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Same as you, essentially. I like the watch but I shan't be buying one at the current prices.Originally Posted by coldwarkid
Hi
Has anybody else had the email with the new Trident in? It's been upgraded, along with the price.
I really like the look of it and it has been totally redesigned but without actually holding one in my hands I'm put off as the price for the automatic now starts at around £600 and goes up to a whopping £1800.
C ward are now totally detached from their original mission of cutting out the middle man and bringing well specced, well made watches to the market at a price point that was almost a no brainer for a while. I'm not sure that is such a terrible idea as they have aspirations of moving up the ladder, so to speak, but it's become another brand that many can no longer afford. What do you think?
Last edited by coldwarkid; 20th January 2015 at 17:58.
Same as you, essentially. I like the watch but I shan't be buying one at the current prices.
I see them a little like Tescos with their Value to Finest ranges. A Trident for every income level from £300 to £1800 which all look the same!
I suppose it works for Seiko.
Are there other manufacturer's with such a wide spread of pricing on a steel watch? One these two links in separate tabs and then switch between them:
http://www.christopherward.co.uk/new...auto-skws.html
http://www.christopherward.co.uk/new...-5da-skws.html
I's uncanny how almost nothing changes except some minor reflections and the position of the date window.
Well I actually quite like the changes and I probably will most likely dip my toe in the water and pick one up down the line.
completely different movements though... if all your interested in is the look then you might as well get the cheapest one
Think the changes look good. The white and blue dialled ones especially. Well done CW.
Find it pretty hard to forgive the GMT bezel. Those that have seen it will know.
I'm not sure I'm missing something about your post, but the obvious difference is not such much their appearance, but what's under the bonnet! As your links identify, one is the normal ETA / Sellita movement, the other is their own SH21 COSC, which is a (*hopefully) LE of 300.
*The hopefully comes from a current thread on the CW forum where a prototype was sold as an LE.
Edit - post crossed with #7.
Last edited by Caller; 20th January 2015 at 18:44.
That's because it's essentially the exact same watch with a different movement.
Well, who ever really needs to know it's before 6am in another timezone. Everyone is asleep then anyway! ;)
Another wanna be watch company sticks the boot up the ass of the people which made them remotely successful.
The descriptions of the watches are pretty cringe worthy.
I see it as evolutionary rather than revolutionary. We all have to move on at some stage. I reserve my judgement until I can see one in real life!
You are, namely the bit you snippedI know why they differ so much in price, my question was if any other manufacturers made two identical watches, apart from the movement, where one cost x3 the other? It seems a strange piece of marketing, that's all. Although I suppose it might be viewed similarly to a WG vs steel watch, only the wearer really knows.
I like the look of that - not keen however on the branding nor the price.
I think it looks like a guinand diver and one that wempe produced. I think I prefer the older version.
They look good to me, like the black dialed version. Interested in the 38 mm options but am I right in saying the ceramic besel only available in 42 mm?
Jon
The marketing reads like something from one of those Sunday supplement ads. I genuinely thought Christopher Ward were all under £500, I'm obviously out of touch!
The completely re-engineered and upgraded 316L marine-grade stainless steel case now incorporates a zirconia (ZrO2) ceramic unidirectional bezel for fracture toughness and scratch-resistance and has been constructed to remain completely watertight at up to depths of 600 metres (2000 ft) - twice that of its famous predecessor.
Hmmmm - zirconia.
:)
Yeah. they've changed a lot. Some genuine in-house movements and interesting things like single pushers at £2500, which are quite a bargain, if a £2500 watch can ever be considered a bargain. I'm not knocking the brand really, I guess I'm just a little disappointed their original mission has either been abandoned somewhat or only ever existed in hype.
As for the sunday supplement marketing they're not the only ones guilty of that in blighty ( step forward Bremont).
I've been around the block a bit and have owned my fair share of brands but never a CW. Nothing on the completely uninspiring website will make me change my mind either.
It's like looking in the fashion watch windows of one of those tacky jewelers in your high street.
I don't like the designs or the branding. I just don't get it.
Sorry CW lovers.
My mistake, ceramic available in both 38 & 42 mm. Really like the black dialed 38 mm 600 m.
I'll look again tomorrow, might think completely differently.. Any reviews anywhere on these?
Jon
Sounds good tho dunnit haha
I'm with you there. Totally uninspiring regardless of the pricing. Meh!
I think everybody has a watch brand they feel like that about and other people rave about. I suppose I'm lucky in that the one's I really don't get are well out of my price range anyway ie Hublot and Uboat.
Is Zirconia a Baltic state?
Nope. A city, twinned with Cubic and Ceramica.
I've got to say that CWL introduced me to swiss watches at a price I could afford a couple of years ago and I still wear them but I have to confess I find their name pretty uncool - if watch enthusiasts at work (and remember these guys only tend to know the brands you see in Jewelers windows) ask me what watch I'm wearing and I have to say "Christopher Ward" I find I just get a kind of awkward embarrassed silence because they never know the brand and saying a guys full name as the make just sounds very grandad I think... it always seems to kill the conversation dead.
Perhaps it's just me... I just don't foresee myself ever paying their prices anymore - when you could get an ETA auto movement in a sale watch for about £200 it was worth it but not now
Nar, you're all wrong.
It's a landlocked world bordered with Narnia, Dinotopia, Eternia and Unobtainia.
Beautiful place, apparently !
Pff - them not knowing CW is their problem not yours ;)
I agree. A colleague bought the previous model C60 as a 30th birthday watch - his first move away from fashion watches - and is very pleased with it. As with all divers at a price, it owes elements of its looks to more famous brands, but I think it holds together well as an independent piece.
I agree that the website could be better set up (one of each model/colour, with strap options on the model page itself, would make it so much easier to use), but the range of prices £300 and up for a 42mm watch means that the C60 is available to people like my colleague but also to people who are looking to support a British company that has (sort of) developed an in-house movement.
Chris
lol, quote of the day! especially the last part really did make me smile :)
It's true very few general public know the brand, and it no doubt isn't the coolest sounding brand name, doesn't bother me personally as I like what I like and that is all.
As for the new C60's. I like them very much, just wish they'd lost the Seamaster wave dial personally and gone for something a little more original. Some nice options there though, something for everyone really(well, that doesn't hate the brand at least).
I like the new GMT version better than the one I have - I thought I could live with the date window at 4 and half rather than 4 but when I wear it now its all I can see. A lesson learnt anyway, don't buy anything you aren't completely happy with.
Don't think I will be going for the new one though - saving for a Rolex GMT.
Bob.
When you remember what you can buy for less from the likes of Glycine, Squale, even Steinhart, then I think CW are pushing it a bit with £660 for a Sellita movement.
I'm probably a bit biased against them at the moment because I bought a C60 in the Christmas sale and it lasted all of a day before it just stopped working. And I'm not the first. There does seem to be a bit of a QC issue at the moment if you read the CW Forum threads.
If they want to play in the Premiership, they need to start working on their fitness IMO.
I will say that when I had a problem with a watch which went bang they took it back 3 separate times and it ended up with a new movement & new crown but their customer service never quibbled once and were always helpful. Kept sending me return bags RMSD - they must have lost money overall on that deal as I bought the watch in a sale to start with
The pertinent point in this story is that it went 'bang' 3 separate times. Now that's a lemon in my book
I actually like the brand and what it's achieved in a relatively short space of time, but if they keep getting the basics wrong it's going to bite them where the sun doesn't shine.
Very true. Well said.
I'm bias in favour of CW, because I'd like to see a British company going from strength to strength. Unfortunately CW's current pricing doesn't stack up against the likes of Glycine, Squale and Steinhart.
I like the look of them, much better for having the date window at 3 o'clock! I do fancy the £660 model for an everyday watch.
I really like this new one and i thinks it's def an improvement on the last model. For £660 I can't really see what the problem is. It's quite an uplift for the cosc one but is that really surprising? If I were to buy one (which I prob won't) I'd pay the extra for the cosc one.
I think with the trident thy've got a nice mix of rolex and omega with a personal touch that makes you think of something not rolex nor omega.
but most of all, kudos to them for having a 38mm size!!
have you seen their ads in the easyjet onboard magazine?
Looks like something Alan partridge would wear. No thanks
I like that. Would agree with it myself.
The new C60 does look like a nice watch, I think I prefer the dial of the old one - but they both appeal to me. I love the handset on these. It's probably the one Seamaster/Rolex lookalike that I would buy, that or a Steinhart OVM.
I have one CW watch, a C8 MkII Vintage - it's a lovely watch and is probably the watch out of my collection that has had the most appreciative comments, but I can't see myself buying anymore from them with the current price trends. It always suprised me that the brand had so many haters tbh.
I can see why some people object to their marketing styles, but it seems to be working for them. Good luck to them, but any future purchases from me will likely be via SC, lol!
I have tried hard to like any of their pieces but none quite do it for me. I've also wanted to support them purely on the basis of it being a British firm. The pricing and resale, especially now makes it less likely I'd take a punt than for example on a Squale or Steinhart.
Their brand image, brand aspiration and marketing are like a dysfunctional family. Getting all three right isn't impossible but unfortunately they are a long way off for now.
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