I believe that it has been about 18 months since I last posted a SOTC. There have been enough changes to warrant issuing a new one. At the time of my first SOTC, I had never sold a watch. About a year ago, I seriously reviewed where I was at with my collection and decided that I had more than enough dive watches. Nothing wrong with that but I wanted more variety in my collection. So, I sold my C60 Trident Bronze Ombré, Blue Sapphire & C60 Abyss. Over time, the Blue Sapphire with its translucent blue wafer exhibition case back felt more & more like a novelty item. The C60 Abyss was a fine looking watch but had almost zero legibility in the low light conditions of evening. Having a name like Abyss, that shouldn’t be surprising but didn’t work for me. My first new addition was the 2023 Forum LE. It had been in the pipeline for a while but was worth the wait. Such a strikingly good looking watch that is a pleasure to wear & a keepsake with its personalized engraving. Soon after, I picked up a black dialed C65 Dartmouth Series 1 in the January clearance sale. The C65’s with their low profile sit nicely on the wrist. I know that technically the Dartmouth is a dive watch but it can pass as a casual dress watch. Having entered the world of Christopher Ward six years ago, I realized that I was late to the party having missed some models that appealed to me. I really like the classic, small seconds styling reminiscent of early day pocket watches, so I did not hesitate when a black dialed C1 Russell in perfect condition became available on the forum sale corner. Another item on my wish list was an attractive reverse panda chronograph. CW answered my wish by issuing the C63 Valour last spring. Although quartz, the Valour was a very affordable, extremely accurate watch that won’t require an expensive service in the future. My last collection addition this summer was a watch that I had been looking for but had resigned myself to never finding, the C9 SH21 5 Day Small Seconds. Although not a daily wearer, this is one that gives me joy every time that I do. Honestly, I don’t know where my collection will go from here. Will it branch out into another brand like Ferg? For right now, Christopher Ward is my luxury watch experience & extent of my collection. At this point, it includes dive watches like the C60 Trident Pro 600 & the Super Compressor. The pilot watch category is filled by the C8 Pilot Revival. There’s a racing chronograph with the AM GT. Dress watches are well represented by my latest additions. Will someday a Moonphase or Twelve join the ranks? Maybe something that I don’t even know will exist at the moment. One issue is my collection now exceeds the size of my watch box capacity. But yet, there isn’t a single watch at the moment that I wish to part with.

Delmar

What a lovely collection and, as you rightly say, a wonderful balance across watch categories.

Hard to pick my personal favorite from so many great watches but probably the C1 Russell Black Dial just pipping the C60 Trident Atoll LE.

Best,
TB

Great collection of both modern and vintage CWs Delmar. If you are happy with CWs then why do you feel the need to branch out into other brands? Or are you just looking for some extra variety?

I never realised you had a one-brand collection, Delmar! It’s certainly a great one!

Fantastic CW collection
Almost had a C9 Small Seconds a month or so ago, but I dilly dallied and it was gone - stupid boy.

But for a handful of other watches, my collection is almost all CWs and I don't see that changing much.

Enjoy your fab watches

Thank you gentlemen for your kind comments. Not sure if I will branch out into other brands or not. I am very happy with my Christopher Ward collection. All of my watches have provided fine service & fill certain niches for me. I am a person that prefers to approach life with an open mindset, so you never know. I keep up on what is happening in the watch world but haven’t come across anything that I would prefer more. Steve, I do have one more vintage watch that falls into a different category than my CW collection. It would be my grandfather’s Hamilton Railway pocket watch which holds a great deal of sentimental value to me. After years of storage, I had the watch serviced for the first time this year. Besides the connection to my late grandfather, I think you can understand why it aesthetically appeals to me!

Delmar

@WileyECoyote

That Hamilton is a beauty, Delmar! Treasure it. Out of interest, was your grandfather a railroad employee?

Thank you, Steve! My grandfather never worked for a railroad. He started from nothing during the Great Depression & Dust Bowl years of the 1930s. My grandfather during his lifetime put together a Kansas ranch & was a respected breeder of registered Hereford cattle. I believe that he bought the Hamilton watch because he appreciated items of quality & had arrived at a station in life in which he could afford to do so. Sadly, he passed away as a relatively young man of 58 in 1963 when I was a year old. A great regret for me is never getting to know him personally. The keepsake watch provides a tangible connection & reminder of my grandfather for me. As for myself, I do have a railroad past. As a young man in the mid 1980s, I was part of building the last large section of new track built in the United States (104 miles) that helped open up Wyoming’s Power River coal fields. I operated a ballast regulator & did all the finish shoulder work on that line. So, railroads do hold some personal significance for me.

Delmar