Reading a few recent threads made me realise that I’ve been around the forum and Christopher Ward watches in general for over 12 years now.

When I joined, the C60 Trident was less than two years old; despite a few changes it is still going strong and remains very popular indeed.

There was plenty going on in the aviation and motorsport collections – not so much now.

Shortly after I joined there was a completely revamped women’s collection, which disappeared three or four years later.

A number of watches were available with quartz or automatic movements (hand wound has always been rarer) and some with quartz only, often chronographs, but quartz was phased out.

Other ranges and models came…and went. There seemed to be a dearth of “dress” or “dressy” watches for a while. With the introduction of the Bel Canto, the Twelve and the new Moonphase we seem to be entering a more esoteric phase, if I can put it like that.

There has been a conscious attempt recently to avoid gender stereotyping in watches, while at the same time embracing smaller sizes and a broader, perhaps softer, colour palette, especially in the Twelve and Sealander ranges.

It’s a very different animal these days. I’ve deliberately avoided giving too many firm opinions here, but there’s food for thought. I wonder what your thoughts are?

For what it’s worth, I think there’s always been a good range of options, but the quality is better and the design is better, especially the case design. My gripe, as ever, is the lack of model longevity, but one has to remember that the company is not yet 20 years old. Is the path perhaps becoming clearer for the third decade?

Lots of good points, Steve

I agree about the quality, I’ve only ever sent 1 back and was corrected and returned very quickly. But for some others, the CS seems to have left a bad taste in the mouth.

Unbelievably, I am just over 7 years membership. (September 2016)

From my perspective. It’s been awhile since a new model took my fancy or my money. None of the new dress models appeal at all. Only recent one is my C60 300.

Great OP. We've been around here for about the same length of time although your contribution somewhat outnumbers mine!

My main observation I think is price.

My C8 auto back in 2009 cost something like £280 and was clearly pitched along the lines of: you *could* buy an IWC Pilots Watch for £3.5K.... or this Christopher Ward *with the same movement*. A no-brainer for me. My C8 is still worn regularly and since a repair a year or so ago running within COSC.

I'm not sure back in 2009 there was an internet site (I'm happy to be corrected) and saw the ad for the C8 in the back of GQ or FHM magazine and ordered over the phone with an actual printed brochure. Imagine that!

I wish I had bought the SpeedMaster (I think it was called) EDIT: Speedhawk chronograph with the Valjoux 7750 movement back then.

I haven't done the maths but my impression is they are less competitive on price but more competitive now on quality, and then of course, the Bel Canto. The BC is not for me but I admire that they did it.

Generally I prefer the more recent C60/C65 watches and have 3 but bought via the sales corner or ebay for the better price.

I still very much want an IWC mk XIV (or thereabouts) but still struggle with the price when the C8 does everything I want.

Well Steve, I've been on the forum for just over four years now but probably aware of the brand for five years or so. A lot appears to have changed, in the watch world and outside of its sphere. Christopher Ward have certainly evolved with their offerings. Their ambition and manufacturing operation must have grown at scale too. I can't get over how prolific they've become in recent years; there always seems to be a new watch just round the corner - often something genre challenging. When I first came to the brand, and delved in to this forum, the 'branding discussion' often served as a distraction from the good things that CW was doing. The applied twin flag branding seems to have rendered that conversation obsolete, thank God. I love checking in with CW and I love some of the conversations that circulate round these parts. In fact, it can only be a matter of time before one of the brand's offerings finds its way in to my watch box.

Des

Thinking a little more about how things have changed.

I seem to remember the old adage, never pay full price for a CW. Because, like DFS there will always be a discount code and/or a sale just around the corner!!

That doesn’t appear anymore. Having said that, I’ve never paid full price either. I usually buy in their sales either NN or a New watch included in sale, or 2nd hand. (Guy, I’m looking at you here )

I still feel that around £1k is my max for a CW. So their basic models or perhaps their bread and butter models are now getting close to that, so sales etc will be my go to for future purchases.

One thing that has really jumped to my attention in thinking about this is the demise of the chronograph. When I first joined you couldn’t move for them – we had:

C3 Malvern in several iterations
C4 Peregrine/C40 Speedhawk
C7 Rapide/C70 Grand Prix/C700 Grande Rapide
C9 Harrison/C900 SP
C11 MSL
C13 Henley

Not to mention several aviation and dive chronographs, as well as several in the women’s collection.

OK, most of them were quartz, but not all.

I believe there is currently one chronograph available on the website– the C65.

RichM wrote: ↑Wed Nov 01, 2023 2:21 pm
I'm not sure back in 2009 there was an internet site (I'm happy to be corrected) and saw the ad for the C8 in the back of GQ or FHM magazine and ordered over the phone with an actual printed brochure. Imagine that!

Actually, thinking about it, there must have been a website in 2009 musn't there? I mean, I've been a member of the forum since 2009 so I must have learnt about it somewhere. Or maybe it was promoted in the after sales literature with the letter signed by Christopher Ward himself of the watch purchased over the phone?

@RichM

Extract from the Archive Timeline (anno 2005)

Although the company charter was organized in July of 2004, it took a year of development and test marketing to get the initial website launched.

The CWL website first went online on June 2, 2005.

CWL sold their first watch, a C5-SWT, on June 6, 2005 to Mr. D. Clarke.

I’ve never really enjoyed buying things online, and my first orders back in 2011 and 2012 were made over the telephone.

Early publications were of the brochure type, and morphed into the magalogue style. Again, look at the CW Publications section of the archive.

I joined in March 2008, quickly buying a quartz C1 and an automatic C5 Aviator. The latter costing £157!

Martin wrote: ↑Wed Nov 01, 2023 5:33 pm I joined in March 2008, quickly buying a quartz C1 and an automatic C5 Aviator. The latter costing £157!

Interesting question. You’re a new brand starting up. Where do you pitch?

What I find interesting is not how the model range has evolved, but the possible reasons for why it was gone the way it has.

In the early days CW possibly didn’t have a brand identity. Indeed a lot of the earlier offerings did look like other brands designs. The IWC Portuguese chronograph being one I particularly remember being an influence on a CW design. However the kingfisher was quite unique for a dive watch design so it wasn’t all copy and paste. Might this finding their feet phase account for the wide range of offerings at that time? Offer the lot and see what sells. I see this phase as the Mk1 and early mk2 logo days.

Then we entered a more coherent phase where CW seemed to know what direction they wanted to follow. We had an upgraded trident with ceramic bezel and the advert comparing it to the black bay. The JJ calibres came about and seemed to push the brand in their own direction aiming for quality engineering and away from the earlier design choices and into their own place. We lost the ladies range but was the world was becoming more unisex or had this already happened? To fill that gap the trident range grew to offer smaller versions for the more slender waisted males and females. This was the latter mk2 logo days and into the mk3 9 o’clock logo times.

Then we move to the modern day with the twin flags. Watch designs started to get smaller and so did the CW watches with 39mm sealanders and more lately 36mm offerings as well. This smaller watch world meant the larger watches such as the pilots and large valjioux chronographs became less popular to buyers so CW reduced their offerings or dropped them altogether.

Hopefully CW now has its logo and design language so we could see less dramatic changes to the range? Hopefully the long-standing collections such as the trident will become more stable and less likely to update so dramatically between versions. This of course remains to be seen but I’d like to see them keep some longevity in their watches moving forwards.

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: ↑Wed Nov 01, 2023 1:47 pm Reading a few recent threads made me realise that I’ve been around the forum and Christopher Ward watches in general for over 12 years now.

When I joined, the C60 Trident was less than two years old; despite a few changes it is still going strong and remains very popular indeed.

There was plenty going on in the aviation and motorsport collections – not so much now.

Shortly after I joined there was a completely revamped women’s collection, which disappeared three or four years later.

A number of watches were available with quartz or automatic movements (hand wound has always been rarer) and some with quartz only, often chronographs, but quartz was phased out.

Other ranges and models came…and went. There seemed to be a dearth of “dress” or “dressy” watches for a while. With the introduction of the Bel Canto, the Twelve and the new Moonphase we seem to be entering a more esoteric phase, if I can put it like that.

There has been a conscious attempt recently to avoid gender stereotyping in watches, while at the same time embracing smaller sizes and a broader, perhaps softer, colour palette, especially in the Twelve and Sealander ranges.

It’s a very different animal these days. I’ve deliberately avoided giving too many firm opinions here, but there’s food for thought. I wonder what your thoughts are?

For what it’s worth, I think there’s always been a good range of options, but the quality is better and the design is better, especially the case design. My gripe, as ever, is the lack of model longevity, but one has to remember that the company is not yet 20 years old. Is the path perhaps becoming clearer for the third decade?

Yes, I noted that some recent issues, such as the BC, maybe the 12 Halo, and now the C1 Moonphase were as much wrist jewellery as serious time telling instruments.

Great idea for a post, Steve! I’ve been an owner for seven years and aware of the brand for maybe a year or two beyond that. The way I see it, what I’ve seen over all these years is a brand finding its footing, establishing its design DNA, and maturing into a fully realized brand. While I don’t envision myself buying any more CWs anytime soon, I’m excited to see where things go and how they continue to evolve, especially in light of releases like the Bel Canto and the Twelve.

I’ll make the same point, Drew. CW seem to be coming of age and finding its design DNA in the core collection, while being able to blow us all away with something as spectacular as the Bel Canto. I find the BC much more exciting than the Twelve.

I’ve also been here 12 years like Steve, and back then was I easier to get excited in new models. But CW also took more risks it seems, which is natural for a very young brand finding its way.

CW has come a long way. Kudos to them.

How has the value for money proposition changed over the years? Prices have clearly creeped up making them noticeably more expensive than they used to be. Do you feel the over quality has improved along with it, maintaining the value for money proposition?

I can’t say that I notice a significant difference in the overall feel and fit & finish between my C65 Trident Vintage from 2017 and my C63 Sealander from 2021 (or was it ‘22?). Are those two models too close in production runs to notice significant change? With those two models, I’m not sure what the price difference is when adjusted for inflation.