TEMPUS Silvestre Sandal Wood Watch Review

Well this is a new one for me. I have reviewed all kinds of things, and had a variety of one shot items sent my way, radar detectors(which led to a series), VR googles, shaving stuff, and now a watch. Can’t say it’s my forte, but when it came down the line I had to get a look at this thing. The Tempus Silvestre is a gorgeous piece of kit, an all sandal wood build that feels amazing on my skin.

While the guts of this review is a fashion piece, I have done my research on what is on the inside of this watch, a fascinating topic. I am more familiar with mechanical watches, those you have to wind, and finding out how quartz watches work was a huge surprise.

First thing I did was look into the firm. Who Tempus are, where they came from, and what their goal is. What I found compounded my surprise. It has been a fun week. So let’s press on with the review.

About TEMPUS

Tempus are an interesting firm. They were born of an idea the founder had wile traveling through Vietnam. He purchased a bracelet from a vendor, and man injured during the conflict there and had it next to his watch. it was a short skip and a jump to the actual product. the from sources their wood from all over the world, reclaimed so its called. It makes it sustainable, and allows them to hand craft their watches with wood from all over the globe. They are quite young, less than a year at this point, but their goals are noble, their products unique and their prices on point.

TEMPUS Silvestre Sandal Wood Watch Design and Build Quality

Oh my god, for once this paragraph is not almost entirely pointless. If you are read any of my other reviews you know I focus at first on the aesthetics of the product in question, and 99% of the time it is of limited importance, here though, no, no no, it is the point of the product. The Silvestre is a wonderful looking watch, the wood makes it almost unique, and it gives the wearer an almost bohemian sensibility. It reminds me of a pocket watch I saw once. Made a few hundred years ago, the watch was made almost entirely of wood, body, hands, gears. All bu the clock spring. it was glorious, but kept lousy time. Not the case here. Not only are we getting an excellent look, but the internals are Japan 2035 Analog Quartz.

Now, a moment here to talk about what that means, because I had no idea when i read it. There are two kinds of high quality watch internals. Mechanical, think gears and clock springs, the kind that I am familiar with. The other kind are quartz based. A small current runs through a crystal, which causes it to resonate at a certain frequency. Said frequency is read by a miniature circuit to count the seconds. Regular gears then move the hands. Due to the accuracy of the quartz vibrations the time kept by quartz based watches is far more accurate than their mechanical counterparts. The Japan 2035 used here continues the wooden theme of the whole build, as it uses bamboo parts for the display. An excellent choice from the firm, so seldom do we see this kind of attention to detail.

Overall what we have here is a stylish watch that keeps excellent time. There is little more than we could want. The site claims to be hitting the outdoors man market, but unless you are aiming for hiking, I don’t see that being the case. These kind of watches can go with any outfit, giving that beat/surf look, or even complimenting the old brown belt/shoes suit combo.

TEMPUS Silvestre Sandal Wood Watch Pricing and Warranty

Now we come to the price, and I am happy to find this build in the $70-$80 range. An excellent price for the quality and style you are receiving. I have taken a look through the entire range of watches, and found the prices to all be in that range. There are a few available on amazon, and those tend to skew a little cheaper, but on average no more than $5.

Now to the warranty, and it is here that I have a bit of an issue. The warranty is listed in two different places on the site, and they both have different figures. The FAQ section claims there is a 30 day warranty, which is a joke. Has to be. The warranty registration page lists a 1 year warranty, which is much better. There are a number of things we can do to maximize our consumer protections, buying though Amazon is a good start, gaining all their services at the same time. In addition, enforcing our rights. Too many firms have a too much push back on customers trying to make a warranty claim. From my perspective if a product is used in a normal way and breaks, then it is a manufacturer fault. Granted, that line is a little harder when it’s a watch, normal use is so variable there, but it is a good place to start.

I love the price here, and the warranty seems to be fine. If it turns out that the 30 day warranty was a mistake, and they meant 30 day money back guarantee, then that is a whole other matter, and an area where I can praise the firm. if not then I might be a little disappointed.

TEMPUS Silvestre Sandal Wood Watch Conclusion

The look is what you’re buying here. The quality is unquestionable, this is a watch that will last, but the core thing you want is the look. no other watches on the market look like this, can claim to be eco-friendly, and they do not irritate the skin like some meta watches out there. overall this is a kinder watch, and one that I am proud to call my own. If you are out looking for something unique in the business, here it is.