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Shinola are a relatively expensive watch brand that makes good quality watches. As the brand uses Swiss movements and assembles their watches in the USA, they are clearly a cut above Chinese competition.
With that being said, Shinola watches are considerably more expensive than competitors, due to the aforementioned reason. Whether or not you want to spend money on a watch which has been assembled in the USA is answered in greater detail below.
Table of Contents
About Shinola Watches
Shinola is a watch brand that was formerly a shoe polish company from New York that was in business between 1877 and 1960. The historical brand was revived in 2011 by the former founder of the Fossil group, Tom Kartsotis. The idea behind the brand was to bring American consumers goods which were made in the USA. Of course, consumers know that they can buy inferior products which are made in China for a cheaper price. However, at least some of the American public are willing to pay more money for watches that are made to a higher quality and built in America.
Shinola is both headquartered and assembles watches in Detroit, USA. Whilst the brand has not been 100% successful at producing every component of its watch in USA, this is a process that takes time. Currently, Shinola uses Swiss movements, but it looking towards making more of its manufacturing in-house as each year passes.
Considering the brand is only just over 10 years old, it is already relatively well known and has been somewhat of an American success story.
Who Wears Shinola Watches?
Due to the patriotism surrounding the brand, Shinola watches have been worn by former U.S presidents such as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Bill Clinton is rumoured to own over 12 different models of Shinola.
Is Shinola A Good Watch Brand?
In this review of Shinola watches, you will find that Shinola is a good and respected watch brand. Their watches are made in the USA using Swiss movements, this alone puts them ahead of fashion brands that produce watches as cheaply as possible.
In terms of brand history, Shinola is under 15 years old, having been founded in 2011. So from this perspective, it is a very young watchmaker which cannot really get anywhere near the Swiss giants. Overall, the brand does at least provide a nice alternative towards mass, made-in-China watches. There is a genuine effort to make higher quality watches within the USA. This is of course more costly but should produce better quality products.
What Movements Do Shinola Use?
Shinola does not make its own movements and instead uses a variety of Swiss movements. Of course, due to watches having different specifications and complications, a number of different companies are needed to provide movements for this.
Typically you will find that Shinola automatic watches use Sellita. These are very average Swiss movements that are above entry-level, but not quite as good quality as ETA.
For quartz watches, Shinola will mostly use Ronda. This is pretty much the entry-level Swiss-made quartz movement but is quite a bit more expensive than the typical Japanese movements you will find in fashion watches.
Shinola Argonite
Shinola Argonite movements are typically just Ronda movements. You will often see numbers such as “Argonite 5050”. This can be decoded by replacing the word Argonite with Ronda, you will then be able to see exactly which movement is used by the watch.
Are Shinola Watches Good Value For Money?
Not particularly, but the company does have higher overheads than rival brands. For watches that cost between $400-$1500, you can find cheaper models with similar specifications. In terms of automatic watches, you can find watches built to a similar standard for around 40% cheaper than Shinola. For quartz watches, this price discrepancy becomes even larger. You can find Swiss quartz watches for under $200 from reputable brands such as Victorinox, so with Shinola charging $500, this is very expensive.
However, the fact that the watches are assembled in Detroit does increase costs. Many other watch brands will ship movements to China and have their watches assembled for the most minimal cost possible. Shinola is not a brand that does this and instead chooses to make its watches in a much more expensive country.
Are Shinola Watches Reliable?
Yes. There is no doubt that Shinola watches are reliable. When you compare the brand with cheaper models, Shinola uses much better quality materials and movements than basic fashion watches. As Shinola watches cost more, you would expect this, but by paying more, you are receiving better accuracy and reliability. Japanese movements are not bad, but the Swiss movements Shinola uses are definitely superior.
Where Are Shinola Watches Made?
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding where Shinola watches are made – specifically with investigations from the Federal Trade Commission.
In reality, this controversy is somewhat unfair towards the brand as the following is the definition for a “Swiss made” watch: A watch where at LEAST 60% of the manufacturing costs are from Switzerland, as well as having a Swiss movement which was encased within the country.
If we swapped out the word Swiss for American, Shinola would not have a USA-made movement, but the USA is not a country that produces watch movements. However, the rest of the description would fit perfectly. Shinola watch movements are Swiss, but the rest of the production is done within the USA.
When thinking about other American-made products. How many parts were made in another country and then assembled within the US border?
It seems as though Shinola certainly didn’t try to mislead anyone, but was warned about using specific wording on their watches and also within their advertisements. Overall, if you are to take an objective overview, it is quite clear Shinola watches are made in the USA.
Shinola Serial Numbers
The Shinola serial number can be found on the back of each watch case. A guide to decphiering what each serial number means can be found here.
Do Shinola Watches Hold Their Value?
Despite not being a luxury brand. Shinola watches are very good at holding their value. Of course, when you buy a watch, unless it is a certain model of Rolex, you can expect it to lose money.
Generally watches only go up in value when there is a lack of supply and a big demand. As most companies want to make as much money as possible, there is very rarely a lack of supply.
Shinola watches only seem to depreciate around 25% of their value when bought new. For reference, this is based on Amazon prices (as you may pay more from a brick & mortar store). When compared to brands such as Emporio Armani, Hugo Boss & Tommy Hilfiger, this is very good. These 3 brands typically lose from 50% upwards once they are purchased and worn.
The Best Shinola Watches
Runwell
The Runwell is one of the most popular models within the Shinola brand and is a representation of what the brand stands for. Given that the specifications of this watch are not particularly high (Ronda quartz movement), the Runwell is relatively expensive for what you get.
With that being said, the watch looks like a real throwback to 1950s-60’s Detroit. The watch has a very vintage and classic look, which is exemplified by its striking green dial. As this watch was also made in modern-day Detroit, this should help you understand the price tag a little more, as it has been made by American paid labor, not cheap labor from the far east.
Canfield
Moving up the ladder is the Canfield. This watch is an entry-level chronograph from the Shinola brand and has a variety of complications. The unusual day/month combination can be found at the top of the dial just under the brand’s logo. In addition to this, a 4th moon-shaped hand tracks the date of each month by using the numbers outside of the dial.
Once again, this is not a particularly cheap watch for what you’re getting, although it is also finished to a very high standard with a striking black PVD coating.
Black Blizzard
The black blizzard is pretty much the highest-end Shinola watch you can buy. This model is available in both quartz and automatic (although of course, the mechanical watch will cost more).
Not quite a dive watch, the blizzard does have a water resistance of up to 200 meters. Of course, dive-style watches are worn for fashion these days – the blizzard is no different. A domed sapphire crystal is a nice touch as this is a feature quite often under-utilized on high quality watches. At 48mm with chronograph pushers, the watch wears very large on your wrist, so cannot really be recommended to anyone with small forearms.
