48 hours after browsing the CW website for the first time in several months my Aviator 0016 arrived today :-) Well, after a year of everyday wear the Malvern needs a rest, although I have to say it's made a good workhorse.

A brief review of the Aviator:
If you're familiar with the Malvern you'll feel right at home with the Aviator. The watches really are very similar - same movement, same size and shape, same date indicator and the same contours on the face. However, I think the design differences set them apart well and they have quite different characters.

The steel case seems to be exactly the same size and shape as the Malvern's but the brushed metal gives a more solid appearance. The crown is slightly longer than the Malvern's adding to the more 'chunky' feel.

The face is still typically CW understated but definitely more bold than the Malvern. There are quarter second markers on the outer ring and there's a second inner ring of 1 second and 1/4 second markers which are numerated 5,10,20,25,etc. The extra detail isn't useful as such but definitely adds some more interest to the face.
The hands are eliptical in shape and wider than the Malvern's, definitely needed against the dark face. I like the narrow hands of the Malvern but they do need a pale coloured face behind them to be seen easily I feel. The CW logo and the writing is similar to the Malvern's, but a bit smaller and the silver type on black doesn't stand out quite as well as the Malvern's black on off-white. TBH I prefer the type on the Aviator, I've always thought the CW logo on the Malvern to be a bit too strong and would prefer the face without the logo. The luminosity in the dark is bright enough and is comparable to other watches I've owned.

The crown very slightly different to the Malvern's. When screwing down the crown on the Malvern it continues to wind the mechanism. The Aviator's on the other hand seems to disengage after a turn or two and simply screws down without winding. I find unscrewing the crown a bit fiddly, often it seems to go straight to position 2 and I end up changing the date by accident which is a bit of a hassle. I'm sure I'll get used to it but I prefer the crown on the Malvern.

The back is very similar to the Malvern's. It's polished, in contrast to the rest of the case. Most of the mechanism is silver in colour with a few gold oloured parts and the rotating weight has 2 cut outs. The oscillating wheel is gold against a silver background so is slghtly more easy to see. There is a very minor flaw on the underside of the crystal back on mine but it is invisible in most lights. The back is certainly pleasant to look at.

The strap is smooth (but not shiny) black leather and works well, the clasp is brushed steel. And that's it really, sorry to go on a bit!

Ed