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THE SHINOLA RUNWELL CHRONO

A TRIED AND TESTED REVIEW OF A MADE IN DETROIT TIMEPIECE

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Photography by Gemma Boyle

The Shinola Runwell Chrono 47mm

We’ve been keeping a good eye on this exciting brand over the past year and they’ve certainly not disappointed. There’s the recent Community Of Craft project which offers craftspeople a platform to promote themselves in a retail environment, the Makers Monday initiative which supports local craftsmen across the globe, and the recent recruiting of John Truex and Richard Lambertson as Co-Design Directors for the brand’s AW15 leather collection. But today we’ve finally got our hands on one of their models, The Runwell Chrono 47mm, and here’s what we thought.

The watch arrived in its own wooden box which further pays homage to their image of American craftsmanship. It’s also worth noting that this watch is hand assembled in Detroit using 84 Swiss components and the complex assembly of each movement requires highly-trained craftspeople skilled at assembling miniature parts with the utmost precision. Inside there’s a small tin of leather care balm and a metal card with imprints stating who built the timepiece and the model number.

The first feature we noticed upon opening the box is how well-proportioned the Stainless Steel watch face is. We’re not so keen on the once hyped oversized models and thankfully this isn’t one of them. The Chronograph watch features Argonite 5021 high-accuracy quartz movement showing minutes, hours and the date in Super-LumiNova, making it easy to see in low light scenarios. The double curve Sapphire Crystal is a very impressive feature, especially for a £645 price tag – there’s nothing worse than getting a scratch on your watch face.

Shinola stands for skill at scale, the preservation of craft and the beauty of industry. Shinola is committed to creating American jobs in Detroit, a community-minded city with a strong manufacturing legacy, returning manufacturing to America and creating well-crafted products in the process.

Founded in 2011, Shinola was conceived with the belief that products should be well-crafted and built to last. As makers of modern watches, bicycles, journals and leather goods, they are proud to be based in Detroit. They build their watch and leather factories within the College for Creative Studies in the former Argonaut building. As a new company with a storied name, they stand for skill at scale, the preservation of craft and the beauty of industry.

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