Casual, elegant and rugged CW explorer watch

Discuss Christopher Ward watches

Would you be interested in a CW watch like this?

Yes
58
56%
No
33
32%
Maybe
13
13%
 
Total votes: 104

nordwulf

Re: Casual, elegant and rugged CW sports watch

Post by nordwulf »

50% Yes and 10% Maybe. I say that's a go for the CW Adventurer! :D

I was reading this article on Hodinkee and it certainly seems the explorer-type watches are liked by many.

Rolex Partners With The Explorers Club For An 'Expedition Watch Program':
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/rolex ... ch-program

The Explorers Club: https://www.businessinsider.com/photos- ... ork-2014-7
User avatar
CHZacc
Senior Expert
Senior Expert
Posts: 293
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2015 11:52 pm
CW-watches: 10
Location: Northern Ireland

Re: Casual, elegant and rugged CW explorer watch

Post by CHZacc »

im seeing 48% yes, 41% no and 11% maybe, selling 22 watches and maybe 5 more aint gonna cut it
C60 Trident 600 PRO
C700 Grande Rapide ETA 7750
C8 Regulator
C8 P7350 #29 SH21
C8 Pilot MK II Auto
C900 SinglePusher LE
C9 Harrison Automatic
C9 FLE # 9 ''Red 12''
C9 BDD
C11 MSL Chrono
Omega Speedmaster 3606

nordwulf

Re: Casual, elegant and rugged CW explorer watch

Post by nordwulf »

There were 42 votes at the time of my post so votes are still coming in and results are changing.

And this is just a sample of votes. You have to extrapolate the results to their entire customer base so it could mean 10s of thousands of potential buyers. :thumbup: Or not..

The turn-out has been very low, not many (active) members out of 12K here who can be bothered to vote.. :thumbdown:
User avatar
smegwina
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 11771
Joined: Sun May 26, 2013 10:04 am
CW-watches: 11

Re: Casual, elegant and rugged CW explorer watch

Post by smegwina »

nordwulf wrote:There were 42 votes at the time of my post so votes are still coming in and results are changing.

And this is just a sample of votes. You have to extrapolate the results to their entire customer base so it could mean 10s of thousands of potential buyers. Image Or not..

The turn-out has been very low, not many (active) members out of 12K here who can be bothered to vote.. Image
Why the thumbs down, or the comment of "can't be bothered"????

Maybe many of us would rather look elsewhere for this type of watch, or that this genre of watch holds little interest to them.

For me, I would rather have an MBii as an explorer watch than those above which are essentially a rehash of a C65 with a a couple of dial changes.

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk
nordwulf

Re: Casual, elegant and rugged CW explorer watch

Post by nordwulf »

The designs are based on the C65 but are limited to my design skills. And it's an attractive case design but a size btween 38 and 43mm would be welcome.

Sorry, I don't know what a MBii is so can't compare. This watch proposal also asks for good anti-magnetic and anti-shock properties, together with a hardened durable case finish.
Macdaz
Senior Guru
Senior Guru
Posts: 488
Joined: Tue May 26, 2015 9:58 pm
CW-watches: 14
Location: UK

Re: Casual, elegant and rugged CW explorer watch

Post by Macdaz »

nordwulf wrote:Sorry, I don't know what a MBii is so can't compare.
I don't know what an MBii is either, but if Mr Google is right, and it is a very lovely Bremont at over £3k, I'd also rather have one, but I'd also rather have the means to purchase one!

I'd hope a CW would come in a bit below this so I'd love to explore the possibility of a CW explorer-type thing. (I'd vote twice if I could :thumbup:)
SMP|Victorinox Groundforce|Mako/XL|Steinhart OVM|Smiths Everest|C60 Trident 600|C8 Pilot Mk2|Vostok 1965|C8 Flyer Mk1|Seiko Monster|C7 Rapide|Steinhart Aviation|C65 GMT|C9 AMGTLE|C60 Bronze|C8 Al Deere|C65 SC|C63 GMT|C65 Chrono|C63 Auto|C65 Dune|2023 FLE
User avatar
Amor Vincit Omnia
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 33788
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2011 7:34 pm
CW-watches: 4
Location: Norfolk, UK

Re: Casual, elegant and rugged CW explorer watch

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

This has been a really interesting thread to follow. I’m going to offer a slightly different slant here, and explain why I voted No.

I have followed this brand and been on the forum for over seven years now. Earlier on I found myself asking questions like “Why do they not produce something like…?” This arose especially when they produced a rather short lived ladies' automatic, the Belisama. I thought that with a bit of tweaking a male version based on the Cartier Tank would be a great idea. I was very glad in the end that they didn’t, because I would probably have bought one and still ended up wanting a Tank.

When my Admin Team colleagues and I visited CW in the spring, I was struck by a number of things. Firstly, although it has expanded significantly over the years, this is still relatively small, personal and hands-on organisation. By the way, it was perfectly obvious that they do study the forum, so if you really want to make suggestions don’t give up!

Secondly, I was quite amazed when Chris gave us a little tour and showed us the drawers filled with examples of pretty much every watch they had produced (as well as some exciting ideas for the future). For a small company that has been going for just over a decade, their portfolio is enormous. As well as all the best sellers, there were prototypes that never made it into production as well as watches that were produced but didn’t do well. It struck me that over the years they had tried to cater for an enormous range of styles and tastes.

Which brings me back pretty much to my original point. Having surveyed this astounding collection of watches, I was very struck by the thought (personal to me, you understand) that the best efforts of the company have been achieved through innovation, not through imitation. They have a very clear idea of where they are going and what they want to produce, just as they have a very clear concept of the market.

So this, in a nutshell, is why I voted No. I am a firm believer that if you want a Tudor Ranger, or a Rolex Explorer, by way of an example, then you might struggle to be satisfied with anything else. But...continue to lobby for what you want: you never know! And as I said, they certainly pay attention.
Steve
Linguist; retired teacher; pilgrim; apprentice travel writer

Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time


Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. (Max Ehrmann)
User avatar
smegwina
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 11771
Joined: Sun May 26, 2013 10:04 am
CW-watches: 11

Re: Casual, elegant and rugged CW explorer watch

Post by smegwina »

nordwulf wrote:The designs are based on the C65 but are limited to my design skills. And it's an attractive case design but a size btween 38 and 43mm would be welcome.

Sorry, I don't know what a MBii is so can't compare. This watch proposal also asks for good anti-magnetic and anti-shock properties, together with a hardened durable case finish.
I was not my intent to be critical of your design skills. They are far, far more advanced than mine are! Apologies if it came across as that.

I would just rather see a new and different explorer from CW.

It certainly is an area they should explore, as these are do anything watches that are tough, smart and make a perfect "one" watch.

Oh, and an MBii.
IMG_20160615_09461801_zpsps7atyhi~01.jpeg




Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk
nordwulf

Re: Casual, elegant and rugged CW explorer watch

Post by nordwulf »

smegwina wrote:I was not my intent to be critical of your design skills. They are far, far more advanced than mine are! Apologies if it came across as that.

I would just rather see a new and different explorer from CW.
Thanks. :thumbup: Me too, preferably it shouldn't be a copy of anything else. They were just some thoughts on what it could be, based on existing designs and cases.
Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: Which brings me back pretty much to my original point. Having surveyed this astounding collection of watches, I was very struck by the thought (personal to me, you understand) that the best efforts of the company have been achieved through innovation, not through imitation. They have a very clear idea of where they are going and what they want to produce, just as they have a very clear concept of the market.

So this, in a nutshell, is why I voted No. I am a firm believer that if you want a Tudor Ranger, or a Rolex Explorer, by way of an example, then you might struggle to be satisfied with anything else. But...continue to lobby for what you want: you never know! And as I said, they certainly pay attention.
The same can be said for the C60 and dive watches in general. And the C60 is not completely original either. If you want a Planet Ocean, you can still be satisfied with a C60, no? The strength of CW is providing affordable alternatives to the higher end watches and this is what drew me to the brand in the first place. Do I want an Explorer? Absolutely but a similar CW watch at 15% of Explorer price will be very attractive.

As mentioned, it shouldn't be a homage or imitation but an interpretation of this style of watch by CW.
User avatar
Amor Vincit Omnia
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 33788
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2011 7:34 pm
CW-watches: 4
Location: Norfolk, UK

Re: Casual, elegant and rugged CW explorer watch

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

^^^ I take your point entirely, Frank, and it is a very sound one.

I was, of course, speaking entirely for myself. When I recently acquired the C60 GMT, I was looking for something generic: a good all-round travel watch with good WR and a GMT function. I didn’t want any watch in particular but ended up, despite all my prejudices, being delighted with the CW.

However, on the rare occasion when I have set my heart on a very specific watch, I know full well that I would have been disappointed with anything else in the style. I am very lucky to have a Tank and a Moonwatch, but if I hadn’t, then I think I would probably rather do without than accept something that looked a bit like them but was not the real thing.
Steve
Linguist; retired teacher; pilgrim; apprentice travel writer

Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time


Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. (Max Ehrmann)
User avatar
nbg
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 13151
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2013 6:43 pm
CW-watches: 14
Location: UK

Re: Casual, elegant and rugged CW explorer watch

Post by nbg »

The examples of others brands watches in the initial post are just illustrations of a style of watch.

In simple terms basically a three hand, either with or without date, dial with lumed baton indices and hands, a non dive bezel style case, with WR of 100-150m, in steel, with an integrated bracelet. Robust and suitable for all occasions, but being a non dive bezel style in a size of say 38-40mm, so that it would wear in a similar manner to a comparable dive watch of 40-42mm.

CW were almost there with the original C65, except that at 43mm it wore like a dinner plate for those with an average size 7” wrist. Had that watch have been 40mm it would have been job done. I.e. the C65 43mm was a watch of the genre now being suggested, but just too big.

Most brands have a basic “steel sports watch”.

CW are innovative in much of what they do, far more than other brands of their size. However the CW cash cow has been the Trident dive watch, hardly an innovative dive watch, albeit far from a homage.

Whether folk really need it or not, they imagine they need a watch with a minimum of 100m WR, but don’t necessarily want a dive watch (or would like an alternative as well) - hence the ubiquitous all round “steel sports watch”.

Talk of rufty tufty “field watches” with any attributes additional to those outlined above, would only turn a mainstream popular watch style into something more niche and less commercially viable.

Neil
Other watch forums of interest:
TZ-UK
User avatar
Thegreyman
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 12065
Joined: Sat May 21, 2016 3:45 pm
CW-watches: 6
Location: Edinburgh

Re: Casual, elegant and rugged CW explorer watch

Post by Thegreyman »

nbg wrote:
CW were almost there with the original C65, except that at 43mm it wore like a dinner plate for those with an average size 7” wrist. Had that watch have been 40mm it would have been job done. I.e. the C65 43mm was a watch of the genre now being suggested, but just too big.

Most brands have a basic “steel sports watch”.

Neil
Spot on Neil. This is what I'm turning to now, having almost reached saturation point with divers. I loved my C65 LE but it was just too big for me. A 39-40mm of that on an all brushed bracelet would be a sure winner imo.
Patrick

C60 Pro 300, C60 Sunrise, C63 Sealander Lucerne blue LE, C65 Dartmouth, W11 Amelia (wife), C63 Sealander (son)

Some others + a few on the way
nordwulf

Re: Casual, elegant and rugged CW explorer watch

Post by nordwulf »

nbg wrote:In simple terms basically a three hand, either with or without date, dial with lumed baton indices and hands, a non dive bezel style case, with WR of 100-150m, in steel, with an integrated bracelet. Robust and suitable for all occasions, but being a non dive bezel style in a size of say 38-40mm, so that it would wear in a similar manner to a comparable dive watch of 40-42mm.

CW were almost there with the original C65, except that at 43mm it wore like a dinner plate for those with an average size 7” wrist. Had that watch have been 40mm it would have been job done. I.e. the C65 43mm was a watch of the genre now being suggested, but just too big.
Both of you hit the nail on the head. :thumbup:

I loved my C65 and had 2 x black and 1 x LE. All eventually sold because they were just to big at 43mm. And I have good-sized wrist at 7.5". Make this in 40mm, a few different colors, give it a nice Trident case back, keep the all-brushed case and bracelet, maybe adjsut the shape of the hands slightly, add some outdoorsy marketing and I think it would make a nice addition to their line-up.
nordwulf

Re: Casual, elegant and rugged CW explorer watch

Post by nordwulf »

I measured the dial of my 43mm C60 and it is about 33mm, the same dial size as my 40mm Seiko SARW015. So if they would just have a 40mm C65 case with 20mm lugs, I bet they could use all the other internal parts (movement/dial/hands) of the C60 and bracelet of the C65 Vintage. Instant hit at minimal cost.

But then again, my simple mind probably has it wrong and the specialists will say it will take a few years to develop something like this.. :lol:
nordwulf

Re: Casual, elegant and rugged CW explorer watch

Post by nordwulf »

How about a C65 Adventurer with the original Trident hands in 40mm? I always liked the original C65 but it was just too big at 43mm.

CW_C65_Adventurer.jpg
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post