Christopher ward

[rossco247]

I was just about to order a christopher ward c9 harrison big day date with either the white or blue face with a brown leather strap until i noticed that the price has went from £649 to £699 over night so thats annoyed me abit as there no reason for the price hike is there anything else anyone would recomend about the same price and style
The white face
http://www.christopherward.co.uk/men/dress/c9bd-sw...

And the blue
http://www.christopherward.co.uk/men/dress/c9bd-sb...

[SVS]

I thought an autumn price hike was normal for many watch brands. It's also common for some watch brands to increase their prices significantly above inflation (though it's anyone's guess if this is bubble that could deflate).

Thus, Christopher Ward's just following common practice.

[TheConverted]

http://www.christopherward.co.uk/sale.html

Keep an eye on this page. I got my C60 GMT in there 'Summer Sale' id expect their to be a Autumn sale maybe or a winter one.

I had them on my facebook and they posted a advert on there which is how i found it.

the other option is email them, whats the wort they can say ? 'no that's the price' you never know they might do you a deal? I asked about a Pepsi bezel before purchasing and they came back the same day.

very nice watches by the way.

Andy

[SVS]

Christopher Ward sales might offer good value, but their new releases don't. Who would pay £2,150 for this monstrosity?

How about £495 for a pair of Christopher Ward aluminum and silver cuff links? That's more than double the price of Sterling silver cuff links from Tiffany's!

I used to like Christopher Ward, but who's going to buy their stuff at these prices? Has Christopher Ward lost touch?

I don't believe Christopher Ward has sufficient brand equity to stretch to these prices. What's more, high prices go against the original brand values that attracted many people to Christopher Ward.

Edited by SVS on Tuesday 2nd September 15:05

[Spice_Weasel]

SVS said:

Christopher Ward sales might offer good value, but their new releases don't. Who would pay £2,150 for this monstrosity?

Over two grand for a quartz watch?

So many businesses are jumping onto the Romain Jerome bandwagon. Watches containing tiny slivers of materials from the titanic, the moon, Mini cars, Bletchley Park, classic cars etc etc

[Lorneg]

Spice_Weasel said:

SVS said:

Christopher Ward sales might offer good value, but their new releases don't. Who would pay £2,150 for this monstrosity?

Over two grand for a quartz watch?

So many businesses are jumping onto the Romain Jerome bandwagon. Watches containing tiny slivers of materials from the titanic, the moon, Mini cars, Bletchley Park, classic cars etc etc

I don't suppose anyone has a bit of an old car I could use for a special edition?

[BHC]

Lorneg said:

I don't suppose anyone has a bit of an old car I could use for a special edition?

My mate has an M-reg Astra 1.4 LS which has just failed its MOT if that's any good to you?

It's a sort of burgundy and has done over 130k miles (slowly).

[acd80]

I've got two CWs - a C3 Chrono Mk2 and a C5 Malvern. They both have sentimental value to me and I love wearing them along with my other watches (3 g-shocks, 2 x Steinharts, 1 x TW Steel, 2 x Citizen, a few Fossils and my Omega PO Ceramic) however I've unsubscribed from the emails a few months ago as I think they're taking the proverbial with their prices.

They used to be excellent value for money however that's not the case any more.

http://www.christopherward.co.uk/men/view-all-mens...

Over 3k for that? I don't think so.

[Lorneg]

BHC said:

My mate has an M-reg Astra 1.4 LS which has just failed its MOT if that's any good to you?

It's a sort of burgundy and has done over 130k miles (slowly).

Sounds perfect for my new 'reasonably priced police cars of the 90's' series

[TheConverted]

acd80 said:

I've got two CWs - a C3 Chrono Mk2 and a C5 Malvern. They both have sentimental value to me and I love wearing them along with my other watches (3 g-shocks, 2 x Steinharts, 1 x TW Steel, 2 x Citizen, a few Fossils and my Omega PO Ceramic) however I've unsubscribed from the emails a few months ago as I think they're taking the proverbial with their prices.

They used to be excellent value for money however that's not the case any more.

http://www.christopherward.co.uk/men/view-all-mens...

Over 3k for that? I don't think so.

Maybe I'm being a fanboy, but isn't that one of the ones with there own movement in? Which I think they deserve some credit for, even if it was born out of swatch taking the ETA moments off the market? This could be a game changer?

[gbbird]

OP. Email CW re the price change. There may be a way to get it back down

I am a big fan of CW and own several , and although I share the sentiments of others RE very expensive new watches, their standard stock offer excellent quality and value for money.

[acd80]

TheConverted said:

Maybe I'm being a fanboy, but isn't that one of the ones with there own movement in? Which I think they deserve some credit for, even if it was born out of swatch taking the ETA moments off the market? This could be a game changer?

You're right about the movement however it won't be a game changer whilst they act like the DFS of the watch world with their continuous sales.

[SVS]

Whatever you think of their sales, Christopher Ward has challenged the way the 'luxury' watch game is played. Although I don't own a Christopher Ward watch, I like the way a British company has shown over-inflated Swiss pricing for what it is. I was considering buying a CW watch, but the higher prices of new models put me off.

I prefer Christopher Ward, sales and all, compared to the many other Swiss brands that take the Mickey with their pricing. Compare Christopher Ward's approach with IWC CEO Georges Kern's derogatory comments about his own customers ...

The three co-founders of Christopher Ward consistently come across as having genuine pride in their products and clearly value interacting with customers. I like that. Good luck to this British company! Let's hope Christopher Ward can avoid the lure of ever higher prices itself.

Edited by SVS on Thursday 4th September 07:28

[michael gould]

rossco247 said:

I was just about to order a christopher ward c9 harrison big day date with either the white or blue face with a brown leather strap until i noticed that the price has went from £649 to £699 over night so thats annoyed me abit as there no reason for the price hike is there anything else anyone would recomend about the same price and style
The white face
http://www.christopherward.co.uk/men/dress/c9bd-sw...

And the blue
http://www.christopherward.co.uk/men/dress/c9bd-sb...

I would hang on if I were you ....it will be 50p in their sale shortly

[yeti]

TheConverted said:

Maybe I'm being a fanboy, but isn't that one of the ones with there own movement in? Which I think they deserve some credit for, even if it was born out of swatch taking the ETA moments off the market? This could be a game changer?

Umm, no. It's a modifed 6497. Their vaunted 'in-house' (which this isn't) is nothing more than a partnership with a Swiss movement maker anyway, although I applaud them for not simply buying off the shelf like many others.

Nicely modified and actually for what it is, I don't think that is bad value. I could even be tempted!

C. Ward are on the up, but when that happens, you need to look carefully to separate the good pieces from the normal pieces which will become overpriced - witness the birth of the 3 grand quartz TAG. For a bespoke modified calibre single-pushed chrono, I think that watch is good value.

[acd80]

SVS said:

Whatever you think of their sales, Christopher Ward has challenged the way the 'luxury' watch game is played. Although I don't own a Christopher Ward watch, I like the way a British company has shown over-inflated Swiss pricing for what it is. I was considering buying a CW watch, but the higher prices of new models put me off.

I prefer Christopher Ward, sales and all, compared to the many other Swiss brands that take the Mickey with their pricing. Compare Christopher Ward's approach with IWC CEO Georges Kern's derogatory comments about his own customers ...

The three co-founders of Christopher Ward consistently come across as having genuine pride in their products and clearly value interacting with customers. I like that. Good luck to this British company! Let's hope Christopher Ward can avoid the lure of ever higher prices itself.

Edited by SVS on Thursday 4th September 07:28

You're contradicting yourself in your first paragraph with regards the pricing. Over-inflated Swiss pricing is an area they're heading towards with the prices they are charging. Going from £649 to £699 overnight is not in line with inflation. Over £2k for a quartz movement?

If you had owned a CW when they were fantastic value for money, then maybe you could see why some people are disillusioned with the brand now. I certainly cannot see myself buying a new CW anytime in the near future due to their haphazard sales and never-ending above inflation price increases.

[SVS]

No contradiction, but perhaps badly worded. CW did show up many Swiss brands for being over-priced. More recently, however, CW's latest prices seem over-priced too.

acd80 said:

If you had owned a CW when they were fantastic value for money, then maybe you could see why some people are disillusioned with the brand now. I certainly cannot see myself buying a new CW anytime in the near future due to their haphazard sales and never-ending above inflation price increases.

If CW's latest watches were fantastic value, then I'd have bought one. I like some of the new designs, but not enough to pay the new prices. So perhaps I can understand some of your disillusionment.

When CW starts to cost more than some of the German greats, such as Stowa or Damasko, then you'd be nuts to buy CW.

[rossco247]

Thanks everyone. Well i took the plunge and ordered the blue one as i was thinking that surely it wont be in the sale as it is still only available to pre-order but knowing my luck no doubt it will be half price

[acd80]

SVS said:

When CW starts to cost more than some of the German greats, such as Stowa or Damasko, then you'd be nuts to buy CW.

Exactly. A 7 month old daughter has curtailed my spending habits (for now aka next 18 years at least) but I've got my eye on a couple of Stowas.

[The GMan]

Are they making any "rip off, homage....whatever" bronze watches?

As I want one but don't want to be paying over a grand for something I might hardly wear.