I have only been onboard with the brand about three years so I don’t have the longer, lived-in experience with the CW watch line and its evolution as some, but as with any, the Archive offers an excellent perspective.

The classics as I see them:

C60 sporting the Light-catcher case, and I’m leaning toward the trimmer Pro 300 over the chunkier Pro 600, though the Concept with its skeletonized and exposed details is captivating.

C1 Bel Canto and it’s foray into the extraordinary.

C5 Mk1 with all the dial detail and finishing. One Revival hints at future revivals. C65 Trident Vintage Mk2 and the C65 more generally in its more diminutive 38mm form. I don’t know how I missed that it is very much like my mid-seventies Geneve. I love them both but superficially they are very similar watches aesthetically.

@thomcat00 Two great photos of your C65 and Omega. Wonderful strap pairings, and whatever you've photographed them on has the texture and colouration of a Grand Seiko dial. So many people on this forum love bracelets, but they don't take on character like a fine, aged leather strap.

Des

thomcat00 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 21, 2023 7:26 pm C5 Mk1 with all the dial detail and finishing. One Revival hints at future revivals.

I agree, its the case and face combination, the whole look of it that does it for me. Might have to go and bid on the one on eBay just now!

Its not necessarily a future Classic but CW have their own vision of a 'Classic Ward'; the C70 GP Series as written about on Page 10 - Loupe 29 - Summer 2023 (link is to the CWArchive).

Maybe they will make this into a regular feature?

Guy

C3 Malvern Mk 1:


C60 Trident Mk II:


The depth and light-play on both of these watches is fantastic. Very classic CW and indicative of the why we fell in love with the company early on.

thomcat00 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 21, 2023 7:26 pmC65 Trident Vintage Mk2 and the C65 more generally in its more diminutive 38mm form. I don’t know how I missed that it is very much like my mid-seventies Geneve. I love them both but superficially they are very similar watches aesthetically.

You may be right. It is very versatile and can be worn in tons of settings. And of all the watches I own... the C65 Trident Vintage Mk II is, hands-down, the coolest looking of them all:

I havent read this whole thread. I think talk of a CW classic is fanciful.

However, I do believe the C11 / Makeira will last the test of time. I regret not buying one when I first saw them and I would happily pick up one now, price permitting, of course.

A proper tool watch. Aesthetics came second.

Caller wrote: ↑Wed Aug 23, 2023 4:06 pm I havent read this whole thread. I think talk of a CW classic is fanciful.

You don't need to read the whole thread, but certainly the first to get a gauge of what was meant by a 'classic'. As to the notion being fanciful, why?

For my money, when you do something a little different, come up with something very innovative and/or produce something that has a bit of a timeless feel to it, then you're in the ball park of having come up with something of a classic. As I've said before, the Super Compressor, Concept and Bel Canto are all worthy of being called classics for the reasons I previously mentioned. You suggest the C11 Makeira which has also cropped up in this thread on a few occasions. @DEV.Woulf's first photo of the C3 Malvern Mk 1 is lovely and timeless imo, perhaps another classic there.

I think a proper trawl through the archives would produce a good few 'classics'. Watches that have been put to bed, but in many years time will experience a second summer of love.

Des

Just been skimming through the current episode of Loupe online (No 30), and on pg10 they have a feature, 'Classic Ward'. I thought that was rather topical given this thread that got started a number of days back. Anyway, they detail a piece from 2012, already over a decade old, that they feel is worthy of classic status - W900 Belisima Diamond Automatic. It's in the vein of a Cartier Tank and very nice imo. I'm sure there'll be a good number of pieces from this time period that will take on the moniker of a classic.

Des

strapline wrote: ↑Thu Aug 24, 2023 8:53 am It's in the vein of a Cartier Tank and very nice imo.

I was very taken with this when it first came out, Des, and I was really hoping that they were going to make a larger version without the diamonds. I would certainly have gone for it.

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: ↑Thu Aug 24, 2023 9:26 am

strapline wrote: ↑Thu Aug 24, 2023 8:53 am It's in the vein of a Cartier Tank and very nice imo.

I was very taken with this when it first came out, Des, and I was really hoping that they were going to make a larger version without the diamonds. I would certainly have gone for it.

Yep, sans ice, Steve. But you bought in to one of the most respected watch classics of all time. Can't go wrong with a Cartier Tank.

DEs

strapline wrote: ↑Wed Aug 23, 2023 7:00 pm

Caller wrote: ↑Wed Aug 23, 2023 4:06 pm I havent read this whole thread. I think talk of a CW classic is fanciful.

You don't need to read the whole thread, but certainly the first to get a gauge of what was meant by a 'classic'. As to the notion being fanciful, why?

For my money, when you do something a little different, come up with something very innovative and/or produce something that has a bit of a timeless feel to it, then you're in the ball park of having come up with something of a classic. As I've said before, the Super Compressor, Concept and Bel Canto are all worthy of being called classics for the reasons I previously mentioned. You suggest the C11 Makeira which has also cropped up in this thread on a few occasions. @DEV.Woulf's first photo of the C3 Malvern Mk 1 is lovely and timeless imo, perhaps another classic there.

I think a proper trawl through the archives would produce a good few 'classics'. Watches that have been put to bed, but in many years time will experience a second summer of love.

Des

I disagree with you completely. Fanciful, simpy because whilst CW have produced some decent watches, very little stands out as noteworthy. That's understandable, as in watch terms they're still a baby. Hublot are twice their age and no-one talks of them producing classics. New brands as far as I am aware don't talk of classics from their produce and in fairness, neither do CW. It's just a forum thing.

I have the supercompressor. The all blue version. It get's a fair amount of wear, the fact I bought it is proof I like it. But a classic? A remake of a forgotten outdated process, with the expected sales hype bigging it up, does not even come close to a classic in my book. As for the original, well that was real innovation for it's time and based on that has to earn respect. Why do you think a rehash of an original, which no-one claims as a classic, has potential to be a classic? Nah, very wide of the mark.

I don't even know off the top of my head what the concept actually looks like, let alone how popular it was, or is. I am afraid it simply passed me by.

The Bel Canto is a marmite watch, you either love it or you don't. Pretty much like most watches really, even the so-called 'classics'. Let's see how it's perceived in a few year's. The problem with the Bel Canto it's a one off, like so much of what CW have been doing recently. They're not designed as a long term succession of models under a common moniker, like the Trident, and that longevity underpinned by popularity is where the crown jewels of watches generally comes from.

Caller wrote: ↑Fri Aug 25, 2023 6:02 pm Whilst CW have produced some decent watches, very little stands out as noteworthy.

I guess when this is your viewpoint the subject of future classics is somewhat moot. Nothing really further to add...


Des

My vote is for the Moonglow and the Bel Canto. The Moonglow might be the oldest model in the current lineup, I could be missing something but I’m not sure if there’s a watch that’s still for sale that was released before it.

The Bel Canto isn’t my cup of tea, but it’s something iconic for the brand.

MistaFroggyG wrote: ↑Sat Aug 26, 2023 5:16 am My vote is for the Moonglow and the Bel Canto. The Moonglow might be the oldest model in the current lineup, I could be missing something but I’m not sure if there’s a watch that’s still for sale that was released before it.

In the latest issue of Loupe, there’s a whole article about the moonglow. Mike France says it’s one of the best selling models, and they plan on continuing to produce it into the future with minimal tweaks. That bodes well for a future classic!

Loupe also teases a new moonglow model to be released this October. I’m excited for that.

I note that the latest Loupe makes reference to the Belisama as one of the CW "classics" and says it was the only ladies' watch with an automatic movement.

That is not exactly true. Before they re-marketed the original 38mm Trident Auto as a men's watch and called it the C61, it was released as the W61, which was what I bought.