Christopher Ward - worth the money?

[Ken Sington]

Deciding I need a new year treat, I have been looking at watches. There is a nice CW Trident that has caught my eye at a tad over my budget of £500. Looking further afield though, I also see a nice Seiko Kinetic at about half the price of the Trident, plus I could also get a G Shock, so 2 watches for the price of 1. For those that have them, are the CW's worth the money?

[Mr_C]

Steinhart ocean 1 is worth a look too if you want a sub homage

[page3]

I have three CW watches and they are all excellent although my latest, a C8 Pilot Vintage is by far the most stunning

If you can hold on, they usually do a valentines voucher with 10-15% off.

[ecain63]

I was going to ask the same question. C11 vintage might make its way to the selection box I think. What is the weight and feel like? I prefer a heavier feel over a light feel.

[delays]

I bought my CW about 5 years back now - first purchase that I got "in" to watches with. Straightforward quartz chrono affair, just popped in a new battery and it's shot straight back to the top of my wear list.

I think they are really good value for money. Considering mine cost me £125ish back in the day, it represents stonking VFM but even the current watches reflect a brand going places with a strong focus on good quality, nice detailing and reasonable pricing.

[Stevemr]

I own 2, they are very good quality, very good service as well.

[marcosgt]

I know a lot of people love G-Shocks and Kinetics are good day to day watches, but I really like CW's C60 Trident (I don't actually have one though ) and think it'd be a much more 'special' watch to own than a G-Shock and a Kinetic.

IMO it would be a case of CW > (G-Shock+Kinetic)

M.

[TheJimi]

Something sticks in my craw about CW. Don't ask me to quantify what it is, because I can't.

So to answer your question, no, I don't think they are worth the money.

[Papa Hotel]

marcosgt said:

I know a lot of people love G-Shocks and Kinetics are good day to day watches, but I really like CW's C60 Trident (I don't actually have one though ) and think it'd be a much more 'special' watch to own than a G-Shock and a Kinetic.

IMO it would be a case of CW > (G-Shock+Kinetic)

M.

Depends what you're doing at the time really, doesn't it? I don't suppose many firemen wear a CW to work, I don't suppose many crusty old politicians wear a G-Shock down the House of Lords.

Or a CW either for that matter, but you get the point...

[CAPP0]

TheJimi said:

Something sticks in my craw about CW. Don't ask me to quantify what it is, because I can't.

So to answer your question, no, I don't think they are worth the money.

I (as a CW owner) am somewhat with you on this. I have tried to think why and I *think* it is a combination of

- the VERY significant price hikes they are applying (the C8 Pilot Mk II now lists at nearly double what I paid for mine, only a couple of years ago, brand-new and direct from CW themselves). Are they really big enough yet to justify these hikes - or, perhaps they were just too cheap to start with and I'm wrong?

- the really very very blatant copies of certain iconic designs.

They are blowing their own trumpet a little too hard, methinks?

[Miguel Alvarez]

CAPP0 said:

TheJimi said:

Something sticks in my craw about CW. Don't ask me to quantify what it is, because I can't.

So to answer your question, no, I don't think they are worth the money.

I (as a CW owner) am somewhat with you on this. I have tried to think why and I *think* it is a combination of

- the VERY significant price hikes they are applying (the C8 Pilot Mk II now lists at nearly double what I paid for mine, only a couple of years ago, brand-new and direct from CW themselves). Are they really big enough yet to justify these hikes - or, perhaps they were just too cheap to start with and I'm wrong?

- the really very very blatant copies of certain iconic designs.

They are blowing their own trumpet a little too hard, methinks?

For me its the copying of other iconic designs. There are some nice enough models though.

I forget matey's name but the guy on here who has the chrono's with the trident logo has some nice designs.

[marcosgt]

Papa Hotel said:

marcosgt said:

I know a lot of people love G-Shocks and Kinetics are good day to day watches, but I really like CW's C60 Trident (I don't actually have one though ) and think it'd be a much more 'special' watch to own than a G-Shock and a Kinetic.

IMO it would be a case of CW > (G-Shock+Kinetic)

M.

Depends what you're doing at the time really, doesn't it? I don't suppose many firemen wear a CW to work, I don't suppose many crusty old politicians wear a G-Shock down the House of Lords.

Or a CW either for that matter, but you get the point...

Are G-Shocks fireproof? I'd imagine most would melt... anyway, I'd agree to a degree, but you can buy a nice cheap Casio (£25 or less!) for fire fighting, if you feel the need, and still have a CW

M

[Papa Hotel]

marcosgt said:

Are G-Shocks fireproof? I'd imagine most would melt... anyway, I'd agree to a degree, but you can buy a nice cheap Casio (£25 or less!) for fire fighting, if you feel the need, and still have a CW

M

You know what I was getting at. G-Shocks are more highly regarded within their customer base, CW watches are more highly regarded within theirs, they aren't really competing products. Of course, you can own both, but you'd have different uses for them.

[gbbird]

I have a CW C60 and it is by far my favourite timepiece. CW are excellent watches for the money, and the service is top class.

g

[Snubs]

I like my CW (a C7 Mk II) and think it still represents good value for money. When i first read about them I liked the fact that they were doing things a bit differently, such as relying on forums for advertising to keep costs down. Now they're going for magazine advertising and with costs creeping up it just seems to take a bit of the gloss off.

[marcosgt]

Papa Hotel said:

You know what I was getting at. G-Shocks are more highly regarded within their customer base, CW watches are more highly regarded within theirs, they aren't really competing products. Of course, you can own both, but you'd have different uses for them.

Of course, but I still think most people would consider a CW a bit more 'special'.

I don't think getting two 'cheaper' watches (whatever brand/model we're talking about) would afford the same pleasure as the CW Trident would personallly.

I guess my point was, it's not about quantity. Sure, if you REALLY want a G-Shock and a Seiko Kinetic, go for it, but if you REALLY want a CW Trident then having two other watches isn't going to scratch the itch

It's a mistake I've made!

M

PS you can replace the watches with A,B & C in my example, the point I'm trying to make isn't specific to the watches the OP mentioned.

Edited by marcosgt on Monday 13th January 16:33

[Stevemr]

As mentioned I own a couple along with a few other watches.

Things I like.
Quality- seems excellent to me.

Customer service - Faultless in my experience.

Guarantee - 5 years Bought one of mine second hand, rang asked if guarantee would be honouted for second owner, told "of course," though that was impressive.

Design - I have a C9 automatic, the original one, as nice a design as I have seen, and a divers watch, not sure which, but again great design. Yes there are some that are derivatives, but no one is forcing you to buy those.

Packaging - Again, real quality, far better than Seiko etc.

Excusivity - I like the fact that not many people have heard of them, you are very, very unlikely to see any one wearing the same watch as you. Once had a conversation with a couple of guys one wearing a Uboat and the other a Rolex, they asked about the watch I was wearing and after looking at it, said they have never heard of CW, so it was probably out of their price bracket, which I thought spoke volumes for the quality, and maybe their lack of knowledge.

Swiss/ British - I like this combination. I own Seiko and Orient watches as well, but I just like the Swiss/ British twist!

Bottom line is I will not hesitate to buy another in the future.

Edited by Stevemr on Monday 13th January 16:36

[reggie747]

CW = very good watches and excellent value for money. I have 4

[ecain63]

Thanks for the heads up all. Might give one a run to see what its like.

[Ken Sington]

Thanks chaps, sounds good so let's see what valentine's day brings!