Opinion: Shinola and “Made in USA”

We’ve talked at length how “in-house” has become such a huge topic in the watch community. Well, a similar subject that’s received a lot of attention lately – at least for US collectors – is American companies making parts stateside. After watchmakers such as Waltham, Hamilton, and Elgin were bought out by overseas interests (thanks to the quartz revolution), American watchmaking all but disappeared.

The vanishing act of American watchmaking wasn’t totally unexpected, as US manufacturing in general had declined across all industries. Manufactured goods shifted from export to import, and a service based economy arose. Many will say America has essentially lost what made it great, and we need to re-build our former industrial prowess. In fact, the last few presidential elections have used “bringing back American manufacturing” as a major talking point, but, more than that, the “Made in USA” product marketing movement has gained a tremendous amount of traction. Dry goods are what you might first think of for this movement, but Shinola has done an excellent job of riding the marketing wave as well, helping watches get into the spotlight. American watchmakers like Kobold and RGM pre-date the “Made in USA” craze, but will likely benefit from the emphasis on stateside manufacturing.

I won’t go into detail on who Shinola is, because if you’ve made it here, you presumably already know. Just the other day, Shinola announced they would be expanding their manufacturing capabilities to include dial making – this being in addition to their in-house leather straps. Their plan is to start by printing dials on outsourced blanks from their Taiwanese supplier, and then move onto stamping their own blanks in Detroit. Although stamping blanks and painting dials isn’t the pinnacle of haute horlogerie, it’s an excellent step forward, and certainly not one many quartz fashion brands can claim.

Shinola dial making in progress

Sorry; I ended that last sentence a bit harshly. But to be perfectly honest, I’m not much of a fan of Shinola in their current state (emphasis on “in their current state”). I don’t like their manufactured story that, to me, comes off as a Pontiac Fiero with a Lamborghini Countach body kit. However, I’ve heard from more than one source that they intend on moving to mechanical movements in the near future. When — and to what degree — this happens, I have no idea, but it’s something to be cautiously optimistic about.

Putting my mechanical watch snobbery aside, there’s another positive thing to take from Shinola: their standing as a gateway watch. It’s safe to say the average American “doesn’t know shit from Shinola” (come on, I had to) when it comes to expensive watches, so they’re actually doing a service to brands making watches in the price brackets above them, especially American brands. I’d have to imagine there are lots of non-watch folks who would balk at shelling out $700-$1,000 on a Shinola, let alone thousands for a Kobold or RGM. This is where the “Made in USA” movement comes into play. If Shinola’s marketing can get new buyers over the hump, we may have ourselves a new wave of future watch nerds. Who knows, before you know it, you might be seeing a lot more Soarway Divers and 801s in the office. We’ll obviously need to see how this all plays out, but I think it’s a realistic outlook.

Getting back to Shinola’s potential use of mechanical movements, it’s my guess they will look to eventually produce an in-house movement to bring the “Made in USA” marketing full circle. If they do, and this is a big “if”, we need to watch closely. Bremont got worked over for the Wright Flyer, and any in-house newcomers deserve the same level of scrutiny. If we’re going to have anything resembling a “standard” for in-house movements, we have to demand transparency from those making the claim. The other reason for scrutinizing a future Shinola in-house movement is to add legitimacy to the “Made in USA” movement. Praising their initiative, only to later find out it was driven by less than honest sourcing, would be a waste of everyone’s time. But again, this is still a long way off.

Depending on how you look at it, resurgence in American manufacturing coming out of Detroit can be described as either ironic or symbolic. No matter the case, Shinola has proven them both ambitious and capable. The announcement of their dial making plans is a big positive, and something that makes me more optimistic about the direction they’re heading. As things progress with Shinola, or any US watchmaker, remember to never settle for the sales pitch – demand the full story. A half-assed US made watch won’t do us any good; if it’s going to come with a big, shiny “Made in USA” stamp, it better be up to snuff.

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