This year marks 55 years since the Apollo 11 mission put a man on the moon. While there are some very well-known brands tied to that mission, that doesn’t mean that another brand can’t make a watch to honor the mission and it’s anniversary. That is precisely what we have with the Shinola Mooncraft Monster chronograph.
Shinola Mooncraft Monster: what it is
As you might expect for a watch honoring the Apollo 11 mission, the Shinola Mooncraft Monster is a manually-wound chronograph. To drive that, they’re relying on a customized Sellita SW510 M b to handle all of the timekeeping capabilities.
This means that we’ve got running seconds at 9 o’clock, a 30-minute chrono register at 3 o’clock, and 12-hour chrono register at 6 o’clock. You might expect that the bezel on the watch would be a tachymeter, but that’s not the case here. Instead, they’ve retained the classic dive bezel, which we’ve seen since the first Shinola Monster model. So, you won’t be determining how fast you were going, but you can track your dive time.
The nods to Apollo 11
There is one explicit one on the Shinola Mooncraft Monster, and then a more subtle one. For the explicit one, you’ll need to look at the chapter ring. There, you’ll see the verbiage ‘APOLLO 11 – JULY 20 1969’. And that’s it, nothing on the dial or the case back.
There is a more subtle nod. At the time of the Apollo 11 mission, the nation was captivated what was going on. This drove immense levels of patriotism, particularly in the midst of the cold war. So, the fact that there’s a very obvious red-white-and-blue color scheme used feels like another nod to the mission.
How to get yours
At the moment, the Shinola Mooncraft Monster is currently up for pre-order (for $3,995) with the official release occurring later this month. Of note, only 500 of these are being produced, so these are not likely watches you’re going to run across in the wild. Check out the details, and pre-order yours, directly at shinola.com.
Shinola Mooncraft Monster Tech Specs
- MOVEMENT
- SELLITA SW510 M b
- This custom manual wind SELLITA SW510 M b chronograph movement features 23 jewels and a minimum power reserve of 58 hours. To preserve time keeping accuracy, keep it away from magnetic fields and shield it from strong impact that could permanently disrupt the movement.
- CASE
- BRUSHED TITANIUM
- Known for its lightweight strength, titanium makes the perfect capsule to contain the highly-accurate and complex manual wind movement inside. The blue aluminum bezel insert is unidirectional. Rated at 10 ATM, the case features an exhibition caseback window.
- DIAL
- INTO THE BLUE
- A sea blue dial with a fine sandblast sunray finish reflects both the destination and the return of the Apollo missions. Surrounded by a cream time tracking band with red details, this chronograph is punctuated by three sub dials, each with red sub eye hands that tie together the details.
- STRAP
- THREE LINK TITANIUM BRACELET
- Ultralight and durable, the quick release three-link titanium bracelet grounds the technical-inspired Shinola Monster Chronograph to a new level of style and practicality.
- PACKAGING
- FROM MOTOR CITY TO THE MOON
- Celebrate the untold story of Detroit’s crucial role in the Apollo Space Missions with the commemorative packaging.
