Shinola Moves Upmarket with an Impressive Automatic Yacht Timer

A rare Swiss-made movement, a unique dial layout and more make for one special Detroit-built watch.

blue square shinola watch hovers above a pool of water

Published April 4, 2024

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The watch market has seen a huge increase in premiumization over the past several years. While smartwatches have decimated the affordable watch industry, the luxury watch market has never been hotter. In order to survive, more and more brands are elevating their offerings to compete at a higher price point.

One brand that’s taken to this trend is Detroit-based Shinola. With a new focus on incorporating more mechanical movements into its watches, Shinola has been putting out better and better products of late, most of which are priced firmly in four-figure territory. The brand’s latest is one of the most impressive I’ve ever seen from the brand: a $3,500+ automatic yachting chronograph called the Mackinac. Here’s what you need to know about it.

Shinola Mackinac

$3,650 at Shinola

The Great Lakes Region Has Yacht Races?

When I think of yacht races (also called “regattas”), I picture such events happening in glamorous locales like the Mediterranean — not Michigan. But apparently, the Great Lakes region has a storied history of yacht racing. Most notable is the Bayview Mackinac Boat Race, which has been going on for nearly a century and is run by Detroit’s own Bayview Yacht Club. Traversing the entire length of Lake Huron and ending at Michigan’s Mackinac Island, the race ranks among the longest freshwater boat races in the world.

“The Mackinac is an ode to Great Lakes sailing and the world’s most grueling fresh water sailboat race,” Greg Verras, design director at Shinola tells Gear Patrol. “To not only authentically capture the scale and sense of awe of 200 sailboats racing for 300 miles but also the culture, we worked closely with sailmakers, boat mechanics and the regulars at the sailing bars.”

Not the First Mackinac, But Still Pretty Unique

If you’re thinking the Mackinac looks familiar, you’re right. The brand released its first Mackinac chronograph back in 2022 as a limited-edition of just 250 watches. That watch, with a yellow dial and bright yellow strap, had a much more limited appeal than this far-prettier blue version, in my opinion.

Even for a regatta timer, the Mackinac boasts a pretty unique layout. There’s the requisite single-eye chronograph with the register split into three sections, a traditional feature on yacht timers that’s considered a necessity for the sport’s unique timing requirements. But what makes it weird is that it’s combined with a destro date window. I can’t recall ever seeing another watch with such a dial layout, with the closest I can think of being Hodinkee’s version of the TAG Heuer Skipper, but that featured a traditional 3 o’clock date window.

shinola watch with lume glowing in the dark — The Mackinac’s unique dial also boasts an impressive lume treatment.

Some more TAG Heuer inspiration, whether deliberate or not, comes from both the case shape and the colors used. The square case, even with the rounded dial, brings to mind the Heuer Monaco, one of the most iconic chronographs ever made. This similarity is further enhanced by the Mackinac’s use of blue and orange/red on the dial.

“The square case and circular dial were inspired by the simple geometric shapes used in nautical sailing flags for clear, visible communication,” Verras says. “It was something we hadn’t seen before in a yacht timer and knew we needed to incorporate into this one-of-a-kind timepiece.”

The movement powering the watch is a Sellita SW511.bhc, which is a Swiss-made automatic chronograph that does not appear to be used by any other current watch in this configuration. The movement is nicely decorated with perlage, Geneva striping and blued screws, along with a black rhodium-plated custom rotor, and is visible through a sapphire caseback.

shinola watch caseback showing automatic movement — The Sellita movement powering the Mackinac is an uncommon one, made more special by the custom rotor.

A New Mesh Bracelet

Outside of the colors used, there is one major difference between this Mackinac and the one introduced two years ago, and that’s the bracelet. As I mentioned previously, the first Mackinac was sold on a bright yellow rubber strap. This time around, Shinola has crafted a new heavy-duty stainless steel mesh bracelet that definitely makes the watch look more high-end overall. However, I think the clasp appears a bit chintzy, at least in photographs.

Is It Worth $3,650?

Watch prices are undeniably subjective. Is any luxury watch really worth what it costs? The short answer is, if people are buying it, then it is. I admittedly scoffed when I first saw the price. $3,650 for a Shinola? I asked myself, incredulously.

But after looking more closely at the watch, I don’t think the price is that far off base. The movement is impressive, with 27 jewels and a 56-hour power reserve. The materials are as expected (stainless steel for the case and bracelet and sapphire crystals front and back). And the specs and finishing all appear to be up to par (I always love seeing a chronograph with 100m water resistance).

closeup of blue shinola watch dial — Even up close, the finishing on the Mackinac’s dial looks impeccable.

Are there better buys out there when it comes to automatic chronographs? Definitely. Does this price feel overly aspirational for a Shinola? Probably. But the previous Mackinac sold out all 250 units at $3,500 a pop. Shinola is making twice as many of this model and pricing it slightly higher at $3,650. And if it sells out too, that means the Detroit brand’s eye-popping price was right on the money, so to speak.

I won’t be surprised if it does.

Shinola Mackinac

Shinola’s second take on its limited-edition yacht timer features a striking Bermuda Blue dial and comes on a heavy-duty stainless steel mesh bracelet.