Making beautiful things in an extra special setting is Shinola’s hallmark. When we decided to introduce diamonds to our watch collection, it became an obsession. As it turns out, sourcing impeccably cut, nearly colorless diamonds with exquisite clarity would be the easy part. Setting them in a way that would maximize their sparkle required extensive research, several rounds of design and someone who knows his way around a fancy little magnifying glass.
“It’s all about the spacing and setting technique,” says Bill Guy, Shinola design manager. “Each diamond, no matter its size, has 57 facets. Taking the time to align each one in the same direction is a subtle design detail that makes a distinct impact. It requires a lot of care.”
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The Cass with Diamonds
Bill has designed jewelry personally and professionally throughout his whole life. Before Shinola, he worked with some of the finest materials and craftsmen at Tiffany & Co. “When you’ve been looking at precious stones as closely as I have, for as long as I have, you know exceptional quality when you see it.”
He also knows exactly what to do to make sure nothing dulls a diamond’s sparkle. “The setting should underscore its beauty, not diminish it,” he says.
The Shinola Diamond Collection is our most opulent to date and includes classic watches in two styles — The Canfield and The Cass.
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The New Diamond Collection Featuring: The Canfield and The Cass
A contemporary take on a classic design, The Cass is a brand new timepiece that introduces a square shape to our collection.
“This collection is all about her,” says Shannon Washburn, VP of Watch Product Development.
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The Canfield with Diamonds
“The introduction of The Cass demonstrates that. It’s distinctly feminine—from its petite size and classic right angles to its swing lug construction, designed to curve to the female wrist,” Shannon says. “It’s not unusual for women’s watches to feature diamonds, but to be able to offer this quality of diamonds and this caliber of precision is something we’re proud of.”
Ideal for both day and evening wear, The Canfield and The Cass were designed to elevate the everyday.
“We’re not a special occasions brand and we don’t aim to be. We want people to be able to wear our watches everywhere, at anytime,” Bill says. “Our diamond watches go with everything; you can dress them up or dress them down. When you own something special, that you can wear in any circumstance, it becomes a true expression of luxury.”
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Shinola design manager, Bill Guy (pictured)
Read more about our diamonds below.
• Carat Weight •
Depending on the style, our diamonds range in weight from .34 ctw to .64 ctw. The higher the carat weight, the more expensive the diamond, typically. With all of the watches in our diamond collection, the carat weight is listed on the back of the case.
• Clarity •
Clarity is a measure of the number and the extent of flaws in a diamond. The ranking system ranges from flawless (FL) to very imperfect (I3). Our diamonds are VS1 (Very Small Inclusions).
• Color •
Ideal diamonds are colorless. There’s a scale that ranges from D (being colorless) to Z (being yellow) to determine the value of diamonds. The diamonds we use range from G to H, which is near colorless.
• Cut •
Our diamonds are full cut, or brilliant, which means that each diamond will have 57 or 58 facets, maximizing the time light is trapped inside and allowing the diamond to look brighter in comparison to a single-cut diamond. Full-cut diamonds are usually more expensive because of the time and labor needed.
Shop the Diamond Collection