A Dream Watch: The Shinola Detroit Runwell 47mm

Do you have cabin fever yet?  Are you ready for all this Covid-19 lockdown to end?  What will you do when you get out?  What will you buy when you get out? I would sure like increase the proportion of American products on my shopping list. 

Unfortunately, when it comes to watches, there aren't many watches made in America today.  Nevertheless, if we are going to start down the road to economic recovery and employment opportunities for all Americans, we need to start somewhere.

I'd love to start with a luxury watch like this Shinola Detroit Runwell 47mm.  It's a quartz watch with a lustrous stainless case, a luxurious 24 5/13 millimeter leather band, and a double-curve sapphire crystal.

The Detroit Skyline from an early 1900s vintage postcard

The watch would come in a beautiful wooden display box with a booklet.  It would truly be a dream watch.  Best of all, it would be assembled with pride in the United States using a mix of American and foreign components.  The watch represents a small step towards bringing a watch manufacturing industry back to the United States.  It's a step worth taking!

The Pride of Baltimore II - The Ship that Inspired a Watch

The Pride of Baltimore II is an authentic Baltimore Clipper ship that serves as a goodwill ambassador for the city of Baltimore.  She is 100-feet long on the deck and has a beam of just over 26 feet.  A top-sail schooner she can spread just over 9000 square feet of sail.  That's the equivalent sail to 41 Flying Scot sail boats.

The Pride of Baltimore II - Photo by Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK (Pride of Balitmore II  Uploaded by tm) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The original Pride of Baltimore was launched in 1977 as part of the city's inner harbor renaissance.  She served as the city's ambassador for 9 years until she was lost in a squall along with her captain and three crew members.  Citizens of the city started sending donations shortly after the tragedy and a movement to build a new ship gained momentum.  The Pride of Baltimore II was launched in 1988.  While it remained true to the design of Baltimore clipper ships, it also incorporated more modern safety features.

The Pride of Baltimore II, on the Chester River, Chestertown MD, By Diiscool (Own work) [CC0 or CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

I briefly visited aboard the Pride of Baltimore at the Annapolis Boat Show many, many, years ago and she is a truly beautiful vessel.  The hardwoods used to build her are amazing as is the workmanship that went into her construction.

The Wheel and Binnacle - photo by Diiscool (Own work) [CC0 or CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

The Pride of Baltimore II is truly a ship to be proud of and an amazing ambassador for the city of Baltimore.

The Pride of Baltimore's Bell - photo by Diiscool (Own work) [CC0 or CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

The Pride of Baltimore II also inspired the Towson Watch Company to create a watch with her name.  The Towson Watch Company's Pride of Baltimore II was recently chosen as iW Magazine's Watch of the Day. 

For more information on the Towson Watch Company check out there website - https://www.towsonwatchcompany.com/

What kind of watch is in the GMC commercial?

"Wow!  That's a cool watch!"  It's a statement I've said aloud nearly every time I've seen the watch in the "sharp" commercial for the GMC Denali series of full-sized SUV.  

What's that watch in the GMC commercial?

Our hints are revealed in a quick turn of the wrist.  The dial is labeled "Lancaster, Pennsylvania USA" at 3 o'clock and "RGM" on the left.  The watch itself is the RGM 400 Chronograph and it retails for about $3,500.  But, before you click on, there is something very special you should know about an RGM watch.  It's made in America.  

RGM 400 Chronograph from GMC Denali Commercial

RGM Watch Company is America's premiere watch maker.  Founded by Roland G. Murphy, the company has been making watches in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, for 20 years.  Murphy started out as an assistant at a clock repair shop, and then pursued a passion for fine timepieces at trade school and through advanced training in Switzerland.  Today, RGM is one of the only American watch companies making precision movements "in house" right here in America.  They use a mix of traditional and automated processes to efficiently make high quality timepieces.  If you visit the RGM site, you'll see mechanical watches that are within the range of middle class aspirations to the prestigious Pennsylvania Tourbillon for the most wealthy of watch collectors.  These watches incorporate mechanical genius and exquisite craftsmanship that rivals anything produced in Europe.

If you appreciate the precision of a GMC Denali, you'll love the precision of an RGM watch.  RGM is a watch company that makes all Americans proud!

The Independence Series from Minuteman Watch Co.

Just a few years ago, there were only a few American-made watch brands and they were available only to a wealthy handful of people.  Now, a domestic watch industry is alive and growing.  Minuteman Watch Co. has been leading the charge with manly watches that look really cool.  However, the high quality automatic watches have been a little expensive for many of us.  But, change is in the air!  The Minuteman Watch Co. has been working on a high quality quartz model that is more affordable.

The Minuteman Independence Series

The company has recently unveiled its new Independence series of watches.  These watches are powered by the venerable Ronda 515 Swiss Quartz movement.  Each watch is assembled in Mentor, Ohio, by Wiegand Custom Watches.  If the name sounds familiar, Chris Wiegand is the man behind the revered Lum-Tec brand of military-style watches.

These Minuteman watches have a streamlined military style.  I particularly like the Minuteman silhouette centered above the six o'clock position.  These Independence series watches are tough customers with 100 meter water resistance and sapphire crystals with an internal anti-reflective coating.  They have a sensible 40 millimeter diameter stainless steel case.  You can get a stainless model or you night raiders can get a black PVD coated stainless steel case.  With either case, they'll be backed by a 5 year warranty and lifetime battery replacement.

Minuteman Independence with Black PVD Case

The Minuteman Watch Co. also strongly backs our military.  The Minuteman Watch Company donates 25% of their net profit to charity.  In 2016, these donations will go to support the highly regarded charity Fisher House.  Fisher House is best known for providing a network of 67 comfort homes near VA hospitals and military bases where the families of military men and veterans can stay while a loved one undergoes medical treatment.  Fisher House also provides programs to assist with similar treatment-related travel and hotel stays for military families.   

Regularly priced at $309, these Minuteman watches are now for sale at a special introductory price of only $250 or $275 for the black PVD model.  Check them out at Minuteman Watch Co.

 

Surprisingly Made in the USA: The Wristwatch

I wrote this profile of three American watch companies a while back for Yahoo.  Perhaps Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Japan, China, and Vietnam need to move over, American companies are making some of the world's finest wristwatches.  Today, these three companies remain leaders in the American watch industry.

One of my cheap Chinese watches from a big box store is beeping every hour. The poorly written directions don't say how to make it stop. So, I've buried my offending cheap Chinese watch under clothing, in a dresser drawer, and in a box. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I still hear it: beep. It makes me think that there has to be a better way: an American way that leads to a watch that doesn't need to be buried in the deep recesses of a dresser drawer. I did a little research and found that there are still companies proudly making some of the world's finest wristwatches right here in America: The Towson Watch Company, The RGM Watch Company, and The Sedona Watch Company.

Towson Watch Company. George Thomas and Hartwig Balke founded the Towson Watch Company in Towson, Maryland, in the year 2000. Today, they proudly offer a product line that has been called the Chesapeake Class Watch Collection because it is attuned to their company's Maryland heritage with names like Choptank, Potomac, Bay Pilot, Skipjack, and Pride II (after the ship Pride of Baltimore II).

Pride of Baltimore II - photo by Acroterion [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

One of their first watches was worn aboard the space shuttle during STS-99 by an astronaut and is now sold as their Mission series of watches. Towson watches are special because they are designed and manufactured in the United States and they are the creations of craftsmen. Towson Watch Company watches run from about $2,100 to about $14,000. Perhaps the most distinctive Towson watch is the Pride II watch which has a case shaped like the shield logo of the Towson Watch Company. It features the silhouette of the famous Baltimore clipper ship, Pride of Baltimore II, on the back of the case. These wonderful Made in U.S.A. watches really are the pride of America.

Photo from Amazon

RGM Watch Company. Another company returning the art and science of fine watch making to America is the RGM Watch Company of Mount Joy, Pennsylvania. RGM makes a wide variety of mechanical watches from classic diver style watches to complexities of a Grand Complication called the Pennsylvania Grand Tourbillon (MM2). The RGM watch companies watches range from about $1,850 to $75,000 for the Pennsylvania Grand Tourbillon. The RGM watch company has an interesting blog where you can follow the adventures of intrepid divers, bicycle racers, and world travelers who wear American-made RGM watches on their journeys. It's exciting to see a small watch maker in small town, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, take on the world with high quality designs and meticulous craftsmanship. In the watch making world, fine "grand complication" watches can run hundreds of thousands of dollars. The American-made Pennsylvania Grand Tourbillon competes well in that rarefied atmosphere of competition.

Sedona Watch Works. Finally, Sedona Watch Works brings the artistry and engineering of fine watch making out to the American West in Sedona, Arizona. Sedona Watch Works wristwatches are "designed, machined, created, assembled, and tested" in the studio of artisan, Geoffrey Roth. While his watches are powered by the venerable ETA 2892-A2 Swiss mechanical movement, every bit of the design and creation of these watches is the result of American artistry. Featuring rose gold bezels and Louisiana Alligator straps, classic Sedona Watch Works watches range from $6,700 to $20,000. The Sedona watches represent another American step back onto the world stage of watchmaking.

While the price tags on these American-made watches may seem steep to big box store shoppers, all of these watches are real bargains in the world of high end luxury wristwatches and show that America can compete with the finest European watchmakers. Best of all, the Towson Watch Company, RGM Watch Company, and Sedona Watch Works are joined by other trailblazing American watch companies. Other American watchmakers like the Bozeman Watch Company and the Montana Watch Company make beautiful watches and are rising in prominence. None of these Made in USA watches beep and none of these American-made watches deserve to be buried under socks. Any of these American made wristwatches would be a proud addition to a collector's watch box.

Sources:
The Towson Watch Company website.www.twcwatches.com RGM Watch Company website. www.rgmwatches.com
Sedona Watch Works website. www.sedonawatchworks.com Bozeman Watch Company website. www.bozemanwatch.com
Montana Watch Company website. www.montanawatch.com