Watch Review: Detrola By Shinola, A Week On The Wrist

 

 

Attributes of the Detrola Pine Knob model

Recently, I borrowed one of the new Detrola by Shinola watches to take it for a weeklong test drive. The recently launched line by Detroit-based Shinola is an affordably priced collection of fun, fashion-ward watches that are supposed to be young, energetic and allow you to make your own wrist statement about your style.

There are so many wonderful attributes that go with putting on a quartz watch and liking the look of it on your wrist. It’s not rocket science. It’s not all about mechanics and haute horology.  Don’t get me wrong, Shinola (and by extension, Detrola) is a good brand that has done a lot for the city of Detroit. Let’s face it this is the brand that brought new work to the people of Detroit when it opened its watchmaking workshops, its leather goods workshops and more. For its watches, the brand buys Swiss made components and parts and ships them to America, where the watches are assembled.

For a week, I opted to wear the Pine Knob model. So what do I like about this particular watch? Actually, a lot.  It’s a basic three-hand timepiece (with hours, minutes and seconds) and it has a lot going for in terms of looks.

This watch has a wonderful white shiny composite-material case, and on the sides it has metal inserts breaking it in half and offering a nice accent feature. The watch looks intriguing from all sides.    I also love the shape of the case. While it is round, and the caseback sits on the wrist, it curves up from the wrist in almost a saucer style.

 

The look and feel of the Detrola Pine Knob Watch

The steel lugs are ergonomically curved and super comfortable and there is an onion-detailed stainless steel crown and the buckle. The dial is really nice. There is something about this Ivory parchment paper color whose matte finish juxtaposed to the shiny case offers a real wow factor.

The ivory dial features raised Arabic numerals in silver with long, easy-to-read silver color hands with a luminescent coating.  From any view the numerals shimmer against the parchment dial.  There’s also a steel flange that extends from the sapphire crystal to dial that allows for a clean open view of the dial because it almost frames it.

The strap is a really nice soft supple rubber that has enough buckle holes in it to fit almost any rest. I have a very small wrist and it is totally comfortable to wear. The gray strap color appears to be gray/tan sometimes and gray/green other times, making it very versatile. Of course, it doesn’t need to be too versatile because the strap is interchangeable thanks to an easy one-step process.

The case back features a host of information: the fact that Detrola is a registered trademark, denoting that it is water resistant to five ATM and houses Swiss imported parts. It also features a serial number on the back and the words ‘Built in Detroit.”

 

Impressions of the Detrola Pine Knob watch

I wore this watch for a week and I got a lot of compliments on it. It’s a good solid look at a great price, and, what the heck; it’s a really fun concept. Plus, as I said, I got a lot of complements and questions about it. I’ll be sad to be sending this one back  — sometimes you just need a nice, fun watch.

Of course for the average person out there who is just looking to buy at first watch  — maybe a Gen Z or a millennial  –this is a great buy, you can feel good wearing it. You will definitely get attention thanks to its stylish appeal. Oh, and did I mention it retails for a cool  $395.

In fact, all of the Detrola watches sell for $395, so if you don’t like the Pine Knob color combo, you should take a look at all the other styles the brand has to offer. In fact, I give you a complete rundown on the different styles and a look at how Detrola came into being, here.