A watch that doesn’t need a battery… Genius or just arse? Ted Baker Pentler Watch

Ted Baker Pentler

So, to start with my customary random ramble about nothing to do with the title, you probably haven’t noticed that I’ve not blogged for a while. There’s a couple of reasons for this, partly being busy at work meaning I don’t have lunch-breaks, partly the fact my computer at home has died and partly the need for a little break to keep my motivation up. I don’t suppose that really matters if you’ve found this article from a google search about Ted Baker, but it matters to me. Anyway…

Did you know Ted Baker make watches? Maybe not, but you can probably guess since they aspire to cater to every sartorial need of the modern gentleman. Again, if you are searching the internet for information about Ted Baker’s watches then you probably did know; either way, read on!

I am not generally a fan of brands that plaster their name over everything. Some do it subtly, like Superdry. Well, no, its not subtle, it’s bold and in your face, but invariably it’s a part of a larger motif rather than simply just the name in a particular style. Ted Baker tend to simply print the words ‘Ted Baker’ anywhere and everywhere, particularly on accessories. When it comes to the ‘Pentler’ watch (which I should mention is exactly the same as the ‘Rinker’ and ‘Simber’ styles in all but strap design or colour), they not only have the brand on the watch-face, but also about 324.6 times around the inside edge, which you may be able to spot in the above picture if you click on it and make it a bit bigger. On the plus side, I didn’t notice it before I bought it, so it can’t be that in your face, but I don’t need to see that my watch has been made by Ted Baker 324.6 times every time I look at it.

I don’t know why I am complaining so much actually, our culture dictates that we display our wealth or status to some extent and wearing a T-shirt with the word ‘Stussy’ emblazoned across it immediately helps to mark you out from a man in a Hugo Boss suit, or wearing a lacoste polo shirt. I am currently wearing my normal work suit and have still managed to include a pair of Ted Baker cufflinks, inevitably with the name embossed on both sides, so I really shouldn’t complain. I still don’t like it though.

Anyway, I have started badly here, because that’s not really the issue I want to talk about. Let me do this properly though before I end up ranting, which you might be able to tell is on the cards?!

Design

You may be able to guess that I love the design of this watch. It’s why I bought the thing and it really comes down to taste, but if you disagree with me, you’re probably wrong. I may not like the abundance of branding, but I can get over that in this case.

The watch is kinetic, which effectively means it has no batteries and is powered by your movement. It’s an extension of the old wind-up approach and it means you can wind the watch up too. This design is a bit of a double-edged sword. It’s cool and means that you need not ever buy batteries, but putting your watch on the bedside table over night and forgetting to wear it for just a day means that it will need the time setting and a quick wind up. A small price to pay, but sometimes annoying nonetheless.

The cool bit is that Ted, in his wisdom, has decided to expose the inner workings of the watch. This equates to a small peep-hole in the front, showing that the cogs are doing their thing and a large window at the back showing the fantastic energy-saving mechanism in action. Something which is both stylish and which appeals to the mega-geek I barely manage to hide under the surface is surely a total winner.

As I have also suggested, there are a couple of other options available. Pentler is the leather strapped version; Rinker is identical, with a metal strap and Simber is identical to Rinker but with an anodised black design.

5/5

Price

In many ways a watch is a watch, but we all know that isn’t really true. There aren’t many other things in this world which have such a vast disparity in price whilst performing exactly the same job. Whether you buy the classic £9.99 Casio Digital watch from Argos or a £20k Rolex, at the end of the day, you’re going to look at your wrist and within a second, you’ll know the time. I’d venture to guess that in reality, most people are willing to spend between £50 and £200 on a day-to-day watch and probably aspire to own a watch in the £1k-£2k price bracket, at least if you care remotely about these things. I probably think this because I own a watch in the first bracket and would very much like a Tag Heuer Aquaracer, which, depending on the model retails at somewhere between £1k and £2k.

This particular watch cost me £125 and depending on the model you choose can be as much as £150, which I think isn’t all that bad for a designer watch, especially one you’ll never need to put a new battery in.

4/5

The catch

I’ve owned this watch for the best part of a year now, which means that something has moved me to write about it today. Yes, it could have been that I glanced down at my wrist, saw my lovely Ted Baker (x 324.6) watch and thought I must tell the world (or at least 30 people who read this article) about my watch. It could have been that. It wasn’t. Over the weekend, whilst I was on a lovely holiday at Center Parcs (stay tuned to this very blog to read more on that soon, in fact, subscribe, there’s a link to the right) my Ted Baker Pentler watch decided it was no longer interested in telling me the correct time. ‘This can’t be right’ I thought, before attempting to re-set the time, before winding the watch up…

“Erm, that’s weird, I want the watch to say 4pm, but when I turn the hour hand to ‘4’ the minute hand seems to be on ‘3’.” Maybe if I wind it up that will help somehow. “Oh, nothing’s happening… Erm… Fuck.”

That’s right, the stupid bloody thing is broken.

I don’t know how a watch can get itself into this state, but suffice to say, I am not best pleased. In fact, the old adage about how a broken watch will still tell the correct time twice a day doesn’t apply here, with the various hands managing to find themselves in completely unrelated positions.

It’s not the first time either. The last Ted Baker watch I owned, a birthday present had a dead battery within a year and then, despite not being worn (due to said battery issue) then had the number 4 actually fall off. I have no doubt this was a manufacturing fault as I have since seen the same style watch advertised on eBay with the same problem.

I’ve not yet taken my watch back to Ted and with that in mind I don’t know what the customer service aspect will be like; however, given my 0% success-rate with the brand’s watches, I will be seeking a refund as opposed to a replacement. I will report back here on how I get one. In the meantime, if anyone from Ted is reading this, I would welcome your comments and I will certainly publish them here in conjunction with this article.

All in all then, regardless of how great the other stuff is, if you can’t find out the time from your watch it is pretty crap. So based on my experiences I recommend that you STEER CLEAR of Ted Baker designer watches and take your £125 to a real watchmaker, or just look at your phone, it’s almost as easy.

0/5

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