-up and urgency, the Limited Edition item (whatever it may be) should be truly Limited...

 

[zoomer]

'everyone wins, there are no losers, everyone gets a trophy'

How does it feel that Headwind is going to be doing a Goldy regardless of Aero's plans?

When you come right down to it, I never understood how the existence of "losers" added value to anything. 40+ years ago I got my share of "Honorable Mentions" on Field Day, and I can tell you they weren't any too impressive then, either. But that is probably a bigger idea than we ought to be discussing on VLJ.

 

[B-Man2]

Then, there is simply no point in offering a Limited Edition of anything in the first place, is there? Almost like the ridiculous notion going around that 'everyone wins, there are no losers, everyone gets a trophy'...

Honestly Techno , I get your point , probably because I feel the same way about most of your talking points.
My only comment is, that we are talking about a reproduction of a leather jacket, which in 99 % of most people’s minds isn’t worth the value we as a collective group pay for them. Additionally it’s been my experience that the value of a Limited Edition anything comes from purchasing the item and then keeping it in pristine condition for a number of years and then reselling it at a price much greater than what was originally paid for it. Not much chance of that happening with this item, as everyone will want to wear it until it’s broken it and looks like it came from the 1930s . I guess my point is Limited Edition works with a lot of collectibles but I can’t ever remember seeing Limited Edition collectible clothing. Not disrespectful of your opinion , just making an observation.
Cheers
B-Man2

 

[Technonut2112]

Honestly Techno , I get your point , probably because I feel the same way about most of your talking points.
My only comment is, that we are talking about a reproduction of a leather jacket, which in 99 % of most people’s minds isn’t worth the value we as a collective group pay for them. Additionally it’s been my experience that the value of a Limited Edition anything comes from purchasing the item and then keeping it in pristine condition for a number of years and then reselling it at a price much greater than what was originally paid for it. Not much chance of that happening with this item, as everyone will want to wear it until it’s broken it and looks like it came from the 1930s . I guess my point is Limited Edition works with a lot of collectibles but I can’t ever remember seeing Limited Edition collectible clothing. Not disrespectful of your opinion , just making an observation.
Cheers
B-Man2

Then again, what would be the 'draw' or point of Aero selling the Goldsmith's as 25 Limited Editions? The genie is already out of the bottle, and orders placed by folks who are buying into this jacket on the premise that only 25 will be made.. Strictly..

 

[B-Man2]

Then again, what would be the 'draw' or point of Aero selling the Goldsmith's as 25 Limited Editions? The genie is already out of the bottle, and orders placed by folks who are buying into this jacket on the premise that only 25 will be made.. Strictly..

Oh I don’t doubt that people are buying into them, and they will definitely be a great seller. But think about this for a second , the first repros of GW, ELC, Aero, BK and as many other A2 makers that you can name, all came out with their first edition Broncos, Stars, Roughwear , etc. and then what happened ? As they learned more about the pattern of the original makers and more about the fit of the patterns, they went back to the sewing table and came out with better more accurate repros. And here’s the difference, they all were working off of actual WWII period jackets that they had first obtained to use as a pattern to make their interpretation of their repro jackets. In this case there are no Goldsmith jackets around to use as a pattern, these new jackets will be based on photos ( don’t kill me here Jay and Ken, I’m not bad mouthing your jackets ), and as more photos turn up the makers will go back to the drawing boards to update newly learned features into their jackets. That’s the way the process works. Every manufacturer worth his salt in the high end A2 market does it, if he wants to remain a viable high end A2 maker. So now what happens to that first Limited Edition Jacket?? It’s worth less that the new more correct Goldsmith. If anything I would wait a year or so until all the tweeking is finished and then you will have the most accurate repro available of the Goldsmith. Once again Techno not disrespectful just maybe looking at it from a little different perspective.

 

[Technonut2112]

I'll keep my order placed unless there is a new announcement that the Limited Edition of 25 is not going to be honored... I would like to imagine that Ken had this figured out for certain before making the announcement, and going live online with the sale..

EDIT: If the Goldsmith is going to be so popular, didn't Ken say that it's a good thing that Headwind is not limiting theirs, since over 1/2 of his 25 were sold, or something to that effect some posts back? That's great! Everybody who wants one will be be a winner and be able to get one then...

 

[zoomer]

In truth, tho, any product with such niche appeal is going to be a limited edition. It's a matter of maybe 25 vs. 250, not 25 vs. 25,000.

 

[Technonut2112]

So now what happens to that first Limited Edition Jacket?? It’s worth less that the new more correct Goldsmith. If anything I would wait a year or so until all the tweeking is finished and then you will have the most accurate repro available of the Goldsmith. Once again Techno not disrespectful just maybe looking at it from a little different perspective.

It took decades to get to this point from finding a solitary photograph. Finding another photo or pertinent info may take as long from now, or never... Using that logic, it's a safe bet that there will be no further 'tweaks' for some time to come, hence, no 'upgraded' edition from Aero..

 

[B-Man2]

It took decades to get to this point from finding a solitary photograph. Finding another photo or pertinent info may take as long from now, or never... Using that logic, it's a safe bet that there will be no further 'tweaks' for some time to come, hence, no 'upgraded' edition from Aero..

I’m with you Techno, and hopefully your right, however if any company or Headwind for that matter makes a new more accurate version, then that company will have the newest , latest and greatest. Just based on what you’ve seen over the years here , that will be the “must have” Goldsmith, and that company will be the subject of conversation here.
BTW... I still want to see your new Goldsmith as soon as you get it

 

[2BM2K]

what is the clue in the photo?

The position of the seam.

When the hand and sleeve are in their natural or rest position the thumb and seam are roughly inline.

Here is a Monarch for comparison (you will have to imagine the thumb);

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

Hey Ken,
Just curious, why did Aero decide to use seal steerhide? Judging from the photo it looks clearly like lighter russet hides.

Hi Grant

Several reasons, mainly it's not possible to be sure of the colour from a B&W photo and I've got two personal jackets in Battered Steer and LOVE it!!!
Our Battered Steer is the perfect weight for this style, it's got a lot of russet undertones and ages spectacularly, have you seen any worn examples of our Shackletons?
We are only going to make 25, not commercial viable to have something tanned especially
The fibres appear to be too dense in Vicenza to recreate these buttonholes to Aero grade without skivving and we don't skive, anyway skivved leather round buttonholes will soon look like sh*t with wear

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

So a limited edition that inspires high demand...stays limited?

The clue is in the word "Limited"
We are known to keep our word

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

How does it feel that Headwind is going to be doing a Goldy regardless of Aero's plans?
.

Doesn't bother me at all, but I do wish they'd stop claiming they were the first to announce a repro

The two versions will probably be quite different
Judging by the (rock bottom) price Headwinds will be made in India, if so they will probably be very good but with that undersirable "Made In..." stigma, if they are being made by the usual source in USA, well I suggest one takes a close look at the sewing on the Headwind website.

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

Then, there is simply no point in offering a Limited Edition of anything in the first place, is there? Almost like the ridiculous notion going around that 'everyone wins, there are no losers, everyone gets a trophy'...

EDIT: It's also about the build-up, and then, sense of urgency involved. The Goldsmith is discussed in-depth in the Button Flap Thread... Lot's of interesting discussion... Twists, Turns, etc...New Thread opens, and the announcement is made: LIMITED EDITION ONLY 25 WILL BE MADE.... Then, the sale announcement: ORDERING NOW OPEN TO THE FIRST 25 ONLY.. Damn, I really do like this, and only 25 will be made, I'll bet they're almost sold out already.. NEVER to be offered again...WHAT can I juggle to make this work?!?.. YEEESSSS!!! Figured it out!!..Better get my order placed NOW!!!!

See what I mean? EDIT: I mean that after all of the build-up and urgency, the Limited Edition item (whatever it may be) should be truly Limited...

I don't understand why some folk are having trouble with the term "Limited Edition" Please refer to The Collins Dictionary

Aero, and myself before Aero, do have some form on these

I was know for "Limited Edition" during the 1960s, we did dozens of pieces

Despite many, many requests, "just the one Guv?" we've never made any more Limited Edition 25th Anniversary Highwayman jackets after they sold out despite huge demand from Japan, (Still got some labels) we even resisted the temptation to do a 30th Anniverary model
We have been inundated all Summer with requests for the missing sizes in this (Limited Edition) model
http://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/product-detail.php?id=3542

With so many "fans" on VLJ even if we tried we'd soon get shot down, methinks?

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

Bottom Line, and why just the 25

We've never been happy using another brand's label, seems counter productive to me, surely promoting one's own brand is the way to build a business?

The Bronco A-2 was originally done on behalf of our Japanese agent and only intended for sale in Japan but sort of sneaked into the Aero Range (during the spell when Aero was being mis-managed)
The 1756 is my favourite original A-2 but has no maker label, we used these patterns for the first few years of Aero A-2 production, with an Aero label
The only other "Original Maker" on the horizon is the Aero W535ac 16160, and only because it is an Aero and we've recently come across and unopened box of labels in the factory, I've no recollection of any previous plans to make this contract but it is lovely.
Bucos are made at the behest of Thurston Bros, we needed to be persuaded and we don't offer them on our site

So hence the 25, seemed obvious, and personally I don't like the Goldie

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

why put forth all this effort and only sell 25 jackets . If the demand is there for this new release why not capitalize on it?
Cheers
B-Man2

It's not such a huge effort, labels apart we have all we need in stock, pattern modifications are minor.
We are too busy on A-2s already, because of this I'm going to have to go down to Galashiels to train more machinists on the style.
We would be far better of doing one of the two Aero contracts curently not available and nobody at Aero likes these buttonholes

Call the project "Customer Service" ...........almost all the orders so far received are from previous Aero military customers

 

[Persimmon]

Doesn't bother me at all, but I do wish they'd stop claiming they were the first to announce a repro

The two versions will probably be quite different
Judging by the (rock bottom) price Headwinds will be made in India, if so they will probably be very good but with that undersirable "Made In..." stigma, if they are being made by the usual source in USA, well I suggest one takes a close look at the sewing on the Headwind website.

Ken
Several times you have brought up to attention by forum members for knocking other manufacturers and their products.

To be fair to you on this occasion !!!!!!! ...... you are at least doing on your own thread.

“ the undersirable Made in ..........”

You have a great jacket so focus on that please.

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

Ken
Several times you have brought up to attention by forum members for knocking other manufacturers and their products.

To be fair to you on this occasion !!!!!!! ...... you are at least doing on your own thread.

“ the undersirable Made in ..........”

You have a great jacket so focus on that please.

Even when I praise the product itself?
"Judging by the (rock bottom) price Headwinds will be made in India, if so they will probably be very good"

 

[Grant]

Totally get your reasoning, except for being sure the color from the B&W photo. It's obviously a lighter shade and not seal. Good luck with the run!

Several reasons, mainly it's not possible to be sure of the colour from a B&W photo and I've got two personal jackets in Battered Steer and LOVE it!!!
Our Battered Steer is the perfect weight for this style, it's got a lot of russet undertones and ages spectacularly, have you seen any worn examples of our Shackletons?
We are only going to make 25, not commercial viable to have something tanned especially
The fibres appear to be too dense in Vicenza to recreate these buttonholes to Aero grade without skivving and we don't skive, anyway skivved leather round buttonholes will soon look like sh*t with wear[/QUOTE]

 

[Ken at Aero Leather]

Grant

Who can say with authority that all 25 were all the same colour, plenty other contracts used 2 or more shades of brown in the same contract