Wood is an underused material in fashion, if you ask me. Before a few years ago, wood didn’t have much more than a cameo as a purse handle or, bless, toggles on a terrible winter coat. Recently, though, a shift in perspective has been hitting the consumer market. Sustainability is becoming cool, and along with the eco-movement comes a new appreciation for wood as a fashionable material, creating everything from wooden sunglasses to watches from various sustainably-harvested trees.
JORD / WoodWatches.com approached me to do an unbiased review of one of their watches (which is good because that’s the only type of review that I do!), and I was honestly delighted at the opportunity. (You may have seen my JORD Wood Watch in this outfit post – I jumped the gun!) I’ve been able to give away cool wooden accessories, but never got to try any of my own! I’m pleased to report that these watches are everything you’d hope they’d be: beautiful, functional, and sustainable.
One of my favorite parts of the watch is, unsurprisingly, the face. I expected the chunky, typically-metal links of the Fieldcrest series model to be made from the beautiful, dark, black-stained wood, but what I didn’t even think about was the face. I was pleasantly surprised by a wooden face that was clearly designed to highlight the natural grain of the wood. JORD is a Swedish word meaning earth, soil or land, so highlighting natural elements is a defined priority of the brand.
Some of the sustainably-harvested woods used to create the watches include bamboo, maple, sandalwood, blackwood, cherry and teak. They don’t currently list which woods are used for which watches, but I hope that they do in the future. As someone who just spent her free weekend crabbing in the islands of Washington State, I would love to have a teak watch! Teak is more water-resistant than other woods, and would be an awesome gift for my boat & fishing friends! Another bonus: the glass is scratch-proof! Another thing we don’t have to worry about babying.
Most watches come in a series of wood colors and styles, and there are several models to choose from – all at their own price level. These nature-celebrating watches could easily be considered a luxury item, ranging from $120 (the model I have on, above) to $250. It’s difficult to criticize a watch within the first year of owning it, honestly, because as of now… it still works as well as the day I received it! The clasp is clever and sturdy, and the link pieces are surprisingly durable.
The watch isn’t completely water safe, though you don’t need to worry about getting a splash on it. It isn’t your grandmother’s wooden buffet, and you don’t need to baby it, but do keep it out of the sun when you’re not wearing it, do not submerge it (it’s untreated wood, so it expands when it gets really wet) and make sure to keep it clean. You can keep your watch clean by combining a little olive oil and lemon juice and applying it with a soft cloth.
Would I recommend JORD wood watches? Yeah, I think that I would! I have been giving mine the business for two months, and it’s held up nicely. Each watch comes with an authenticity card, and a 12 month JORD warranty, which was another unexpected-but-cool surprise during this experience!
I’m happy with my selection of black stained wood, as opposed to the beautiful green or natural light color that many styles are offered in. It’s very richly colored, but still looks like expensive wood! For $120, I’d definitely say this was a good investment if you’re in the market for a unique, sustainable watch!