REVIEW: Jord Watches: A Time For Fashion

I am not much of a fashionista, unless we are
talking about 15nth century garb, where I am
quite the dandy! (Sadly, wristwatches were during this
time period anachronistic)

As readers of this blog and people who know me personally (hello wife!) will testify, I am not much on fashion. I wear simple clothes bought at Target or Old Navy, I own one suit (well, I own a tuxedo also, and a couple of thrift store jackets that don't fit very well, but one good suit, which I wear three times a year at the functions that require them.) In general, I prefer function over form. I have a bunch of the same shirts in the same color, as well as the same pants. I mix and match socks.

The same is true for watches. For years I was a loyal Casio G-Force wearer. I would wear it until the battery wore out or the band got too smelly. Then I would go out to K-mart and buy another one. (I wasn't a Target guy then-- I've moved up in the world!) About 5 years ago, I became a Basis Peak wearer (a fitness watch that was one of the top competitors to the Apple watch until they went out of business.) When that happened, I moved to the Apple Watch, and that has been my everyday watch for the last 3 years. And I'm pretty happy with it.

However, there are times when even I recognize that you need to go beyond the quotidian and transcend your ordinary. I recently had two occasions to dress up (a memorial service and a bar mitzvah) I decided to switch it up a little and wore a new watch that had recently been sent to me for review by a Saint Louis company called JORD (Pronounced "YORD")

(PLEASE NOTE: The Jord watch was provided to me at no cost with the hopes that I would write about it. My opinions here remain my own and have no bearing on the cost of the watch. I take my integrity seriously, and so should you.) 

The watch comes in a beautiful wooden box, and that alone made it feel very deluxe.
They have a wide variety of Men's Watches

The watch on my hand on the table.

The watches that Jord sells are beautiful. They are made of wood and metal and other natural materials. They have many different varieties- I chose a darker look (The Hyde, made with walnut, and it has an enigmatic black watch face.) It takes me a couple of seconds when I look at it to figure out the time (hey, I've been a digital watch user for a LONG time) but it's not much of a problem. I still remember how to tell time!

Here's a link to my specific watch.

It did take a few minutes to remember how to wind a watch. Fortunately, they include instructions. This is a mechanical watch, so it needs to be wound about 15-20 times before wearing. Once it's wound, normal wrist movement should keep it wound, as long as you wear it for 8 hours a day.


When you order the watch, you have to send them a millimeter sizing of your wrist. On their website they have an easy paper ruler that you can print out, cut out, and measure your watch. It's very accurate (I upped it half a size, and my watch is a little loose on me. Which is better than the alternative.)  If you have a problem, here's a blog post by The Laura Lindsay   that has a handy tutorial on how to resize your watch.

This sizing pdf is available on the Jord website:
 https://www.woodwatches.com/static/Jord_Wrist_Measuring_Instructions.pdf

My Jord and I, in my typical mufti

I like the way my watch looks, and a little surprisingly I like the way the watch makes me feel. It made me feel more dressed up and a little fancier. Two people at the Bar Mitzvah commented on the watch, saying how nice they thought it looked. But I have to say, I carried myself a little differently, wearing the fancy watch. And I think some of the people noticed that, even if they didn't notice the watch...

I don't think I'm ready to give up my Apple Watch for everyday use, but the Jord watch makes a great accessory for when I need to look and feel fancier. 


(And it turns out that they also have an Apple Watch band! It was out of stock so I couldn't check it out, but it looks great! Definitely thinking about it!) 

You can't tell that I am wearing my fancy Jord watch, but I can!

Jord watches run from around $150-$500, depending on style, model, and size. Some of the watches also have a very limited run, which could add on to the price.  They all have a one year warranty, and they offer free shipping. Oh yes, and engraving!

To check out the huge variety of wooden watches available, visit   http://www.woodwatches.com

If you like the watch, you can enter a contest to receive a $100 gift code towards the purchase of a watch. Enter here:  www.jordwatches.com/g/dadapalooza

Even if you don't win, every entrant will receive a 10% off coupon for a watch, so it's definitely worth doing if you are interested.