Detroit-based watchmaker Shinola is introducing its most complicated watch to date—the Canfield Speedway. And its sporty good looks borrow from auto racing’s glory days.
The watch, which debuts tomorrow online and in stores, is the brand’s first-ever automatic chronograph with a tachymeter function. Its fixed tachymeter scale along the bezel allows you to measure the speed of a vehicle over a known distance. Housing a Swiss-made SW510 movement in a polished stainless steel case, the 44 mm watch also features 27 jewels and a 48-hour reserve.
Its design was inspired by American racing and stock cars of the 1920s—obvious racing-inspired details abound. There’s a checkered flag rotor on the movement, which you can glimpse through the full exhibition caseback, and a perforated black leather strap that looks like it might have been ripped from the seat of a vintage Lotus or Alfa Romeo. The watch also comes in a case that resembles a red toolbox similar to that used by iconic NASCAR mechanic Red Vogt, whose cars were staples on racetracks in the South in the 1940s.
“The watch is about the colorful and courageous origins of American stock car racing, like when Daytona Beach actually happened on the beach,” said Greg Verras, Shinola’s watch design director, in a prepared statement. “We were in search for the spirit of the craftsmen and mechanics that pushed their creative limits and brought people together with the beauty and excitement of their work.”
The Canfield Speedway’s $2,995 price tag puts it on the lower-priced luxury spectrum, where it will compete with models from TAG Heuer, Baume & Mercier, and Longines, among others.
Top: Shinola’s new Canfield Speedway automatic chronograph (photos courtesy of Shinola)
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