Malvern Aviator - a review...

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Hans
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Malvern Aviator - a review...

Post by Hans »

Malvern Aviator Review

Watches with a design that is inspired by the aviation-industry have always attracted me. The Rolex GMT II, Breitling Old Navitimer, Fortis Flieger, Revue Thommen Airspeed are all watches I really enjoy wearing. So when yesterday the latest addition to my collection arrived you can imagine how excited I was! Let me introduce the new acquisition, it is the Malvern Aviator limited edition by Christopher Ward:

Image

The Aviator is a special edition that celibrates the 70th anniversary of the first pilot-watch, limited to 1936 pieces. (1936 was the year IWC introduced its first pilot watch).

Technical Details
First, let's have a look at the technical details:

- ETA 2824-2 movement with decorations
- Diameter: 38mm
- Height: 10.8mm
- Weight: 80g
- Case: Stainless steel with brushed finish (316L)
- Luminous hands and indexes
- Strap: 18mm Italian leather (black) (metal bracelet also available)

Case and crown
The Aviator is closely related to the Malvern Automatic and has the same case-design, only instead of the highly polished case, the Aviator has a beautifull brushed satin finish:

Image

With 38mm (exl. crown) and a weight of 80 grams, the Aviator wears very comfortable on the wrist. The matte finish of the case gives it a more low-profile look when compared to the high polish of the Malvern automatic. When screwing the crown loose, the crown has the tendency to 'jump' to the second position, which is date-setting, so you have to be carefull when winding the watch and remember to check the correct position of the crown. The crown is slightly larger then the crown of the Malvern Automatic, which looks good for a 'flieger'-type watch and makes it easier to control the crown when using it.

Image

Movement
Now lets have a closer look at the movement, the well known ETA 2824-2:

Image

Image

I own four different watches with this movement and see-thru caseback, but this one has by far the nicest decorations with the blued screws, open rotator with engraved logo, and bridges that have a very attractive circular graining. Notice the small imperfection on the blue screw that holds the rotor. I only noticed it on this close-up, it can't be seen very well with the naked eye.
After running for one day, it gained +4 seconds, which is normal. After a few months I will evaluate the accuracy again, and if necessary, the watch can be regulated very easily.

Dial and hands
As with the Malvern Automatic, the Aviator also has a dial consisting of two parts with a lowered inner part, giving the watch a 3-dimensional look. Add to this an extra detailed second-scale and large numbers for the hour-markers and you have a beautifully balanced design, not too much detail, but enough to make the watch interesting to look at.

Image

The shape of the hands is inspired on the shape of the rotorblades of the Spitfire aircraft. Combined with the anti-reflective sapphire crystal and black dial it makes it very easy to read the time from this watch.
The luminous material on the hands and hour-markers makes it possible to use the Aviator in low-light situations.

Image

Notice that the hands emit much more light than the hour-markers.

Strap & buckle
The buckle with CW-logo has the same satin finish as the case, the strap is made from "genuine leather" (as is printed on the inside), and has a matte finish on the outside.

Image

The leather is very soft, therefore it fits closely on the wrist. A solid-steel bracelet is also available for the Aviator.

Conclusions
The Aviator is a great addition to my watch-collection. The watch wears very comfortable, is easy to read, and I enjoy the looks of it. If you consider the price, £165 (approx.: €242,47, $310,24) I think the Aviator gives exceptional value for money!

Hans
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Post by El Tiempo »

Nice review Hans. Why do you think the hands and numerals appear to glow differently? Are there two different materials in use here?

El Tiempo
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Hans
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Post by Hans »

I don't know, might also be the fact that there is more material on/in the hands then the thin layer on the numbers?
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Post by MYND »

Great review and nice pictures, you have got a great camera Hans! I love my aviator, im wearing it all the time. CWL sure keeps up the name, best price/quality value.
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Post by Hans »

I also posted the review on Timezone, let's see what happens, maybe they ban me again? Would be fun! :lol:

Here's the Timezone-link, first few reactions are positive overthere:

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Post by Warhol »

Great review, great pictures, great watch!

A have to admit that the price/quality rate of a CW still is excellent!
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Post by DB »

Great review.

Why would they ban you ?
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Re: Malvern Aviator - a review...

Post by ionutz »

nice review and very nice watch
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Re: Malvern Aviator - a review...

Post by cloudmaster »

Hi all,

(my first post)

I received my MA just before Christmas and I'm thrilled with it. I do actually use this thing when I'm flying and in my opinion it is perfect for the task. In 15 years of commercial flying I've never used a chronograph (though if a suitable Breitling or Bremont had landed on my desk I wouldn't necessarily have returned it :-)), prefering instead a simple quartz without complications. It's all you need. What's really special about the MA is the way it evokes famous watches of the Lindberg generation. I love it.

This is also my first automatic watch and I like the sense that one's wearing style and routine affect its accuracy - like a living thing. I fly old planes (which have essentially the same characteristics) and this watch is just perfect! I must admit to hankering after the C4, though...
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Re: Malvern Aviator - a review...

Post by President »

Welcome!
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John
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Re: Malvern Aviator - a review...

Post by John »

Welcome Cloudmaster,

After several CW-watches I still like the Aviator best.
It has the little extra's that the C5 Malvern misses IMO.
Most people like the C5 Malvern better, but I think the Aviator is more tough and still a little dressy too.
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Re: Malvern Aviator - a review...

Post by leebman »

John wrote:Welcome Cloudmaster,

After several CW-watches I still like the Aviator best.
It has the little extra's that the C5 Malvern misses IMO.
Most people like the C5 Malvern better, but I think the Aviator is more tough and still a little dressy too.
Couldn't agree more. its one of the few aviators thats smart enough to be used as a dress watch. All in all a great watch and good value :D
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Re: Malvern Aviator - a review...

Post by Hans »

And I like the fact that it's a limited!
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Re: Malvern Aviator - a review...

Post by leebman »

So is the white handed version the LE LE?
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Re: Malvern Aviator - a review...

Post by Russ-Shettle »

Keep track of it's time, loss or gain and let us know...
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