Caring for a wooden watch

Water

The honest advice is try not to get it wet. A Bettél is splash resistant — that is the whole claim, and we won't dress it up in metres or atmospheres — so if it catches the rain or a splash at the tap by mistake, it will almost certainly be fine. Swimming, showering, the sea and the bath are another matter, and we'd take it off for heavy exercise too.

And if water does get in, it is not the end of the watch. The case itself is generally fine; it is what's inside that suffers — the dial can take on water and ripple, the movement can fail, the hands can corrode. All of them can be replaced, along with the crystal or the back, and we would rather repair your watch than see it in a drawer. Send us a note and we'll tell you what it needs.

Sunlight and the strap

Keep the leather strap out of direct sunlight for extended periods, especially when the watch isn't being worn. The wood itself changes colour a little with wear and light — that is character arriving, not a fault.

The battery

The quartz models run a Japanese Miyota movement whose battery lasts about two years. When it stops, any watch repair shop can replace it — no need to send the watch back to Cape Town. Or do send it back: a full service by us returns it with the case and dial refreshed, looking new. Write to us and we'll arrange it.

Changing a strap

The lugs are pressed and glued into the case — deliberately, for strength — so they are not quick-release spring bars. Any strap of the right width fits: 18 mm on the Acorn, 20 mm on the 40 mm models, 22 mm on the 44 mm models. The cleanest route is to let us fit it; a watch repair shop can too, if you tell them the lugs are pressed and glued rather than sprung.

What it's made of

• Case: solid Kiaat, a South African hardwood
• Dial: white beech or American walnut — the Carbon Portal sets carbon fibre into walnut
• Strap: genuine South African full-grain leather
• Buckle and lugs: 316 stainless steel — the corrosion-resistant marine grade, kind to sensitive skin
• Crystal: hardened mineral glass

The warranty

Twelve months on workmanship, covering defects. Normal wear and tear is excluded — the full terms are on the warranty & shipping page.