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flyskate 3T WIS
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The Stated goal of Christopher ward is to build "the cheapest most expensive watch in the world." A goal I believe he has done. I recently purchased the CW C8 pilot a couple of weeks ago, and the experience from first ordering the watch, to the communicatiion with the folks at CW, to finally receiving the watch was great. The first thing I noticed was the quality and presentation of the watch. It arrived in a leather bound wooden case, with a letter personally addressed to me and signed by Christopher Ward himself. The quality of the packaging exceeded my expectations for a watch at this price. The watch itself is Designed in England by Christopher Ward, and hand made in Switzerland. All CW watches have a unique serial number, and each watch is built only after it is ordered. This watch exudes quality, and attention to detail. Some specs are: Swiss ETA 2824-2 movement 28,800 bpm Incabloc anti shock system anti-magnetic inner case and dial 316L Stainless steel case Super luminova on hands and 12 o clock marker Anti reflective Saphire crystal 5 ATM water resistant Calfskin band with butterfly deployment. 44mm diameter case.    One of the more interestion features is the case back on this watch... Being a British design, CW incorporated a homage to the WW2 Spitfire fighter.   Also in keeping with the spitfire theme, on the second hand is the British wing insignia. (red inner circle, blue outer circle)  The watch is comfortable to wear and because of its height of only 9.7mm, it easily slips under your shirt sleeve despite its 44mm size. Its been running +4seconds a day, and I expect it will settle in a bit as it "breaks in". Overall, my expectations have been exceeded, and I now question the value of some of my more expensive purchases, as they are not as exclusive, (at least for now), and don't exceed the quality of the CW watch. There will definately be other Christopher ward watches in my future...... Oh, and the price? $320.00 US delivered to my door..... It is certainly the "cheapest most expensive watch I own... One other thing that should be mentioned, Christopher Ward has a 60 day no hassle return policy, change of heart? send it back for a full refund, and each watch comes with a 60 month warranty.... This is truly a no- worries timepiece. Steve  |
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Paxman 3T WIS 
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Nice review and pix. Looks to be a great watch and the use of color on the seconds hand is sheer genius. Very subtle but makes perfect sense given the watch's backstory. The dial work looks great. How is the lume on these typically? |
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Skipdawg 3T WIS 
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Indeed nice review on a nice looking watch. Like that second hand myself and that peep hole caseback is cool. ;) |
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Norman 3T WIS 
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Very nice!! Love the white dial..I need could use a nice white dial watch. |
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oagaspar Site Founder 
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nice watch and review hand6.gif...but unfortunately the watch in these pics does not have a eta with incabloc shock system from what I can see :? |
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Johnny P Advisor 
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oagaspar wrote: nice watch and review hand6.gif...but unfortunately the watch in these pics does not have a eta with incabloc shock system from what I can see :? Gumba I believe it does, I know the picture is not clear but look at the outer edge circle two cut outs. refer to these picture:) http://www.timetechtalk.com/view_topic.php?id=15064&forum_id=1 |
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oagaspar Site Founder
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I stand corrected but after enlarging the shot of the caseback it looked more like a clover and the noviadoc shock system? |
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flyskate 3T WIS
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I took as close up a pic as I could with my"crappy" camera........ This looks like incabloc to me. |
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oagaspar Site Founder
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TY Skate!...my bad....absolutely a incabloc and a great buy imho ...it was just added to my short list! hand6.gifhand6.gif |
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stormin13 3T WIS 
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Flyskate, you have a great looking pilot watch and the Spitfire tribute is superb. hand6.gif The Christopher Ward watch package is also a touch of class. Thanks for posting your watch and showing me another excellent option for when I purchase my own pilot watch.  |
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Steven Seagal 3T WIS 
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Great watch. Thanks for the details on the Spitfire homage, I would never have noticed those. CW really does make some nice watches, and the Kingfisher is quite a unique diver. |
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bigrustypig 3T WIS 
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I think that's a very, very elegant pilot watch. The dial's exact color is what I like most about it. Caseback is unique and a peephole is a pleasure to look through every time. hand6.gif The screws on the caseback are also screwed so close to the edges. I've never seen that before. Great buy, for sure. Kudos! |
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armandsv 3T WIS
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sweet watch, how did you get it for 320? |
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tomc1944 3T WIS 
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Great review and I concur. In the last 2 months I have bought 4 Christopher Ward Watches and I can tell you that they are probably the best build, price and value watch on the market. I say that as I own several Rolex an Panerai watches. |
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bigrustypig 3T WIS
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Tomc1944, could you tell me what are the biggest and thickest watch models of Christopher Ward and if you happen to own one of them, what is experience on them. Woul they serve well as tool watches?:) |
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tomc1944 3T WIS
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The C6 kingfisher Pro is 42mm x 13mm diving watch. I have the blue face verson and it is a great watch. Really looks good on the wrist.:D |
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bigrustypig 3T WIS
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OK, tomc1944. That's good info. I will research it some more. Thanks heaps.:) |
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Hammerfjord Moderator 
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MASTER DEAL! |
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KenC Admin 
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I'd love to know where they can be had for $325...I looked and they're much more than that! Let me know...I want one! |
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Skipdawg 3T WIS
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Maybe a typo? I see them listed at £320 but not $320. :cool: |
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ctafield 3T WIS
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The CW prices went up at the start of March so the OP was probably right, but not anymore, unfortunately. There was a couple of C8's in the sale though so you may be able to get one at that price. |
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hammer 3T WIS 
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Prior to march that watch sold for $320.00 US.... There was a 30% price increase in March 2009, still an outstanding deal IMHO. |
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KenC Admin
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Wow! 30% is kinda steep in this economy...especially when most everything else is static or decreasing.  ! |
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ctafield 3T WIS
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Unfortunately it's due to the strength of the GBP against the Euro and Swiss Franc :( A lot of the bigger watch makers did the same (Rolex, Omega etc...) too here in the UK :( |
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KenC Admin
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ctafield wrote: Unfortunately it's due to the strength of the GBP against the Euro and Swiss Franc :( A lot of the bigger watch makers did the same (Rolex, Omega etc...) too here in the UK :( Well, I think they just moved themselves out of the category of "the cheapest most expensive watch in the world." Rolex, Omega, etc. have the name and the market to get away with it...Christopher Ward (IMO) does not. :? |
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hammer 3T WIS
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The watch can be had for 470.93US shipped to the US. Considering that it uses a "top grade" ETA movement with incabloc shock absorber system,(same as used in UTS watches) and can be regulated to near cosc standards, it is still a bargain, IMHO |
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stormin13 3T WIS
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Thanks for the insight into the price change Hammer. I agree with you completely the Christopher Ward C8 looks to be a tremendous value (IMHO). hand6.gifhand6.gif |
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pauliedoggs 3T WIS 
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I have this watch (my model; C8SKT--black face). I love it. I bought it from the CW website for about $475 on 3/15/09. Because I was looking at it everyday trying to figure out where to get the money to buy it, I watched the price increase a few dollars each day due to the exchange rate (as shown on xe.com). Finally, after a week I just pulled the trigger before it got any higher. I don't regret it. Of all my watches, my wife likes this one the best--especially the leather strap. It's dressy enough to wear with nice clothes and informal enough to wear to work in an oxford and Carhartts. I did a quick search and found this lume shot on the web. It doesn't shine as long as the say the Seiko OM but it will last through a movie. The lines of lume are thin so at times it is hard to see until your eyes adjust.  The hand winding is really smooth as well. The best thing I like about it is the clean dial. It's so large and easy to read. I like the peep hole but personally would have liked a full exhibition caseback. Overall, one of my favorite watches. --Paul |
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toxicavenger 3T WIS 
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This is the CW watch that I like. [url=http://www.christopherward.co.uk/pd2_MENS_C7-RAPIDE_C7STT_C7-Rapide-steel[f]-brown[f]-brown.htm]http://www.christopherward.co.uk/pd2_MENS_C7-RAPIDE_C7STT_C7-Rapide-steel[f]-brown[f]-brown.htm[/url] |
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Janner 3T WIS 
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Here are some pics of my C8 Pilot with the balck face. Also my C7 this is a very good looking watch but it is a quartz which puts some purists off. Bought the C8 before the price rise and picked up the C7 in a recent half price sale complete with a nice alligator strap.       |
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KenC Admin
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That C8 is a great looking watch, and I am usually a black dial kinda guy...but I think this is one watch I prefer the cream colored dial on. Both are really outstanding though! |
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pauliedoggs 3T WIS
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KenC wrote: That C8 is a great looking watch, and I am usually a black dial kinda guy...but I think this is one watch I prefer the cream colored dial on. Both are really outstanding though! Even though I have the C8 black faced dial, I think I might have to agree with you, Ken. The cream is nice. I put my black dial on a desert sand 2-piece Maratac Zulu. That looked nice. Haven't tried the black Zulu yet. If I was at all good with a camera, I would post some pics. I gotta work on that. --Paul |
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Psmith 3T WIS 
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Lovely looking piece - an interesting take on the classic pilot watch dial :cool: Cheers |
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robcuk 3T WIS 
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pauliedoggs wrote: I like the peep hole but personally would have liked a full exhibition caseback. Nah, not with this model, there is a heavy antimagnetic cover under the back which has a window that lines up with the 'peephole'. If you have an exhibition back you'd have to remove the AM cover which could effect the efficiency of the watch in certain conditions! Rob |
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pauliedoggs 3T WIS
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robcuk wrote: Nah, not with this model, there is a heavy antimagnetic cover under the back which has a window that lines up with the 'peephole'. If you have an exhibition back you'd have to remove the AM cover which could effect the efficiency of the watch in certain conditions! Oh, I didn't know that. I guess that makes sense. At least you can see its heart beating. I've been thinking about getting an Orb Strap for it. Anyone try a different strap yet? Any suggestions or photos? Thanks. --Paul |
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