A wooden watch? Made of koa wood? Sounds like something out of Gilligan’s Island. But really, they make those, and they’re not a gimmick. They’re actually pretty good. Jord means “Earth” or even “Dirt” in Danish (though the company itself hails from St. Louis, Missouri), and their watches mean to evoke the image that word conjures up; a design influenced by the physical world around them, to steal their own words.
JORD actually didn’t invent wood watches – they’ve been around for some time. But they’ve never really been popular items, and it’s hard to find any these days that are actually more than a novelty or gimmick. These watches, however, are anything but. JORD makes a few different collections – the Dover Series, the Meridia, the Cassia, the Hyde – just to name a few. While all are beautiful, it’s the Dover series that stands out to us.
The Dover Skeleton Collection comes in Koa and Black, Ebony and Copper, Ebony and Rosewood, Acacia and Olive, and Zebrawood and Cream. You’re bound to find a wood you like. Ebony and Rosewood is the most eye-catching, while the Olive and Acacia the subtlest. The wood is sourced directly from East Africa and Brazil, or in the case of Koa, the Hawaiian Islands. An automatic, self-winding Seagull movement move silver hands, which sit underneath a genuine sapphire glass. The Dover Skeleton’s design lets you peer right into said movement. The wood bracelet features a dual locking deployment buckle and reinforced clasp, and can be adjusted. The wood is protected and sealed with tung oil, and the whole thing is splashproof for everyday wear, but should not be submerged in water. And it doesn’t even need a battery.
The Dover series is just our personal favorite; all of JORD’s watches are pretty sleek. They also come at a very comfortable price; the most expensive, the Meridian series (their newest and highest-tech) only costs $459. That’s expensive enough to take seriously, but affordable enough to actually purchase. So why not give a wooden watch a try? We’re fans.
