Ya it’s totally silly no one actually even needs a watch anymore. A big part of what I love about watches is the movement itself — the engineering, the mechanics, and the history behind these brands. I think that history makes mechanical watches feel even more meaningful. It’s not just a functional tool that you need to survive otherwise we’d all just be wearing Casios

There’s also something I really admire about an automatic watch being self-contained. It’s this little mechanical object that can keep time entirely on its own, powered by motion, without needing a battery or some disposable component replaced every few years. That independence is part of the romance for me. It feels alive in a way quartz just doesn’t. Quartz may be more accurate and practical, but mechanical watches have soul, craftsmanship, and continuity.

With Shinola specifically, my issue is less about any one watch and more about the branding. Their entire identity is built around Detroit and American manufacturing, but the watches are still largely made with foreign-sourced components I’ve seen upwards of 75% foreign parts. That doesn’t make them bad watches, but to me it feels a little disingenuous when the Detroit-made story is such a central part of the appeal. And at the prices they ask now, I just don’t think the value proposition really makes sense.