Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Detroit-based brand Shinola had plans to launch The Champ – a sleek Olympics-themed Detrola watch paying homage to the champs headed to the games, ahead of the summer Olympics in Tokyo. In the thick of the global pandemic and announcement of the Olympics cancelation, Shinola pivoted to support healthcare workers and gave The Champ a new purpose.
Now, Shinola has shifted the meaning of The Champ messaging and is shining a light on the real champs — healthcare workers who are hard at work fighting the most unprecedented pandemic of our lifetime all over the country and in the hard-hit city of Detroit.
Shinola has pledged to donate sales from the 500 limited-edition watches totaling $197,500 to the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan (CFSEM). The donation will specifically go towards their efforts supporting the healthcare workers who are giving it their all on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis.
”We are grateful to Shinola for the opportunity to help those working in healthcare during this crisis,” says Mariam Noland, president, Community Foundation. “Healthcare workers put themselves in the path of the coronavirus and kept us safe. We applaud their bravery.”
To immediately support frontline champions, The Champ, is now available for pre-purchase on Shinola.com, with a target delivery in late-July. Delivery of the limited-edition watch is dependent on the reopening of the Shinola watch factory, which will open when it is 100 percent safe to do so. Upon reopening, assembling The Champ will be a top priority.
The Champ fashions a multi-colored matte dial and features a striped pattern of red, gold, bright blue, bright green and black as well as the Shinola Detroit and Detrola collection logos. The cream-colored 43mm case crafted from TR90 resin is anchored by a stainless-steel core & Argonite 705 movement hand-assembled in Detroit, and the dial is protected by double-domed K1 crystal.
Complete with a soft and flexible black silicone strap, the unisex timepiece is a representation and celebration of 2020’s true Champs – ‘Olympians’ in their own right – getting us through a worldwide health crisis.
