It is amazing to see brands come up with new ways to keep the passion for tool watches alive. Because we could think that the more time passes and the more technology we develop, the less use and relevance utilitarian mechanical timekeeping devices would have. We still don’t need them of course because there are digital tools that do any kind of task better than any tool watch would, but there are folks out there who prefer to use a cogs-and-wheels-and-hands machines to do specific tasks. They choose this path because they believe in an ideal—of going through life’s tasks and hurdles using analog equipment rather than digital and electronic one—and in a lifestyle that is geared towards doing things with our hands, the old school way, turning knobs, pushing buttons, screwing in a metal piece into another one and cranking a lever to actuate movement. And all of this is true whether you are a business person, a scientist, an artist, or in today’s case, a paramedic. 

And so the Shelby Watch Company was founded in 2023 by Matthew McMillan, a Canadian paramedic with 15 years of experience in the field, and a vintage watch repair hobbyist with also 15 years of experience in that other field. For his debut model, the Medic, Matthew found inspiration in a bezel-less Seiko Pulsometer—in the concept that is—that was used to calculate the heart beat of patients which is a type of watch we rarely see nowadays in new form, to which he added an Asthmometer scale which calculates someone’s respiratory rate. Already we see that the Medic is highly purpose-driven, but it is much more than that as we’re about to discover in the hundreds of words that follow. So you know, Matthew made a second version of his first model, a black bezel/black dial called the Tactical Medic, both of which can be ordered directly from the Shelby’s website starting…yesterday, September 1, 2025, for the price of $724 USD. 

Specifications 

At first glance, and because it is equipped with a rotating bezel, the Medic appears to be a dive watch with a different use-case scenario in mind, or a tool/sports watch which doubles as a piece of professional equipment for those who know their way around medicine and emergency response. (I could totally see a new version of James Bond wearing a Shelby Medic though.) Matthew intended for the wearer of the Medic to use it anywhere to do about anything in about any way, and that is why he designed something that is much more than its name or bezel feature. So it is a diver perhaps on account of the 150 meters of water resistance (screw-down crown and case-back,) a robust tool watch on account of the flat sapphire crystal, and a tactical piece of equipment on account of the fully lumed dial which glows ice blue in dim and dark conditions thanks to the BGW9 pigment.  

Note: all bezel markings are in fact lumed which is quite neat to see in the dark. 

The aforementioned rotating bezel rotates in both directions so that using either scale is easy, actuated by 90 smooth clicks which feel and sound the same in both directions which isn’t always a given, and so a bezel which is pleasing to use. And the bezel insert is quite gorgeous to look at as it is made of ceramic, and already I want to bring your attention to the fact that Matthew, for his debut model, had the guts to do a bi-color ceramic bezel insert which is something we rarely see micro and independent brands do in general and especially for less than $1,000 USD. The bezel actuation is further made satisfying thanks to excellent knurling which feels like a fine knife to the touch. Matthew also thought about the everyday wearing comfort as the Medic ships on a fully-brushed H-Link stainless steel bracelet (save for the polished chamfers found on the clasp) with a ratcheting diver’s extension/micro-adjustment mechanism, and some of the most badass screws I’ve ever seen. 

Oh, the Medic measures 40 x 47 x 12.5mm and has a 20mm lug width.

Lastly, for the part that ticks under the hood, Matthew opted to work with an American company previously called Maryland Watch Works and now the Baltimore Watch Company (which is also a watch company called Tsao Baltimore) which is a full-service watch repair and customization workshop. So the Medic is equipped with an MD 7081 caliber which is based on an ETA 2824 architecture and which is—to keep things simple—a custom movement made of Swiss and non-Swiss parts the distinction of which is the grey coloration used for the metal pieces. The movement is assembled, tested, and regulated in Maryland and ticks at 4Hz and comes with, I suppose, 38 hours of power reserve. Little information can actually be found on this caliber but I can tell you this: the grey metal found on the plates and rotor look darn good through the sapphire case-back! 

Design 

Now that we got the specs out of the way, we can turn our attention to the design of the Shelby Medic. And we can see immediately that Matthew didn’t intend on making a tool meant to be used only by professionals of the medical field, but by anyone who has any type of inclination for the outdoors or for wearing tool watches in their every day life. (We can be all by the way.) The Medic is in fact a mix of things, of good things, and its own thing. The time-telling functionality is indicated by a duo of syringe-style hour and minute hands with black surrounds so that they contrast with the lumed dial, a red seconds hand equipped with a lumed rectangular element at its tip, and a full stack of printed Arabic numerals for the hours. The latter are small, look modern, and pushed to the edges of the dial to make way for the 24-hour military scale printed inward, and a rather considerable amount of text above and below the pinion. 

Whilst, like many watch enthusiasts, I could find ways to moan about the copious amounts of text—because I did use unfavorable adjectives twice to describe its dial presence—here it feels at home because the Shelby Medic is a professional-driven tool watch and that the text, including the logo, appears to me as being akin to user instructions. Although obviously they aren’t, I do understand why the brand’s logo and wordmark occupy so much space below the 12 o’clock marker, again to indicate the nature of the machine one is wearing and its intended use, and to make somewhat of a statement. Despite or in spite of this, reading the time is a quick operation, so it is to read the date displayed in a small frame at the three o’clock, and to synchronise the red seconds hand to either scales printed on the bezel in order to indeed calculate the heart and respiratory rate of a patient. Furthermore, the Pepsi color theme of the ceramic bezel insert plays well with the fully lumed dial. 

Speaking of which, I’ve rarely seen a lumed dial in my life (this is actually the second one,) and I seem to be quite lucky as both times I was taken aback by the intensity of the lume and how easy it is to read the time in any lighting conditions and, in particular, in the bleakest of darkness. (That is also where intelligent design comes in by having added black surrounds on the hands and printed the two scales of numerals in black.) Regardless of what I said earlier about the dial text, none of this matters when reading the time during the day or at night to be frank (I will refer you to the lume shot posted above) and that is exactly how a well-designed tool watch should make us feel. So indeed the Shelby Medic is its own thing and at the same time follows certain well-established codes of utilitarian horology for its case is purposefully simple: long and narrow lugs which turn down towards the wrist, slab-sided flanks, small crown-guards, and that’s it. 

The Heart of the Matter

Now I have a confession to make. When I saw the first photos of the Shelby Medic, I was curious but not so curious about it. On the one hand, it does things differently because it was designed to fulfill a particular purpose, hence the dual-scale printed on the bidirectional bezel and the red seconds hand. On the other hand, it appeared like many divers and tool watches I’ve seen before, hence the bezel, legible dial, guarded-crown, steel bracelet, and so I thought why? Why review yet another tool watch just because it has a unique bezel insert? But then I thought again about the particularity of the bezel, got interested to read more about the watch and Matthew’s story, and I even chatted with him, a conversation through which I understood the genuine intention with which he designed the Medic. And so I looked back at the photos, further studied the dial design, the simple case design, the bracelet design, and concluded that I had to review it. 

Why? Because, as I said in the introduction, there are some folks out there who prefer to go through life’s hurdles and challenges and happy moments by wearing a mechanical watch. It’s a personal choice, a preference as to how to keep track of time and store memories inside a small wrist-worn machine, and I wholeheartedly adhere to this philosophy. In other words, and at the heart of the matter today, is this: the Shelby Medic is not only interesting for what it is made of and how it looks like, but by and for who it was created: professionals who save lives and who have difficult jobs, but also for those of us who appreciate analog tools and being more present and anchored in the moment. And so for all of these reasons, the Shelby Medic is an excellent watch and I’m glad I wrote so many words about it.

Conclusion 

As mentioned at some point in this ocean of letters, the Shelby Medic and Tactical Medic can now be ordered again on the brand’s website and will set you back $724 USD. For this amount of money you get a healthy list of specs—a modified ETA 2824 caliber, 150 meters of water resistance, outstanding lume, a functional and smooth operating bi-directional bezel made of dual-tone ceramic, a legible dial, and a comfortable and practical stainless steel bracelet. That in itself is a good reason to add a Shelby to your collection, and even a better one is the unique intended use of this watch and again, by who and for whom it was created. Indeed, the Medic is as purpose-driven as they come.

Thanks for reading.