Revisiting Shinola: the New Black Ceramic Monster

I first took serious notice of Shinola when the brand released its limited edition yacht timer, the Shinola Mackinac in 2022. It’s a funky, vintage inspired design, with a square case, circular yellow-orange dial, and pops of blue that make it an eye-catching piece, perfect for summer. I bought it—and probably overpaid, but, hey, everyone’s got that watch they bought with their heart not their financial sense—and at the same time bought into Shinola’s story as a company that pays homage to its Detroit roots and assembles their watches in America.

The Mackinac really seems to represent a turning point for the company. Its release was followed by a string of watches seemingly designed for watch enthusiasts who took issue with Shinola’s pricey, quartz-heavy early catalog.

Take the latest addition to the Shinola lineup: the Ceramic Monster, which I had the opportunity to spend a week with recently. The Monster line has always had the best case design of any of Shinola’s watches—particularly with the subtly curved lugs, which here allow the accompanying strap to be flush with the case, unlike other Shinola models which feature straight, spindly lugs—but the Ceramic Monster is the first in the lineup to look truly distinct from other brands’ divers. This is thanks not just to the color change—the watch is all black with some red and white highlights —but to the subtle rippling wave pattern featured on the dial meant to evoke a choppy day on the Great Lakes. The level of detailing on this watch is higher than previous iterations of the Monster, showing how the little touches really add to a watch.

At 43mm, the watch presents as durable and robust, but thanks to the bezel, it actually looks smaller than other Shinola watches of the same size. At one point I owned a Shinola Detrola “Middle Child,” which measured at 43mm as well. I ended up selling it because most of those 43mm were taken up by the dial, giving it a massive wrist presence. Not so with the Monster, which benefits from a bezel causing the classic watch optical illusion of a piece seeming smaller just because it has a smaller dial. My preferred watch size is about 38mm, but I never felt the Ceramic Monster was too big, and with curved lugs it rests on the wrist quite comfortably.

Ticking away inside the Shinola Ceramic Monster is a Sellita SW200-1 with a 38-hour power reserve that is visible through the exhibition caseback and only gained an average of 5 seconds per day in the week I had it.

It has to be noted that the watch’s name is a bit misleading: the Ceramic Monster actually has a steel case that is plated with ceramic and features a ceramic bezel insert. Between the ceramic coating, sapphire crystal, and 300 meters of water resistance, I wouldn’t worry about treating the watch delicately, but it’s still not quite the same thing as a fully ceramic case like the name suggests. At $2,150, the Ceramic Monster is also more expensive than other comparable watches that use steel and ceramic—the ceramic plated version of the Zodiac Super Sea Wolf, for example, is $1,795. 

Another recent Shinola watch falls on the opposite end of the aesthetic spectrum: the Shinola Mechanic. Where the Monster is utilitarian and burly, the Mechanic is all curves and delicacy. With a 39mm cushion case and a crystal and dial that are both domed, the Mechanic has a vintage vibe that is heightened by the dial font that pays tribute to the hand-painted signs found in Detroit’s past. (The painters were nicknamed “Mechanics,” giving the watch its name.)

While the font gives the watch its name, it’s the case that makes the Shinola Mechanic a standout piece. Shinola’s take on the cushion case is their calling card, and with its dial design it’s a versatile piece that can be dressed up or down easily. At 39mm, it’s also incredibly comfortable on the wrist.

There are a variety of color options, but the black dial and gold case—or “khaki” as Shinola calls it—is particularly stunning, and, unlike the other models, benefits from a PVD coating. A manually wound Sellita SW210-1 movement powers the Mechanic, beautifully displayed in an exhibition caseback—there’s always something fun about an exhibition caseback on a hand wound watch where you can see even more of the movement than an automatic allows with its rotor. The watch gained an impressive 3 seconds a day during its week on my wrist.

Whatever your thoughts of the brand when it launched, Shinola’s approach to timepieces lately makes it a brand worth paying attention to. At just over a decade old, Shinola may not have the heritage of a lot of the brands that they’re trying to compete with, but while the last ten years may have shown the learning curve is steep, it’s also shown that they’re fast learners. Shinola