Review of Lunowear 'Shoots,' 'Pine,' and 'Orca' wooden watches

The Shoots. Photo courtesy of Lunowear.com, used with permission.

Wooden watches have been gaining popularity recently not only because they look great but because they're also environmentally friendly. Lunowear is a new company that's producing stylish wooden watches for both men and women.

Lunowear sent us three different samples from their men's collection: The Shoots, The Pine, and The Orca. The Shoots, The Pine, and The Orca each feature a Japanese quartz movement with mineral glass. They all have the same case size of 45.5mm x 50mm with a band width of 20mm and band size of 80mm X 115mm. All of Lunowear's watches feature a clear and water resistant finish; However, you wouldn't want to get any of them wet. They're all incredibly light weight, and if you're used to wearing heavy metal watch bands you'll quickly forget that any of the Lunowear wooden watches are on your wrist.

The Orca.  Photo courtesy of Lunowear.com, used with permission.

The Shoots features a 100% natural bamboo case, with a "raw" look to it. The band is genuine leather, and dark brown in contrast to the bamboo's light brown. There's red stitching on the leather and a metal clasp. The Orca boasts real Ebony wood. It has a similar genuine leather strap as The Shoots, but with white stitching. The white second, minute, and hour hands serve as a stark contrast to the ebony wood, and the lack of numbers make The Orca look more sophisticated. The Pine Lunowear wooden watch had what we thought of as a more traditional look, with large easy to read black numbers its face. We felt that the thicker stained leather band on The Pine was of better quality than the thin leather bands on both The Shoots and The Orca.

The Pine.  Photo courtesy of Lunowear.com, used with permission.

All three watches looked great from a distance. However, upon closer inspection you can't help but notice a few imperfections. The Orca we received wasn't exactly centered, and there were small chips around the dial. The leather band is very thin and leaves specs on your wrist. It has also begun to show signs of significant wear after just a month. We question its long term durability. Still, we did receive many compliments while wearing all three Lunowear watches.

Positives:

• Light weight.
• Made from renewable resources.
• Feels great and looks great at first glance.

Negatives:

• Expensive compared to competitors.
• Thin leather straps deteriorate fast.
• Imperfections in watch case upon closer inspection.

Final verdict: Three out of Five.

Please note that our review reflects the full retail price of The Shoots, The Pine, and The Orca at $79.99. At this price point, there are just simply better options for consumers to choose from, especially so if you bump your budget up by $20 to $99.99. We should note that as of this review's publication, all of the Lunowear watches (including the women's styles) are currently on sale for $49.99 each. At that price point they do make a fashionable choice worth picking up - we just can't recommend paying the full MSRP.

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