What would you pay? The Shinola Runwell USA Built Watch

Shinola Runwell 47mm – $550 | Shinola Runwell 40mm – $550 (Ships: July 2013)

Many thanks to Kishore for the heads up that these are now available for pre-order.

First mentioned in the Spring Temptation post from February (thanks for the tip Eric H.), Shinola is a new brand that’s building watches in Detroit.  Each watch is a bit of a global production, with Swiss parts in the movement, U.S. Steel for the case that has been fabricated in China, and a leather strap from Horween.  But they’re built and tested here in the States.  Detroit specifically.  And the very first model, the Runwell, is available for pre-order in two sizes.  Here’s some of the details:

• It’s a quartz.  Specifically the “Argonite 1069 movement, which is hand-assembled in Detroit from nearly four-dozen Swiss made parts.“
• Crystal is Sapphire
• Water resistance is 5 ATM / 50 M
• Strap is vegetable-tanned Horween leather.  20mm wide for the 40, 24mm for the 47.
• The 40mm will have a limited run of 1500
• The 47mm will have a limited run of 1000
• Watch Movement, Hands, and Dial are covered by a 2-year warranty (pg 21 on this .pdf)

Shinola’s video on the process.
$550 is no small price for a quartz.  But they look incredible.  The brand also seems to be genuine about increasing the level of American Made bits and pieces in their watches over time.  That’s no small task by any stretch.  But this first model could be the start of something.  And if you look at the .pdf manual, they appear to have a chronograph in the works.

So what would you pay?  Pleased with the two size options?  Or do you prefer watches in the big but not enormous 42-45mm range?  Cast your vote and leave your thoughts in the comments.