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The former leader of the free world can afford whatever darn watch he pleases—we don’t need to rehash the details of his book deal, do we?—but Barack Obama seems to have taken his role as ambassador of all things American beyond his tenure in the Oval Office. For example: he rocked a Detroit-assembled Shinola Runwell at an exhibition game between the good ole’ U.S. of A. and Canada this week ahead of the Paris Olympics. (Perhaps due to Presidential influence, the Americans clinched the win by 14 points.)
Shinola’s watchmaking story is an interesting one, but in brief: Folks my grandparents’ age will remember Shinola as a shoeshine, and in particular the once-popular dig “You don’t know shit from Shinola.” In 2011, American entrepreneur Tom Kartsotis, founder of Fossil, launched a lifestyle company that borrowed the name of the defunct shoeshine manufacturer. The idea was that Americans would be willing to pay a premium for American-made products, and for products produced in Detroit in particular—and indeed, this seems to have worked, as there are now standalone Shinola retail outposts located across the nation.
A few years back, the brand ran into some trouble with the FTC concerning its marketing strategy, as the definition of “American-made” with respect to watchmaking is a strict one, and Shinola’s watches are assembled in Detroit from largely foreign-made parts. However, the brand seems to have largely moved past this hiccup, releasing its first mechanical watch in 2017 and continuing to expand its offerings. These days, you can spend a few thousand bucks on an automatic Shinola if you so please, but many of the brand’s wares remain affordably priced well below $1,000. And the whole Detroit angle? It worked: Presidents Clinton and Obama have purchased them and given them away as gifts.
President Obama’s personal watch is from the Runwell collection. Measuring 41mm in stainless steel, it has the WWI-era trench watch-influenced case lines of many Shinola watches, with wire-type lugs, an onion crown, and a smooth, polished bezel. The white dial is also clearly influenced by vintage American pocket and trench watches, with Black Arabic indices, a simple minute track, and a sub-seconds indicator above 6 o’clock. The sword hands are lumed for night-time reading, and the dial is proudly signed with the brand name, movement name, and “Detroit.” (In a cool touch, the caseback also has a laser-etched, individual serial number.)
Powered by the Argonite 1069 quartz movement, the Runwell measures just 10.1mm thick and comes paired to a brown leather strap with contrasting top stitching. A dressier piece, it’s only water resistant to 50m, so it wouldn’t be the best choice for the President if he decides to take the family scuba diving. But at $595, it’s almost a no-brainer graduation gift—or even a nice holiday present, for that matter. Who knows if Tom Kartsotis envisaged presidents wearing his watches when he founded the brand, but you’ve gotta admit: It’s a marketing slam dunk.
Glen Powell’s Omega Constellation
A clean-cut Glen Powell attended the European premier of Twisters wearing a handsome Omega Constellation in two-tone yellow gold and steel. While we’ve seen him in various watches over the years—especially aeronautically-inspired ones, given his proclivity for playing pilots—lately Powell has been sporting classics from the Biel/Bienne-based maison, including Seamasters, Speedmasters, and more. His Constellation, which measures 41mm and features one of the brand’s automatic Co-Axial Master Chronometer movements, is the modern outgrowth of a collection dating all the way back to 1952. (His also features a deep green dial, a feature not often seen on dress watches.)
Billie Eilish’s Casio G-Shock
G-Shock re-proved its streetwear bona fides by appearing on the wrist of Billie Eilish as she dined with Amelia Dimoldenberg during one of the comedian’s famous “Chicken Shop Dates.” Featuring an eggshell-colored case, dark grey rubber strap, and a light grey dial, the GA-100PC-7A2 is an “ana-digi” model, meaning it has both conventional hands as well as LCD displays. Of course, it’s got all the bells and whistles of your typical G-Shock, with 200 meters of water resistance, a stopwatch, a world timer function, a countdown timer, a full calendar, and—best of all—LED illumination for those who like stuff that lights up in the dark. (Dig around on eBay a bit and you should be able to nab one for under $200.)
Michael Strahan’s De Bethune DB28
Straying into the haute horlogerie side of things for a moment, we have Michael Strahan rocking a De Bethune DB28, a $105,000 masterwork of fancy-pants watchmaking. Spotted at billionaire e-commerce founder Michael Rubin’s 4th of July party, the TV presenter and former Giants defensive end managed to make the 42.6mm watch look small—this despite a funky-futuristic case that melds pocket watch and sci-fi influence in a bold mixture of rose gold with zirconium “floating” lugs. It features an ultra-light silicon-titanium tourbillon with a fast 30-second period, plus twin barrels for five days of power reserve. Ultra inventive and avant-garde, it’s the type of watch you wear when you’re bored silly by more conventional watchmaking.
Roger Federer’s Rolex Datejust “Wimbledon”
A tennis legend wearing a tennis-inspired watch to a tennis match—super meta, bro! Well, we couldn’t very well pass up the opp to spot one Roger Federer wearing a Rolex Datejust “Wimbledon” at…Wimbledon. The Datejust 36mm is one of several executions with a “Wimbledon” dial, meaning it features a rhodium background in a sunray finish with black Roman indices edged in green Chromalight. (The green is said to reference Wimbledon’s grass courts.) A handsome colorway, it looks fetching paired to its two-tone Rolesor case and bracelet, which combines yellow gold and steel.