It was just last month that we were bringing you word of a new collaboration between Shinola and Filson. With some of the watches coming out of that collaboration, we saw new functionality that the Argonite movements had not previously offered (specifically, a GMT complication). Shinola was not about to let those go unused in their own lines, and at BaselWorld, they introduced, formally, two new Argonite movements.
We will start off with the more familiar one, the Argonite 515.24H, which we first saw show up in the Filson Journeyman (of note, we do have one in for review and will have that for you soon). This time around, Shinola is putting it into a new watch, the Shinola Rambler. As you can guess from the name (and the GMT) this is being earmarked as their travel watch.
The Rambler has very much a sportier look to it, especially given the 44mm case. There will be four different dial colors (white, cream, black, and blue), and they anticipate the watch being available in May with an asking price of around $750. The Shinola Rambler has a look that is both familiar and somehow unique, perhaps due to that lug configuration. I find it interesting how the same movement can inspire such different looks. We are also looking to get one of these in to sort of do a compare/contrast on the two watches using this movement.
The other new movement is the Argonite 708 movement, which adds a moon phase complication that completes its cycle every 29.5 days. In the press we received around this, the images featured the moon phase showing up in their Gomelsky watch, but there was also mention that the ever-popular Runwell would be receiving the complication as well. For the Gomelsky, the overall style is largely unchanged from the original, with the exception of a wider 16mm lug width on the 36mm case. For the two-tone version with the cream dial we have pictured here, the asking price is $650; you can also opt for a single-tone case with a black dial at $600; the Shinola Gomelsky with moon phase is anticipated to be available later this month (the Runwell with the moon phase should show up in May).
I for one am glad to see some different complications entering into the Argonite movements that Shinola is building and using. While these particular versions may not be for everyone (I personally do not have much use for the moon phase indicator), it gives some more choice over a simple three-hander (and date), or even the chronographs they have been building. I also like that they are leveraging the movements into different styles and newer designs. Once we have some hands-on time, we’ll let know how they hold up in the real world. shinola.com
