Why we love Shinola

By now you've heard of Shinola. Yes, they make beautifully crafted watches, bicycles and leather goods - but the reason WatchGnome really respects Shinola is because of the story behind the brand.

The Shinola Story Starts in Detroit

In many ways, the story of Detroit is an archetype for the manufacturing industry in the United States. Detroit: The Motor City was once the pinnacle of American manufacturing and home to The Big Three automobile manufacturers (Ford, General Motors & Chrysler). But as manufacturing moved to foreign shores, the city began to struggle and a full crisis struck in 2013 when the city declared bankruptcy. It was the largest city to ever declare bankruptcy in the United States.

Despite this dark period, a small group saw potential to build something.

Shinola Saw the Future

Shinola saw a city with a strong infrastructure (albeit a bit rusty), a population that had manufacturing skills and experience and a desire to work hard and build a legacy.

The Shinola name comes from a shoe polish company that was founded in Rochester, NY in 1907 - but went out of business in 1960. The name was acquired by Bedrock Manufacturing in 2001 and soon to be destined for a great revival. The name became the flag of the resurgance of American manufacturing. And they started with products that already had stiff competition from around the world to ensure they would produce only the finest quality products.

Shinola Bicycles

Shinola bicycles are custom assembled by experts in Detroit Flagship retail store at 441 W. Canfield. Each bicycle is built one at a time, by hand with fine detail to attention and only the highest quality components used. And to keep it American, the frames are builty in Wisconsin before being assembled operations in Detroit!

Shinola Watches

Shinola started by revitalizing over 30,000 square feet of raw manufacturing space into a state-of-the-art watch factory inside the College for Creative Studies inside the historic Detroit Argonaut building. Their production combines meticulous hand-assembly with the latest watch technology available. The watches are built to endure and maintain their beauty.

Shinola Has Heart, Soul & Manfacturing Skill

Here at WatchGnome we spend most of our time on the art of watch battery replacement. We love to take a tired watch and bringing it back to life with a fresh battery, a polish and sometimes a little love. We understand the beauty of the comeback. Shinola has successfully done this on a much large scale with American manufacturing. And we applaud them - that's why we are proud to offer Shinola watch battery replacement done here in the United States.