Watch Review: The VEJRHOJ A03 | Green Automatic

In my latest watch review, I delve into the features of the VEJRHOJ A03 green automatic watch, the newest release from this Danish watch brand.

Our friends at VEJRHOJ (pronounced: ViaHoy in Danish) have recently introduced a new line of automatic watches, something we have been looking forward to for a long time.

The new line includes 8 watches, A01 through A05, in different colorways and wood types. Janus Aarup was kind enough to get me an A03 | Green to spend some time with.

The A03 arrived in VEJRHØJ’s standard bamboo box engraved with VEJRHØJ on the lid, and my first impression was the value it represents. With a screw down case back, Sapphire crystal glass, top notch gold plating, Italian leather strap, and a nicely finished Seiko workhorse of an automatic movement, all for less than $500 USD, it is a great bargain.

The Specifications
Case: 40mm x 11mm thick
Dial: Green Circular brushed finish with recessed engraved golden hour markings.
Glass: Sapphire Crystal
Case: 316L Polished Stainless Steel with Walnut Bezel
Strap: 20mm Genuine Italian Green Leather with Quick Release
Movement: Seiko NH35A automatic with 24 jewels, 41hr. Reserve, white date disk and  Côtes de Genèva decorated rotor.

Historically, VEJRHØJ’s line merges natural woods and stainless steel to create elegant, timeless watch designs, full of Nordic style and quality. This new model uses wood in a less dominant way. In the A03’s case, walnut wood is only used in the bezel. Even though there is less wood in the design, the fact that they can make a wood bezel at all, still blows my mind. As a wood worker, creating something so small and delicate out of wood is almost inconceivable. I would imagine that VEJRHØJ had to develop special tools and techniques to work with wood in such small pieces. If you’re looking for a stronger presence of wood, check out the other models in the automatic line, especially the A04 and A05, which feature a walnut or dark walnut dial respectively.

After living with the A03 for over a week, I find the watch a comfortable and easy companion to live with. At 40mm, it wears perfectly for a dress watch, at least for me on my 7.25” wrist. The simple round dial and petite lugs let the watch sit comfortably on the center of my wrist. At 11mm it is more than thin enough to slip under a cuff on a dress shirt.

I don’t have a lot of green watches, and the striking forest green tones on the A03 definitely had me adjusting my wardrobe so that it always worked with my attire. I really liked how it just worked with almost everything that was brown and green in my closet. Specifically, I have a great brown blazer from Barcelona which has touches of green in the pattern, and it was like the watch was made for it!

As with all of VEJRHØJ’s watches, the fit and finish are excellent. The plating on the case is near perfect, and the radial brushing on the dial is very soft and delicate, giving the dial a wonderful matte quality. I particularly like that they went with a display case back and made the extra effort to decorate the rotor on the NH35A movement.

Even though the NH35 is one of the most popular automatic movements around and can be found in dozens of affordable/microbrands, going with the Côtes de Genèva (also known as Geneva Strips) gives the A03 a special touch that goes above and beyond at this price point. I also think that going with the NH35 is a great choice for VEJRHØJ’s first foray into automatic watches. Even though it is not the most accurate movement (typically -20 to +40 seconds a day*), it is tough as nails. I have several NH35 power watches from the early 2010’s that are still going strong today, and they are some of my favorite watches.

VEJRHØJ’s watches have a unique style all their own, with their Scandinavian minimalist dials and the casual nature of the wooden accents, they have a “do-it-all kind of vibe”. However, I found the A03, with its gold and green tones, leaned heavier towards the dressier side of VEJRHØJ’s design style. Not that this is a bad thing. It worked great with my blazer, but with a pair of jeans and a green tee shirt, I thought it came off a little dressy. So, I rooted around and found a 20mm two-piece nylon strap in a green and tan color (available here) that totally made the watch perfect for those more casual days.

If you tend more towards the casual side in your attire, you need to check out the other watches in the automatic line, especially the A04 with its walnut dial and bezel. The A04 with a blue strap is totally made for wearing with jeans.

Overall, I really love the A03, especially in this green and gold colorway. I think it is awesome that VEJRHØJ has branched out and created an automatic watch. I’m really hoping that this line takes off for VEJRHØJ and offers them the ability to continue developing their watch design language.

I have to thank Janus at VEJRHØJ for including WhichWatch.org in reviewing their watches. Ever since 2018 when I first reviewed the Nautic 65 North and then the GUN, I have always looked forward to seeing what is coming next from this great Danish watch brand. I can easily envision a stylish minimalist field watch with a manual movement based on the Nautic line in their future. Guess I will just have to wait and see what they dream up next.

Keep on a Watching!

Edward