Filson, a long time manufacturer of rugged, American Made Goods, tapped Shinola in 2015 to make it’s first line of watches.
Wait, Shinola? Wasn’t that a shoe polish? It was. Founded in Rochester, N.Y. in 1877, Shinola went out of business in 1960.
The founders of Fossil, another watch maker, bought the name and started making Shinola watches in Detroit, MI in 2013.
Hold on! They are making watches in DETROIT?
Yup, in the building that used to house a former automotive research lab, Shinola transformed 30,000 square feet into a watch factory and and partnered with Ronda, a Swiss manufacturer of watch movements. Bringing in trained techs from around the globe, Shinola matched them with former automotive assembly line workers and got them trained on watch assembly. None of the auto workers had prior experience in watchmaking. (I’m jealous…I still want to learn how to do some repairs beyond batteries and bracelets…)
Shinola now makes a variety of other products, as well as watches, which you can check out here: https://www.shinola.com
Okay, back to the Filsons. (That link take you to their latest models, “The Dutch Harbor Watch” and it’s a real looker alright! But back to my Mackinaw…stay tuned for a link to a Groupon sale for other models.)
I had not even heard of either of these brands until a trip to a local store. I saw a large number of them in the display within the $300-500 range. The MRSP was in the $700-850 range.
Picking up the Filson today, I noticed the back of the watch had screws all the way around the case back, the beautiful curved crystal was sapphire, and the screw down crown confirmed that the watch was waterproof past just a shower – 200 meters, or about 660 feet.
I have had it a few weeks and realized I still had the plastic on the back. The stamped back makes a statement with the Filson logo, their address in Seattle and the other features. See the pic – it’s nicely designed!
The official designation is the Mackinaw Field Watch, and there are a couple of other variants as well as different models. I imagine that as these were last year’s models, they are being moved out at various stores and online for good prices.
Not that I ever wear a watch swimming or in the shower, but there have been times as a photographer where I have been subjected to incredible rain and even a haboob, That footage made it to national TV. I picked sand out of my skin for days. If I am at the beach, which happens less often than the presidential voting cycle, I will wear a solar powered Casio for it’s incredible resistance to shocks and water.
This watch has a serious heft to it. It weighs in at 4 ounces, which for many, is on the heavier end of the scale. There are heavier watches, and those are secured with a good engineer’s bracelet or a serious rubber strap on my wrist…more to come later this week on those.
With the chrono sub dials, and super lume, it is one good looking example of watchmaking. The green nato strap has the extra care of a roller in the clasp area. That level of attention to detail is something I notice. Most NATO or ZULU bands don’t have a roller where the band goes through the clasp.
On the dial of the watch is the movement number, the Argonite 5030, a Swiss Quartz movement. A growing number of my watches are automatics, meaning that the watch winds itself as you go through your day wearing it. I understand how hard it is to make an auto movement with chrono, and I hope that they will start using automatic movements in some of their line.
The case is 43mm, which at that size, makes the weight of the watch, comfortable on the wrist. The NATO strap is cool and feels very comfortable even in the increasing heat of my desert.
The screw down crown has “C.C. Filson Co. Since 1897” embossed in brass on it around a black metal center.
Overall, this is one of the watches that I would recommend for regular wear and for dress up, just change the 20mm NATO to an all black strap and this can be worn with anything and any event. Want a fancier look, they have the stainless version on a stainless bracelet. I would just put a nice leather strap on this one and viola, it’s a more formal look.
Here’s a link to a Groupon Sale if you want to get them at a really good price online (Filson’s on Groupon – Sale ends 5/22/17)
Happy Watching!!
