President Obama’s New Timepiece Makes a Truly Powerful Statement

President Obama flashing his new Shinola watch. Photo: Getty Images

About an hour south of my hometown, President Obama addressed the people of Flint, Mich., Thursday. The city has been besieged by a tainted public water crisis, and the POTUS showed face to throw his support behind the struggling citizens and to push for a swift repair of the city’s infrastructure. (In Erin Brockovich-like terms, the water is severely contaminated, and because of alleged governing indifference, Flint’s inhabitants have been consuming and using high levels of lead for more than a year.) Obama—the city’s lifesaver in a suit—is administrating $80 million in aid. But that’s not all: He’s also supporting Flint’s neighboring town, the similarly struggling Detroit (although for a different reason), in a very fashionable way.

Giving Ronald Reagan, arguably one of the most well dressed and dapper president in history (JFK is a contender, too), a run for his federal money, Obama was spotted on multiple stops on his tour de Michigan wearing a very baller, locally-made watch by Shinola. Cool, chic, and thoughtful—seriously, #8moreyears.

Shinola was founded by Tom Kartsotis in 2011, and his plan is to create manufacturing jobs for Detroit locals (yes, just like the General Motors heydays)—and it appears to be working. With seven retail stores across the country (and even one in the United Kingdom!), close to 400 employees making great wages, and a staggering demand for products online, Kartsotis and his team are successfully sharing a piece of Detroit with the world and, casually, the current leader of the free world.

Manufacturers work in the clean Detroit studio. (Photo: Courtesy shinola.com)

The President’s watch is a particularly thoughtful acquisition because the watchmaker’s mission is to transform my good ol’ Motor City’s neighborhoods, with a rhetorical slogan that reads, “The question isn’t why you’d build a watch factory in Detroit, it’s why you’d want to see American jobs go anywhere else.”

Now, onto Obama’s new gadget: It’s matte black, it’s sporty, and it’s flashy (but not in Jaeger LeCoultre kind of way). The Runwell Sport Chrono 42mm comes in stainless steel, which the President put a black leather strap on (tastefully done), and—sorry—it’s totally sold out. (The same model in 48mm can still be purchased.) At $875 a pop, Shinola’s surely making a pretty penny. Oh, the power of philanthropic marketing.

Photo: Courtesy of shinola.com

The best part is that, when the President was asked if he bought the watch, he responded by telling bystanders that he’s owned it for a while! Thanks, President Obama. I’m glad to hear that you’ve been a longtime supporter of my Michigan. He also bought a notebook, in which he may be journaling his thoughts and dreams for world peace and global domination post-White House.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.