Shinola Brings Detroit’s Historic Architecture To Life With Its Book Watch
By Karen Dybis | March 31, 2022
"If you know Detroit like Shinola knows Detroit, you know that some of the world’s greatest architects—Minoru Yamasaki, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, father-son duo Eliel and Eero Saarinen—left their mark on Motown, creating one of the greatest and architecturally interesting cities in the world.
Shinola also wants to represent the Motor City, giving it memorable watches and other accessories that highlight Detroit’s best features. The Book watch, its latest debut, is a tribute to the city’s architecture.
For Shinola vice president of product design Brandon Little, the Book watch not only tells the story of this stunning building, but it also embodies Detroit design, history, and craft—yet with a decidedly Shinola interpretation.
Polished Petoskey stone serves as the face of the Book watch, and it is surrounded with diamond bezel that recalls the glasswork of the Book Tower skylight. It is finished with micron gold plating and an alligator strap ($2,900).
This is Shinola’s first oval-shape watch, and the Book Tower’s impressive third-floor skylight served as its inspiration, Little says. The atrium is considered an architectural feat of glass- and ironwork, something that is reflected in the Book watch’s halo of diamond bezel and polished Petoskey stone dial.
“The question became how do we interpret the language of Shinola into a product,” Little says. “When we saw the atrium, we said, ‘That’s it.’ It’s not an apples-to-apples replica. It’s about massaging it. We wanted to stay true to the original shape and decadence of that atrium; the femininity of that space is very important. But we also rounded the surfacing of the oval and interpreted it into our new shape.”
Within Detroit and beyond, Book Tower and Book Building are beloved, both 1920s Louis Kamper masterpieces of Italian Renaissance style. The tower looms over the city at 475 feet, one of Detroit’s oldest and tallest skyscrapers. This stately building, which is currently under renovation by Bedrock Detroit, will have a jaw-dropping atrium as well, giving the building a timeless and classic grandeur.
Bedrock Detroit is currently remodeling the century-old Book Tower and Book Building, including its sunning third-floor atrium, which inspired Shinola’s Book watch.
“Detroit is an amazing, historic city with a lot of evolutions to it. It has a rich past, but you don’t truly know it until you’re here,” Little says. “The downtown has so many ornate structures because at the turn of the century, Detroit was a city busy doing things. There was an energy to it, a wealth. People wanted to display their art and craft.”
This is why Shinola has created a variety of watches over the years that honor Detroit’s architecture and craftsmanship, Little says. There’s the Runwell Station Agent, which highlights Michigan Central Station and its railroad past.
Another is the Bronze Monster, which harks back to Detroit’s rum-running history during Prohibition; it is said that 75% of the nation’s alcohol came through Detroit illegally to be dispersed throughout the city and nation.
Shinola’s Bronze Monster is a tribute to Detroit’s history for rum-running (bringing in alcohol to the United States from Canada during Prohibition).
... "
https://www.jckonline.com/editorial-art ... ook-watch/
