This to me sounds like someone who is not able to describe when to harvest.
To me the smell will not suddenly change overnight.
It does however change gradually.
For me it is when the bud swell stops the red hairs recede and the calyx/ovule swells up, for me, it is not at all about the trichomes
The issue with the whole “trichome approach” for harvest window is that each strain will have different levels, some vastly different levels, to the ratio’s of clear and amber in the buds and also different budsites. shag described it pretty well in part.
It’s more the other way around. Judging the ratio’s of clear to amber will give you an idea of how the finished product will present itself in the smoker (or vaper or eater). This can be influenced by harvesting sooner or later to some extent but basing yourself on this for harvest will probably lead to some false assumptions on harvest window time.
The breeder’s recommendations have never really been much good to me either. I don’t count weeks and when I did it never came out to the number of weeks the breeder mentioned, usually taking a few weeks longer. But in a world where fast harvests are wanted by many and where all is fair game in business that shouldn’t come as too big a surprise.