You Probably Can Afford It is a series whose purpose it is to present watches of impressive calibre and yet practical price. And there in a nutshell is the Christopher Ward business strategy. Or as they like to put it, creating the cheapest most expensive watches in the world.
Founded in 2004, inspiration apparently striking on a boat on the River Thames, Christopher Ward took the view that a Swiss made watch, while a quality desirable product, comes with a price tag that is perhaps a little bit too full of its own importance. So they set about developing watches with many of the same quality components and craftsmanship that makes a Swiss watches so special, and delivering the same item at roughly one third of what you would expect to pay from an established Swiss brand.
How do they do it? By avoiding all the costly marketing hype that surrounds many Swiss watch brands. After all, someone’s got to pay for all those brand ambassadors looking tanned, toned and tempestuous in watch posters, – and that’ll be you, the hard pressed pasty faced man in the street.
So almost from day one, Christopher Ward has developed a fanatical following by keeping costs low and design and quality values high, while selling their watches online. They offer all the most popular genres from ‘timeless classics’, to pilot’s watches, to sporty racing chronographs to divers. Here are some of the latest models.
C70 British Racing Green Limited Edition
This watch is so new they’re only taking orders for delivery in April. As with other C70 BRG models, this latest addition will be limited to just 500 pieces. When a high end Swiss watch brand offers a limited edition, expect to see several 0’s on the end. When Christopher Ward does it, it’s just £425.00. The watch runs on a Swiss 22 jewel quartz chronograph movement with split minutes / seconds /1/10 seconds sub dials.
C9 Harrison Auto Blue Limited Edition
Bluer than ol’ blue eyes and going for a song, this is Christopher Ward’s tribute to the British horologist John Harrison who developed the H4 Chronograph some 250 years ago, thereby creating a sure fire solution to the problem of accounting for longitude. This new limited edition version with radiant blue galvanic dial and blue alligator strap combinati is a “timeless classic” and with only 100 pieces being manufactured the C9 Auto Blue is likely to also achieve legendary status among CW enthusiasts. Automatically yours for £599.00.
C60 Trident Automatic with NATO Strap
Unashamedly modelled on the Rolex 1954 GMT Master, the world’s first dual time watch. The NATO strap is reminiscent of early Bond movies, and was introduced to mark the 50th anniversary of Bond. The look of the watch is a resounding ‘Dr. Yes’ among Christopher Ward fans. Whilst the C60 Automatic can’t describe the time in two time zones simultaneously, like the C60 GMT, this automatic, runs on a quality ETA 2824-2 / Sellita SW200-1 movement with a 38 hour power reserve and is water resistant to 300 metres. You don’t need a Bond style budget for it either as it’s only £390.00.
C8 Pilot Mark II
A great pilot’s watch created following plenty of input from the popular Christopher Ward forum. Yes, Christopher Ward really do listen to what their customers want. With a retro design, the MKII introduced wider luminous hands to make them more visible at night. The watch is encased in antimagnetic steel . Like the C5 Malvern Aviator MK II, the C8 is inspired by the iconic B-Uhr watches used by the Luftwaffe in the late 1930s and then the RAF. It also shares the same automatic movement, the ETA 2824-2 / Sellita SW200-1 which can be seen through an exhibition window. Designed for simplicity, clarity and precision, this one flies under the radar at just £399.00.
C11 HRDC
This handsomely sporty looking watch was produced in association with the Historic Racing Driver’s Club. The C11 case is a completely new design for Christopher Ward that places a circular dial in a case which has its facets smoothed off and decorated with vertical brushing. Four screws suggest the dials original location within a cockpit’s instrument panel. The result is one of the most attractive conversions to a wristwatch. The striking contemporary approach is based on a 42mm case in 316L surgical grade stainless steel with a PVD finish. Priced at a fuel efficient £399.00.
C3 Malvern Chronograph MK II
Finally, the C3 Malvern chronograph, a classy watch inspired by the dashboards of vintage Aston Martins. This is the second edition of the watch that started it all back in 2004, the C3. It proved so popular that they have continued to let it evolve. In Mark II trim, the new version loses none of the English appeal. The one-piece optic white dial brings a fresh contemporary look, along with greater clarity and simplicity. Considerably less than an Aston Martin wing mirror at £300.00.
