Christopher Ward C8 UTC Worldtimer by Mark Wheeler, on FlickrWhy did I buy?
Without looking through a pile of boxes I can’t recall when I bought my C8 UTC but it was probably in November 2017. I wanted the steel version of this watch as soon as I saw it on the CW website but I was concerned about the size. I’m not afraid of big watches. I like big watches and don’t have much time for those who say any watch above 38 mm is too big. Yawn. However, at the time I owned a Nautsiche Instrument Muhle Glashutte ProMare which is also a 44mm sports watch in stainless steel. That wore very big with long lugs and no bezel to help reduce its apparent size and so I knew I had to tread carefully. With this in mind I paid my annual pilgrimage to CW Towers to have a chat with Declan and try on the C8 UTC. I was devasted. The C8 UTC in steel was huge. Huge I tell you! Easily 54mm in diameter, maybe 540mm in diameter (but not, quite, 5,400mm in diameter). I nearly cried (only a traditional stiff upper lip saved me). Damn and blast.
York, Yorkshire, pub, pubs, public houses by Mark Wheeler, on FlickrWhat was I to do? I’m in the showroom with a credit card and my hopes and dreams had been crushed by an optical illusion. What could save me? Was there a Plan B? Yeah, baby! There’s a Plan B. The black PVD version. So. Much. More. Subtle. So Much Smaller. A C8 UTC I could wear, whoppee. Happy, happy, day.
What is it?
So, what is a C8 UTC. It features an ETA 2893-2 movement, a 44mm diameter, 22mm lug-to-lug, 53.2mm lug tip to lug tip and a case height of 11.5 mm (all measurements from CW Archive). The dial has the numbers 1 to 23 printed on a raised chapter ring with a small, applied, red triangle at the 12 o’clock position. The numbers from 6 to 18 are highlighted with a fauxtina arc to indicate daytime. The date window is small with the date in white. Since this is a GMT there is a fourth hand with a red tip to indicate the second time zone. The hands are delicate skeleton hands with fine tips. They are surprisingly easy to read during the day.
York, Yorkshire, pub, pubs, public houses by Mark Wheeler, on FlickrThere are two crowns. The crowns are large with deep knurling and a machine motif on the ends. The lower crown rotates the inner bezel and the upper crown controls the second time zone, time setting and date setting.
York, Yorkshire, pub, pubs, public houses by Mark Wheeler, on FlickrThe C8 flyer design was heavily influenced by the old wind tunnel at Farnborough (https://www.airsciences.org.uk/wind-tunnel-tours.html). The back shows a six bladed fan with surrounding holes. It’s a great image and is also the logo of the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust (well worth a visit). This is probably the best link to to aviation on any watch. I know there are a lot of B-Uhr flieger watches out there but the C8 UTC combines a second time zone, direct reference to places in different time zones and references to a ground breaking scientific achievement.
York, Yorkshire, pub, pubs, public houses by Mark Wheeler, on FlickrIn use
You could use this as a daily wear watch. In practice I use this when I travel. Its water resistance is limited to 50m so it’s not a watch to wear in a swimming pool and, anyway, it’s on a leather strap. I use it when I travel when the second time zone is very useful. The strap is very comfortable, the watch is easy to set and read. It’s never going to be a dress watch but with its comparatively limited height it does fit under a shirt cuff reasonably well. In my use the watch has been very accurate running at about +2 seconds per day. Because of its black PVD case this doesn’t seem to be a watch that shouts for attention but if anyone does notice it there’s a lot to talk about.
Quibbles
Vintage lume - I started this review by saying that I originally intended to purchase the steel version. It’s much flashier and has white lume. The C8 watches came along before CW’s lume revolution and so white lume is always going to be brighter than vintage lume. The vintage lume and hand design make this hard to read at night and the lume doesn’t last all night long either.
C8 UTC lume by Mark Wheeler, on FlickrSyringe hands – The hand design could be described in many ways. Are the skeleton hands, syringe hands or something else. The design doesn’t allow much lume to be on the hands and at night without glasses they can disappear entirely. This is a case of form over function, by day they take a bit of practice to find. This doesn’t limit the wearability of the watch in any way but it’s not as functional as it might be for the frequent traveler.
The crowns are large and onion shaped. The upper crown pulls away from the case with a nice click. The lower crown rotates easily. Too easily. In use, I find that I can rotate the inner bezel accidentally just by moving my wrist. This can mean that the reference city changes. It’s not a big problem since there is the GMT hand but it does annoy me a bit when it happens.
Conclusions
The stainless steel version disappeared from the line up fairly quickly (I wasn’t alone in having size envy, obviously) and it seems that now the C8 UTC has been withdrawn completely. This is a stylish and unusual watch
It is not a watch for the “twiglet wristed”. It is not a watch that would ever find favour with any of the YouTube channels, none of whom like a watch above the magic 38mm size (fools never differ). This is a large watch and proud of it. Choosing the right strap can enhance its looks. It’s comfortable to wear and surprisingly practical with a unique design and lots of details to admire and enjoy. It may not be a future classic but those who own one will surely enjoy them for a long time.
And, just to irritate the haters, here's a picture showing the new logo in glorious detail.
York, Yorkshire, pub, pubs, public houses by Mark Wheeler, on Flickr
