Our vision of creating domestic manufacturing jobs led us to Detroit, where a centuries-long legacy of industrial might runs deep. We built the first watch factory the United States has seen of its size in over 50 years. Located on the fifth floor of the historic Argonaut Building, our factory includes state-of-the-art watchmaking facilities and a leather studio, where artisans hand assemble timepieces and craft premium leather straps entirely in-house.
In 2011, we arrived in Detroit with the idea to build a company focused on building high quality manufactured goods and manufacturing jobs—but no name.
As the story goes, the discussion around this nom de plume got a touch heated, leading a team member to exclaim, “You don’t know sh*t from Shinola!” Shortly thereafter, we had a name known the world over, with roots in American manufacturing, and synonymous with quality—and Shinola was born.
In 2012, we transformed 12,000 square feet of raw space into a state-of-the-art watch factory in Detroit. The first to be opened in the United States in nearly fifty years.
Our Detroit headquarters occupies 95,000 square feet in The College for Creative Studies, within the historic Argonaut Building.
In March 2013, we built our first watch: The Runwell, a timepiece named to honor its quality. We manufactured a small run of 2,500 of these limited-edition watches, which sold out in less than a week.
Our first Shinola watch designed specifically for women was a beautiful, playful, one-of-a-kind timepiece.
On July 18th, 2013—just as it was about to ship—the city of Detroit filed for bankruptcy. Newspapers and outlets around the nation penned headlines that dismissed the city we now called home—the one that many of our employees had grown up in, lived in, and worked in for decades.
We decided to announce our latest Detroit-built pride and joy with a special message for naysayers—in the New York Times.
Shortly after the success of the Runwell, we opened our first-ever brick and mortar store at 441 West Canfield Street in Detroit, Michigan.
In 2013, we created the first special edition timepiece to commemorate the achievements of two Great Americans—The Wright Brothers. This series continued to honor a carefully selected Great American, every year, for the next decade and beyond.
May 2014, we announced the opening of our very own in-house leather factory, where many of our leather straps are sewn.
Since then, we’ve had the opportunity to expand and work with a variety of hand-selected manufacturers in America and abroad who share our unwavering commitment to handmade craft.
On the day pre-sales began for the world’s latest piece of wearable tech, we ran an ad for the original type—featuring our flagship Runwell. Just smart enough.
In 2016, we launched our audio collection and continue to work with decades-old
leaders in the audio industry based in the U.S.
Launched in 2016, Shinola jewelry is crafted with the finest metals and stones, with the mission to celebrate minimalist design and personal style.
In 2016, inspired by the very first watch we built in Detroit, we continued to expand our in-house repertoire with the Runwell Clock.
To celebrate the beauty and rich diving history of Lake Erie and the Great Lakes, we introduced the Lake Erie Monster Dive Watch. This timepiece marked two exciting milestones for Shinola—our first dive watch, and the first Shinola watch with an automatic movement.
After years of planning and two years of construction, The Shinola Hotel stands eight stories tall on the 1400 block of Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit.
The first Shinola Hotel is a symbol of skill at the largest scale, a dream built with steel and strengthened with teamwork.
Many years of hard work later, Shinola introduced what our guests have been asking for since day one: A full automatic line of our flagship timepiece.
In 2019, The Runwell Automatic marked a major evolutionary moment for the watch that launched the Shinola brand and stands as a commitment to quality craftsmanship that refuses to be ignored.
We made a watch to celebrate champions. Originally designed to commemorate the 2020 Summer Olympics, The Champ Detrola still celebrated the grit, beauty and endurance of the human spirit.
We asked our community to help us recognize the everyday champions in our communities who rose to the challenge of the pandemic. All proceeds went to healthcare workers in Detroit in partnership with the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan.
In May of 2021, we released our first automatic chronograph, a highly technical milestone achievement in our watchmaking. Lap 01 of the Canfield Speedway sold out at a record pace.
Just in time for the 98th annual Bayview Mackinac freshwater sailing race, we released The Mackinac. This timepiece was our first ever watch with an automatic, single-eye chronographic yacht-timer functionality.
In 2022, we launched The Mechanic, a hand-wound mechanical watch that honors the simple, analog experiences of life. The name is inspired by the rich history of sign painters in Detroit, who called themselves “mechanics” in tribute to their precision and skill in conveying information with clarity and style—not unlike a well crafted watch.
In 2023 we marked our 10th anniversary. A decade ago, we set out to manufacture watches and create jobs in Detroit. Thanks to your support, we’re still here, driven by relentless passion and unwavering spirit.
In 2024, we released The Mooncraft Monster: Apollo 11 Edition to commemorate the city’s pivotal role in the historic moon mission and the 400,000 people who made it happen. Assembled with pride in Detroit, our first Manual Wind Chronograph captured the spirit of innovation that fueled space exploration.
We started with the goal of bringing manufacturing back to Detroit, and over the last decade, have grown to over 400 employees with a range of well-crafted goods embodying timeless American design. Over ten years in, and we are proud to say the long tradition of Detroit watchmaking is well underway.
Born in Detroit, Shinola is a design brand with an unwavering commitment to crafting lasting products, from watches to leather goods and even a hotel. We celebrate timeless design and thoughtful craftsmanship with products and stories that inspire people to live well and be confident in a style that is uniquely their own.
