The Shinola Watch Company: Shinola History
Fashion companies often release watch lines. Shoe polish brands doing the same is significantly more unusual.
The Shinola company has many products ranging from bicycles to leather goods to even a line of pet products. They tout themselves as an American-made watch brand and make simply designed and elegant watches. Continue reading to learn the successful and controversial tale of Shinola’s history.
The Shinola Story
The Shinola brand started in 1877 in Rochester, New York as a brand of shoe polish. Shinola shoe polish lasted nearly 100 years before going out of business in 1960.
Tom Kartsotis, founder of the Fossil Group (1984-2010), founded the new Shinola Company in 2011. This was a joint venture with the investment company, Bedrock Manufacturing. A year later he used his passion for watches, gained while working with Fossil, to start a new line of Shinola watches. His goal was to create a high-end American watch brand to compete against Swiss brands at a lower price point.
Shinola began production and released their first watch in March 2013. They made 2,500 watches at the price of $550 each. They offered two sizes, the Runwell Limited Edition 47mm–which sold out in one week, and the 40mm–which sold out in two weeks.
Shinola didn’t stop there, releasing their second watch in October 2013. This was a Wright Brothers Limited Edition watch to reinforce the American ideal. In September 2014, they released a women’s limited edition watch, The Lattice. They enlisted the help of fashion designer Ocsar de la Renta to design this elegant, feminine piece.
Shinola was designing and producing watches at a scale no American watchmaker had done since the late 1960s.
Shinola’s History: Success and Controversy
The secret to their fast production is their factory in Detroit, Michigan. Their factory is on the fifth floor of the Alfred A. Taubman Building at the College for Creative Studies. The building has enough space to finish the assembly of half a million watches a year. Over 400 employees staff the factory, most of whom are local Detroiters.
Shinola has always claimed and advertised themselves as an American company and a true supporter of Detroit. The company’s tagline advertised their watches as “Where American is Made”. They also branded their caseback with “Built In Detroit.”
However, in 2016, the Federal Trade Commission found that certain Shinola watches were made entirely of foreign parts. This was in direct conflict with their claim that they were “built” in Detroit. Shinola amended their statement by saying that their watches are built in Detroit with Swiss and other imported parts. Through this controversy, they continued to promote themselves as a Detroit company.
The Shinola watch company has faced a lot of other criticism over the years. Many have accused the company of using the city of Detroit as a marketing tool. In A Metro Times article, they commented that Shinola had “seized scrappy Detroit’s comeback story.”
Others take issue with Shinola’s promotional material, alleging an exploitation of Black culture. Those defending the company say that it has helped Detroit become cleaner and safer by providing jobs.
The controversy with Shinola’s dubious marketing campaign is undeniable. However, they do have the support from their customers who love their watches.
These include former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, former president Bill Clinton, and former president Barack Obama. . In April of 2016, Obama gave the prime minister of the UK, David Cameron, a custom Shinola men’s watch.
You can learn more about controversies and criticisms on the Shinola watches Wiki.
Today the Shinola Company is still producing watches and other goods. They have boutiques in 14 cities across the United States, Canada and the UK. They have expanded their watch models to include several styles for both men and women. Shinola is sticking with their Detroit ethos and have continued to add jobs and bolster the Detroit economy.
Shinola Watch History and Beyond
Whether you value your Shinola watch or regret purchasing from the company, their history is fascinating. The company is a curious actor in the history of American-made watches.
As a leading watch shop with over 600,000 successful repairs to date, the history of watches will always interest us. Times Ticking has been in operation for more than 30 years, since 1982. We have performed watch repair for customers both locally and internationally. If it ticks, we KNOW it!
Our team of watch repair technicians have combined experience in watchmaking of over 120 years.
