C65 Aquitaine GMT - Orca Black

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C65 Aquitaine GMT - Orca Black

Post by SpAwN_BG »

NationOfLaws wrote:It wasn’t that I settled on a color, it was that I saw something I liked in the blue one and then a couple weeks later saw something I liked as much or maybe more in the black one.

I’m truly interested to see how those watches look in real life. I’d intended the blue watch to be my everyday watch but was a little concerned the blue might not be appropriate a non-zero amount of time, but I do think (from the marketing photos) it’s a great-looking blue.
I think the black one will grow more on you than the blue oneImage
All of the emotions come from the little details.
The old radium lume suits the spirit of the vintage look of the case and the shape of the sapphire crystal much more on the black one. White color of the lume doesn‘t work for me on the blue one.
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Re: C65 Aquitaine GMT - Orca Black

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

NationOfLaws wrote: Thu Jun 02, 2022 9:19 am I’d intended the blue watch to be my everyday watch but was a little concerned the blue might not be appropriate a non-zero amount of time…
I’m not entirely sure what you mean by that (non-zero) but to be honest I think we are getting to a place nowadays where pretty much anything goes. On a suitable bracelet or strap you could wear that blue one to more or less anything.
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Re: C65 Aquitaine GMT - Orca Black

Post by Kip »

mvlow wrote: Wed Jun 01, 2022 11:46 pm
Kansas City Milkman wrote: Wed Jun 01, 2022 8:44 pm
mvlow wrote: Wed Jun 01, 2022 8:08 pm I can imagine how frustrating this could be for someone who purchased one of the first colors of the Aquitaine on or after April 21st, only to see a new color they like being released just 6 weeks later on June 1st. As a suggestion for CW, in the future it might be a good idea to "preview" any future color colors that are going to be released within a certain time after the initial release so consumers can make an informed decision whether to wait a few weeks for a color they may prefer.

I understand this is not practical after a certain period of time, but something like three months might be about right. The 60/60 return policy doesn't help someone in this situation if they have worn the watch within the initial 60 day period as they couldn't get a full refund.

Releasing a new color three to six months after initial release without previewing it seems fine, but after only 6 weeks. Come on CW!
Mike France was open about other colourways following 8 weeks after launch. These comments were covered in various interviews. I certainly buy in the knowledge that a new variant is just around the corner.

That said, casual purchasers might be a bit disgruntled if they are expecting the launch colours to be exclusive for a good few months
I agree that those of us in the WIS community might take the time to watch an interview or two, and based on what is said might wait a while before ordering, but there is a huge customer base out there that has probably never watched a Mike France interview and would be surprised to see a new color come out six weeks after a new release. I think a good idea would be to actually list any new colors that are coming down the pike within a few weeks with a rendering on the website captioned "coming soon." That way anyone considering a purchase can be fully informed.

This doesn't affect me personally because I tend to wait a while before purchasing a new release to make sure I really like it, as opposed to rushing out any buying right away.
One must also consider, from CW's perspective, that although other colorways may be planned, they are often held back to see how a watch is received before committing to them. If a style bombs there is no point in moving forward with production. If things go well then further intros make sense.
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Re: C65 Aquitaine GMT - Orca Black

Post by albionphoto »

mvlow wrote: Wed Jun 01, 2022 8:08 pm I can imagine how frustrating this could be for someone who purchased one of the first colors of the Aquitaine on or after April 21st, only to see a new color they like being released just 6 weeks later on June 1st. As a suggestion for CW, in the future it might be a good idea to "preview" any future color colors that are going to be released within a certain time after the initial release so consumers can make an informed decision whether to wait a few weeks for a color they may prefer.

I understand this is not practical after a certain period of time, but something like three months might be about right. The 60/60 return policy doesn't help someone in this situation if they have worn the watch within the initial 60 day period as they couldn't get a full refund.

Releasing a new color three to six months after initial release without previewing it seems fine, but after only 6 weeks. Come on CW!
I don't think CW or any business would preview future colours or features at the launch of a product because they would lose initial sales. That's just sensible business. It's not good for you obviously but you could have waited... (And this is a great illustration of why they don't offer a roadmap for colours and stuff) I agree that it would have been more reasonable to wait for at least 3 months or more before releasing a new colour.
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Re: C65 Aquitaine GMT - Orca Black

Post by albionphoto »

Kansas City Milkman wrote: Wed Jun 01, 2022 8:44 pm
Mike France was open about other colourways following 8 weeks after launch. These comments were covered in various interviews. I certainly buy in the knowledge that a new variant is just around the corner.

That said, casual purchasers might be a bit disgruntled if they are expecting the launch colours to be exclusive for a good few months
Caveat emptor or be an informed consumer.
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Re: C65 Aquitaine GMT - Orca Black

Post by albionphoto »

MichaelMD wrote: Thu Jun 02, 2022 12:13 am Wish the bezel numbers and pip were white. Not digging the fauxtina on this one.

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The off-colour bezel numbers and fauxtina lume are the reasons why I'm not even looking at this range right now.

I have also noticed that all sapphire bezels look the same be they from CW, Longines, Baltic or any other brand that has used them recently.
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Re: C65 Aquitaine GMT - Orca Black

Post by A1soknownas »

Bahnstormer_vRS wrote: Thu Jun 02, 2022 9:31 am Orca Black?

A fitting colour description, considering that CW are making a donation of five per cent of all proceeds, from the sale of Aquitaine models, to Blue Marine Foundation.

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They seem to be moving towards two words as a descriptor and I doubt that is directly linked to them (or in turn the buyer) making a 5% donation or not.

The names could equally be linked to the sea as a diver type and not the Blue Marine Foundation.

The Super compressor is ocean blue, deep blue etc with no donation and is the case for others too. They are getting a bit fancier with their colour terms, that was the point.

Some descriptors will inform the shade, not sure how much orca does that but it is marketing, much like the 'donation'.
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Re: C65 Aquitaine GMT - Orca Black

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

albionphoto wrote: Thu Jun 02, 2022 11:14 am I have also noticed that all sapphire bezels look the same be they from CW, Longines, Baltic or any other brand that has used them recently.

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Re: C65 Aquitaine GMT - Orca Black

Post by albionphoto »

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: Thu Jun 02, 2022 11:38 am
albionphoto wrote: Thu Jun 02, 2022 11:14 am I have also noticed that all sapphire bezels look the same be they from CW, Longines, Baltic or any other brand that has used them recently.

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In the light all sapphire bezels come from one supplier in China.
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Re: C65 Aquitaine GMT - Orca Black

Post by NationOfLaws »

albionphoto wrote: Thu Jun 02, 2022 11:10 am
Kansas City Milkman wrote: Wed Jun 01, 2022 8:44 pm
Mike France was open about other colourways following 8 weeks after launch. These comments were covered in various interviews. I certainly buy in the knowledge that a new variant is just around the corner.

That said, casual purchasers might be a bit disgruntled if they are expecting the launch colours to be exclusive for a good few months
Caveat emptor or be an informed consumer.
There’s a certain level of due diligence that is reasonable before making a purchase. Reading reviews, looking at product photos, seeing what the company has said on its site. I don’t think combing through a litany of interviews to catch a one-off remark from Mike France falls within reasonable consumer self-education. As others have pointed out, it might make sense that CW release new colorways six months to a year after the initial release. Apple does this with iPhones all the time. It makes less sense to release a new one before the first wave even reaches broad circulation.

This is a minor problem in the grand scheme of things. I bought both, I’ll return one and eat the import fees. That’s an inconvenience, and it’s a lesson I’ve now learned about CW product launches. It is kind of weird and a shame, though!
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Re: C65 Aquitaine GMT - Orca Black

Post by albionphoto »

NationOfLaws wrote: Thu Jun 02, 2022 1:12 pm
albionphoto wrote: Thu Jun 02, 2022 11:10 am
Kansas City Milkman wrote: Wed Jun 01, 2022 8:44 pm
Mike France was open about other colourways following 8 weeks after launch. These comments were covered in various interviews. I certainly buy in the knowledge that a new variant is just around the corner.

That said, casual purchasers might be a bit disgruntled if they are expecting the launch colours to be exclusive for a good few months
Caveat emptor or be an informed consumer.
There’s a certain level of due diligence that is reasonable before making a purchase. Reading reviews, looking at product photos, seeing what the company has said on its site. I don’t think combing through a litany of interviews to catch a one-off remark from Mike France falls within reasonable consumer self-education. As others have pointed out, it might make sense that CW release new colorways six months to a year after the initial release. Apple does this with iPhones all the time. It makes less sense to release a new one before the first wave even reaches broad circulation.

This is a minor problem in the grand scheme of things. I bought both, I’ll return one and eat the import fees. That’s an inconvenience, and it’s a lesson I’ve now learned about CW product launches. It is kind of weird and a shame, though!
The forum and probably the CWE facebook page don't represent the majority of customers. Most customers will, I suspect, buy the one watch and then come back in a few months or years and maybe buy another. Well if CW are lucky that's what will happen. We, however, are not so rational and might buy on day one then browse reviews and websites frequently (but not obsessively, never obsessively [well that's what I tell my therapist]) and then be upset when a new version comes out too quickly. I do think that the black version came out too quickly though.
It's possible that the black version was intended for original release but production snags meant it was delayed. For me it would be a far more logical choice at launch than, for example, the green version.

Watch releases aren't like camera or lens releases. For cameras and lenses a roadmap is pretty much expected. For watches it would be unusual. Watches aren't fast moving consumer goods (or cameras) but part of the marketing strategy is a continuous stream of new releases to maintain excitement and demand. Publishing a definitive colour way road map would dampen the excitement. Sales and excitement today are surely better than sales tomorrow which may never materialize. Look at how much excitement has been created by the Loupe and interview hints of a 36mm Sealander with a range of colours.
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Re: C65 Aquitaine GMT - Orca Black

Post by t_rockets1972 »

I must admit I really like this colourway...I think I'll give it a month or two to see if a black three-hand automatic appears before I make my mind up
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C65 Aquitaine GMT - Orca Black

Post by SpAwN_BG »

t_rockets1972 wrote:I must admit I really like this colourway...I think I'll give it a month or two to see if a black three-hand automatic appears before I make my mind up
If the black three-hander appears it will be most certainly with SW200…
SW330-2 on the GMT is the better movement in every way.
I would only consider the three hander auto if it comes with COSC movement.
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Re: C65 Aquitaine GMT - Orca Black

Post by rkovars »

SpAwN_BG wrote: Thu Jun 02, 2022 2:48 pm
t_rockets1972 wrote:I must admit I really like this colourway...I think I'll give it a month or two to see if a black three-hand automatic appears before I make my mind up
If the black three-hander appears it will be most certainly with SW200…
SW330-2 on the GMT is the better movement in every way.
I would only consider the three hander auto if it comes with COSC movement.
It is interesting looking at the datasheets. Looking at both the SW300 and SW330 there are some interesting take aways.

A standard movement is not available for either movement. They start at Elabore. This means that they are better spec'd at the lower end but also that ALL of these are restricted supply. But here are the numbers:

+- 15sec/day isochronism
20 sec max deviation all positions
+- 5 sec/day on average.

That is quite a bit better than the base SW200 (+-12 sec on average). Even slightly better than the SW200 Elabore (+-7 sec average). Both come at a cost though. The SW300 is 3x the cost of the SW200 standard and 2x the cost of the SW200 elabore. The SW300 is only slightly cheaper than the SW330. This would mean that practically speaking the 3 handers would cost just as much as the GMTs.

There are some other advantages of the SW300 over the SW200 though. One is that it is much thinner. 3.6mm vs 4.6mm. On the divers they could either make them thinner or increase the water resistance with no change in case height.

And of course the 56 hour power reserve.

The datasheets also state that only 95% of a delivery have to meet spec. Here is the actual text:

The limit values are subject to interpretation : 95 % of the pieces delivered in a lot must be within the specified limits.

To me that is pretty crazy. You have to assume out of the gate that 5 out of every 100 movements won't meet spec. That raises the per unit cost.

Anyway some interesting stuff if you dig a little bit.
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Re: C65 Aquitaine GMT - Orca Black

Post by jkbarnes »

I assumed a black version was a given at some point. If I had a hankering for the Aquitaine in black, I’d have held off on a purchase on the assumption a black one was coming. Maybe that’s just me.

I’d be curious to see a white dial/black bezel Aquitaine GMT.
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