Today we are looking at a brand that I wanted to check out a long time. I saw the watches they make at watchuseek forum where they discussed crowdfunded watches. Why did this catch my eye? Well because of the interesting wooden case. And that I wanted to review a decent wooden watch.

“VEJRHØJ is founded by the young entrepreneur, Janus Aarup, who set out to create a collection of wooden watches based on his passion for design, craftsmanship, and timepieces. The first small collection was created, while Janus still was working on his master’s thesis regarding the rise of Danish design.

In the summer of 2014, VEJRHØJ teamed up with the grand old man of Danish design, Bo Bonfils, known for his classic Georg Jensen designs. Together they spent a year designing, building and testing a new line of VEJRHØJ watches, where they combined wood and steel with a distinctive maritime touch. In late 2015 VEJRHØJ launched the collection through Kickstarter where they were fortunate enough to raise over 100.000 USD in 30 days through the help of customers from more than 38 countries.”

So today we are taking a look at Vejrhøj Nautic 58° North. The watch came in this wooden box. The presentation is interesting using a wooden box, but the lid slides only if you use brute force 😀 but never the less the box is beautiful.

Taking the watch outside the box you immediately notice that it is quite heavy for a wooden watch, well it isn’t 100% wooden, but it has elements of wood like bezel and dial, but still it isn’t light as I expected. I really like the wood on this watch, you really see all the grains of the wood. It is actually one of my favorite materials.

The case is made from 316L stainless steel which is widely used in watch world and the bezel is made from a walnut tree. I actually really like the walnut wood look. I can’t wait to see how it will act after 2-3 years of use. I don’t think it will last the time, as we know that wood isn’t the toughest material, but if you take care of the watch, it will age with great patina. The case is 42mm in diameter and 10,3mm thick. The case is round and there is no lugs. So the watch will wear smaller than it is. Wood and case is actually merged together in this sandwich style and looks amazing with steel. Caseback is brushed stainless steel with nice logo engraved on the back. Water resistance is 3ATM (30m), that means that it will be good for light showering or handwash, but I wouldn’t recommend going swimming with it.

The dial is made from a walnut tree too. It has a bit different coloring to it. There is also stainless steel elements in the dial too. There’s this brushed stainless steel ring going around the edge of the dial and has a line from 9 to 3 o’clock. On the line, you will find the branding. Everything is kept in this Scandinavian minimalistic style. I like it actually, although I like watches with more busy dials, but this has so many interesting elements to it that I can’t resist. Hands are a basic rectangular shape and are made from polished stainless steel. Crystal is Sapphire, at first, I actually thought it was mineral, not sapphire so that’s a nice touch. The crystal also sits about 1-1,5mm over the case. For me, that looks better than just flat with case crystal. Feels more refined, higher end.

Movement is Swiss made Ronda, caliber 762 3H. It is a workhorse from Switzerland. Ronda makes really great quartz movements for the price. The strap is a basic black genuine leather strap. But the problem with this is that the strap goes through the case, so it means that you are limited with straps. That is a bummer.

Overall I like the watch. I like that Bo Bonfils worked to design it, the story behind it, the materials and all that. Of course, it isn’t your regular watch, this is more tended to design/fashion. I actually posted a picture of this on my Instagram and it got many positive responses. More than usually watches I post does. Would I buy it? I think yes, but only if I didn’t had any fun watch with some rarely used materials.

Price: 375€ @ Vejrhoj.com

• 42mm casing crafted from natural walnut wood & 316L stainless steel
• Dial crafted from walnut wood
• Swiss made movement: Ronda, caliber 762 3H
• Sapphire crystal glass with beveled edges
• 9,5 mm thick case (10,5 mm including the sapphire crystal glass)
• Genuine dark calf leather strap, which runs through the inside of the watch
• 3 ATM waterproofing
• Brushed metal finishes for dial ring & case back. Polished metal finishes for case and dial hands