A Made In Detroit Shinola Finds A Home In Kalamazoo

One of the finest watches, from one finest cities, has ended up on this gals wrist!

We all have things we dream of, work for, and save for. My item was a Shinola watch. I say was because I finally got myself a Shinola watch.

Shinola is a watch factory based in the heart of Detroit, just off of Wayne State Universities campus. The name Shinola is pronounced "Shine-Oh-Lah. According to Shinola.com the company was founded in 2011 and is named in ode to the old shoe polish company Shinola that went debunk in the 1960's.

Shinola can not only boast that they are a Detroit product, but that two very famous mean sport them.

Two Of America's Former Presidents Own A Shinola...

President William Clinton - actually owns 2 Shinola's, both are the Runwell 47 mm, one with a black strap and one with a brown strap.
President Barrack Obama - is the proud owner of the Shinola Runwell Sport Chrono 42 mm

I personally wanted the watch that President Obama has but was crushed when James Adams (the gentleman who was helping me shop at Shinola) informed that the style watch that President Obama has is not made anymore...

"Unfortunately that style has been discontinued. The company stops making certain styles every so often, it keeps the brand fresh."

James went on to show me different watches that I may like. It was during that time that he introduced me to Omari Jackson, the kind sir who waited on the Commander and Chief. My first question to Omari was if he was surprised to see the seating President walk through the door.

"No, I wasn't because the secret service came through first to sweep the store."

My next question was simple, what was it like meeting the President?

"It was great! When we first meet we shook hands. It was a couple seconds later that I realized I was holding onto his hand and shaking it for too long. But he was a nice guy, and didn't say anything about it."

As I continued to chat with the two men, I realized it did not matter if you are America's President, or just joe blow off the street, everyone who comes there is treated like royalty.

If you are not in the market for a watch, you can find many items that might catch your eye.