C65 Dartmouth - the good, the bad, but.....

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C65 Dartmouth - the good, the bad, but.....

Post by nbg »

...... hopefully not the ugly! :(

I ordered a NN Dartmouth in the recent sale.

The good: :thumbup: :D
- Ordered on the 22nd, dispatched on the 23rd, received on the 24th.
- I am impressed with the new packaging. It also has the benefit of not looking like a watch box upon delivery. I was able to sign for the package and “hide it in plain sight” of Mrs nbg in the lounge. I indicated it was a bottle of Port - her response being it was more likely to be “a box to put all those straps in!”
- visually the watch looks new.
- whilst some may view the dial as a bit cluttered, with the large indices and long minute markers, I like it. For me it helps to make the dial slightly smaller. A look I prefer, as a more minimalist dial, combined with the thin bezel, would make the dial look larger than I am used to on a dive watch of this size.
- I really like the case. I view the cases as a strength of the CW range. AB is clearly a talented designer.
- all blue dials are not made equal. To me this one is a lovely understated shade of blue.
- the small details count, there is a rather neat blue circle on the crown.
- I like the new bracelet with its quick release feature, although I will leave the watch on its bracelet.
- the watch was running and set when the watch arrived. I corrected the time, so that I could check accuracy, removed the bracelet (to resize) and put on a strap. I wore the watch as my main watch for the next 3 days, after which it was running at a cumulative +1 second.
- the adjusted bracelet provides me with a perfect fit on the wrist.

The bad: :thumbdown: :(
- I let the power reserve run down. Picked up the watch, reset the time. A few quick winds to get it going and.......

...... Oh dear me. A very very bad case of spinning rotor syndrome!

Therefore the watch will be going back to CW for a warranty repair.

Hopefully not the ugly! :silent:
The watch is under warranty. The spinning rotor syndrome is obvious and doesn’t seem to be intermittent. I am hopeful that given how obvious the fault is, CW will themselves be rather embarrassed and ensure that as a warranty repair it is dealt with promptly.

Now let’s finish the post on a brighter note with a few pics!
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Neil
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Re: C65 Dartmouth - the good, the bad, but.....

Post by Mikkei4 »

That's a real shame it has a fault - I know how much you like the Dartmouth so I hope CW get it right so you can keep it.
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Re: C65 Dartmouth - the good, the bad, but.....

Post by downer »

Apart from the C65 SH21 LE, I think this is my favourite in the current range and, as you say, an ideal shade of blue. It's annoying about the fault but I'm sure it will get rectified.
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Re: C65 Dartmouth - the good, the bad, but.....

Post by stefs »

sad to see a new qc issue. But as cw will hopefully be reading your post I am sure it will be mended in due course.
This one is actually my least favourite of the 3 military releases but hope you enjoy it on the odd occasion it fights its way to the front of the wrist time queue!
Cheers now, Paul
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Re: C65 Dartmouth - the good, the bad, but.....

Post by tomc1944 »

It’s amazing. I have watches from different brands all using Sellita Sw200-1 and my Christopher Wards are the only ones with the rotor problem. Of my 3 Christopher Ward watches all 3 have the problem. My 2 Oris are perfect and wind very smooth with no rough wind or rotor spinning.
C60 Trident GMT MKIII, C60 Trident MKII, C65 Vintage Diver, Oris Williams Chronograph, Oris Big Crown Bronze Brown Dial, Tudor 1926 white 41MM.
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Re: C65 Dartmouth - the good, the bad, but.....

Post by nbg »

Mikkei4 wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2020 10:19 am That's a real shame it has a fault - I know how much you like the Dartmouth so I hope CW get it right so you can keep it.
Yep it’s certainly a PITA any rather annoying, as I do really like the watch.
downer wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2020 10:48 am Apart from the C65 SH21 LE, I think this is my favourite in the current range and, as you say, an ideal shade of blue. It's annoying about the fault but I'm sure it will get rectified.
Interesting as the other current CW that I like the look of is the C65 SH21 LE. It seems that our taste in watches is still similar in retirement. Even though you have gone to the dark side and have sold a few to buy bikes! I am still hoarding mine. :)
stefs wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2020 10:51 am sad to see a new qc issue. But as cw will hopefully be reading your post I am sure it will be mended in due course.
This one is actually my least favourite of the 3 military releases but hope you enjoy it on the odd occasion it fights its way to the front of the wrist time queue!
My intention is to wear it regularly on those occasions when I am not comfortable with short sleeved wear of my normal suspects. Not a problem though in the Autumn/Winter seasons. I have been wearing one of my favourites as main watch of the day, or for part of the day, every day since a few days before Christmas. Currently running at a cumulative bang on, with the greatest variation at any point over the 6 weeks of +/-1s. Superlative! :)
tomc1944 wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2020 11:30 am It’s amazing. I have watches from different brands all using Sellita Sw200-1 and my Christopher Wards are the only ones with the rotor problem. Of my 3 Christopher Ward watches all 3 have the problem. My 2 Oris are perfect and wind very smooth with no rough wind or rotor spinning.
My other CWs have been fine. Just been and checked a couple now. I think I would have given up if I had encountered a problem with all three.

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Re: C65 Dartmouth - the good, the bad, but.....

Post by mvlow »

I hate to be the one that starts the QC complaining again, but....

I had the spinning rotor issue on my C60 Vintage last year and sent it back to CW for repair. I was happy with the customer Service as the watch was about 8 months old when it developed the issue and CW repaired it in the time they estimated.

In your case, however, it came to you with the issue right out of the box. Their QC department has to be aware of the spinning rotor issue because it is a known problem with these movements. They should be checking all of their watches for the spinning rotor before shipping them as part of their normal QC. There is absolutely no reason a watch should leave their facility with a known issue that is easy to repair. I am really disappointed CW are still shooting themselves in the foot with these types of CS/QC issues. You will now probably have to wait for several weeks to have the watch repaired after purchasing it, not being able to wear it, and having to immediately ship it back.
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Re: C65 Dartmouth - the good, the bad, but.....

Post by Smallwristguy »

I've recently discovered the same issue with my C65 Vintage MKII. I noticed out of the box, the crown was a little on the stiff side to wind. Held the watch up to my ear and wound, I could hear the rotor spinning. It's now on it's way back to get repaired, which is disappointing as I only had it a couple of weeks and it was my first big watch purchase. Part of me questions whether or not I should return it under the 60/60 and get something else instead 🤷‍♂️
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Re: C65 Dartmouth - the good, the bad, but.....

Post by nbg »

mvlow wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2020 5:11 pm I hate to be the one that starts the QC complaining again, but....

I had the spinning rotor issue on my C60 Vintage last year and sent it back to CW for repair. I was happy with the customer Service as the watch was about 8 months old when it developed the issue and CW repaired it in the time they estimated.

In your case, however, it came to you with the issue right out of the box. Their QC department has to be aware of the spinning rotor issue because it is a known problem with these movements. They should be checking all of their watches for the spinning rotor before shipping them as part of their normal QC. There is absolutely no reason a watch should leave their facility with a known issue that is easy to repair. I am really disappointed CW are still shooting themselves in the foot with these types of CS/QC issues. You will now probably have to wait for several weeks to have the watch repaired after purchasing it, not being able to wear it, and having to immediately ship it back.
Yep it is rather tiresome. When contacting a company over a new product that is not performing as it should, I initially just clinically stick to the issue and hope that does the trick, without resorting to “wtf how did this happen”. It tends to illicit a more favourable response. :)
Smallwristguy wrote: Tue Feb 04, 2020 7:02 am I've recently discovered the same issue with my C65 Vintage MKII. I noticed out of the box, the crown was a little on the stiff side to wind. Held the watch up to my ear and wound, I could hear the rotor spinning. It's now on it's way back to get repaired, which is disappointing as I only had it a couple of weeks and it was my first big watch purchase. Part of me questions whether or not I should return it under the 60/60 and get something else instead 🤷‍♂️
It wasn’t even necessary to hold the watch to my ear to realise that the rotor was spinning and that you can’t really wind at all unless the case is held horizontally!

If you like the watch stick with it, let the repair run it’s course and then judge accordingly. Best not to go for a knee jerk reaction.

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Re: C65 Dartmouth - the good, the bad, but.....

Post by meinberg »

nbg wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2020 9:51 am
Hopefully not the ugly! :silent:
The watch is under warranty. The spinning rotor syndrome is obvious and doesn’t seem to be intermittent. I am hopeful that given how obvious the fault is, CW will themselves be rather embarrassed and ensure that as a warranty repair it is dealt with promptly.


Neil
As the watch was faulty out of the box I would expect a new one by return post, and it would be disappointing if after all the QC issues of last year this isn't standard procedure, NN or not.
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Re: C65 Dartmouth - the good, the bad, but.....

Post by Thegreyman »

Good review Neil. Also one of my favourite CW's in the current line up after trying one on at the GTG last year. It was always going to be this or the C65 Ombre that I bought next, it was the Ombre as it turned out, but may still get a Dartmouth in the future.

It's a pity you have the spinning rotor issue, I have had that before on a Tudor and also a mk1 Trident (repaired whilst being serviced, at no additional cost) and the Tudor was newer than the Trident.
Patrick

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Re: C65 Dartmouth - the good, the bad, but.....

Post by paw3001 »

meinberg wrote:
nbg wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2020 9:51 am
Hopefully not the ugly! :silent:
The watch is under warranty. The spinning rotor syndrome is obvious and doesn’t seem to be intermittent. I am hopeful that given how obvious the fault is, CW will themselves be rather embarrassed and ensure that as a warranty repair it is dealt with promptly.


Neil
As the watch was faulty out of the box I would expect a new one by return post, and it would be disappointing if after all the QC issues of last year this isn't standard procedure, NN or not.
I agree. Under consumer rights you have the right to request a new replacement rather than a repair!

I did this with a Glashütte Original Panoreserve which lost all power and would not wind. The AD tried to fob me off with a warranty repair and I said no. As it was under 6 months old the watch was not fit for purpose and I would like a new watch. They tried to push back but I held my ground, showed them the law and said I would accept a full refund if they were not going to replace.

I also did not want a watch with a different movement number in it from its paperwork. That would be a nightmare if I had ever come to flip it!
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Re: C65 Dartmouth - the good, the bad, but.....

Post by nbg »

Time for an update!

4 Feb: sent email to MF at CW outlining the problem with the spinning rotor.
5 Feb: email response from MF apologising for the issue with the rotor. KH to contact me.
5 Feb: email from KH asking for address details and indicating that once received back at CW the repair would be prioritised.
6 Feb: email from CS indicating returns pack dispatched (received by me the following day)
12 Feb: watch and returns form (setting out my observations and “requirements”) sent to CW
13 Feb: standard email from CS indicating watch will be booked to workshop and that I would hear within 5-10 days of work required.
13 Feb: email from CS “thank you for your order” invoice with “CW speak” that would have confused a customer unfamiliar with CW - £165 reduced to a net zero. I think that this is the email that would normally arrive after 5-10 days, once a technician has had an initial look [i.e. in my case - try winding, yep that’s bug**red, need to sort spinning rotor! :)]
13 Feb: email from KH - watch is being prioritised back to you ASAP. Normal repair time 4-6 weeks.
21 Feb: email from me asking for specific timescale.
24 Feb: email from KH not providing a specific timescale.
24 Feb: email from me making an observation that part of the content of the previous reply wasn’t really relevant.
25 Feb: email from KH that didn’t provide a specific timescale.
At that point, having already made my specific observations linked to Consumer legislation on the returns form and in emails, I thought I would let it play out, without chasing. :)
5 March: standard we will deliver your parcel on 6 March email.
6 March: watch received from CW and back on my wrist.
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Happy to have the watch back.

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Re: C65 Dartmouth - the good, the bad, but.....

Post by MiniMpi »

Glad to hear you have it back on your wrist Neil :thumbup:
It's a stunning watch, I tried one on whilst at the showroom recently and I will definitely be getting one at some stage.
Looking forward to seeing more photos of it by you soon.
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Re: C65 Dartmouth - the good, the bad, but.....

Post by nbg »

^^^^ Thanks Ferg. I think it will become the favourite CW in my collection. :)

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