Broken Ceramic C1000 Typhoon

Discuss Christopher Ward watches
User avatar
scooter
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 15249
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2010 7:14 pm
CW-watches: 1
LE-two: yes
LE-foura: yes
Location: UK

Re: Broken Ceramic C1000 Typhoon

Post by scooter »

A1soknownas wrote: Fri Jan 08, 2021 9:52 pmJust looked it up and Worn and Wound video states - "I believe it can shatter, but they actually claim this to be virtually indestructible, it's their words on their site...

https://wornandwound.com/review/christo ... on-review/ (45 seconds in)
From looking at the CW Archive it would appear that these watches sold for between £1095 - £1500, a not inconsiderable amount of money for most people.

Surely CW could see their way to helping GXWARDFAN out by offering to provide a PVD black case (at a reasonable cost).

Time and time again people here have championed Mike France for his intervention in their cause and I would have thought this might deserve to be one of those occasions.

scooter
#1 scooter blue 2012 FLE (50 made)
mik
Senior Expert
Senior Expert
Posts: 274
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2014 11:48 pm
CW-watches: 2
Location: Glasgow, Scotland

Re: Broken Ceramic C1000 Typhoon

Post by mik »

I must admit that I assumed - should the worst ever happen - that I’d be able to get a new case / crystal from CW. It is of course reasonable that they can’t stock parts for all models for an infinite length of time, but I bought my C1000 Cockpit edition new in April 2017....

I’d expect they still have the means and access to the tooling to get some more made? Even if they come out at 2x the original case production cost, I expect people would still accept that.
C11 MSL
C1000 Cockpit Edition
Alpina Alpiner 4
User avatar
footycrazy
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 7149
Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2010 8:30 pm
CW-watches: 1
Location: Essex coast.

Re: Broken Ceramic C1000 Typhoon

Post by footycrazy »

Sorry to hear of the lug breakage.

A decent car spares will have a 2 pack glue that is extremely strong and might solve the problem.

Secondly, as someone else said, CW must have a steel case that the 7750 will fit into if they cannot have another ceramic case made.

How about a 3D printer ??

Still poor that CW don,t carry spares.

I once asked about a new blue insert for the Scooter blue Trident and was told NO.

:thumbdown:
J-Rock121
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2021 5:36 am

Re: Broken Ceramic C1000 Typhoon

Post by J-Rock121 »

Sorry to hear that. While I'm no expert with ceramic case watches, I've had quite a few Omega Speedy Dark/Grey Side ceramic models throughout the years. With all that being said, ceramic is nearly scratch-proof however, it's brittle when dropped/smashed directly on a hard surface. I don't recommend gluing it back together as you never know the next time an accident happens, if it'll hold up (probably not) & make it worst (shatter into more pieces). Also, gluing together would drive me nuts seeing the cracks but to each their own. Tooling is very expensive for ceramic so I highly doubt CW would be willing to do that. It's only been a few years since production has ended so you'd think they would still have spare cases. Hopefully it's true CW is retaining more spare parts with newer models. Please keep us posted OP.

*Makes a mental note to never buy a CW ceramic watch*
User avatar
Mark_B
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2017 2:59 pm
CW-watches: 5

Re: Broken Ceramic C1000 Typhoon

Post by Mark_B »

So sorry to hear of the mishap with your C1000 Typhoon, that's a real shame :( I have the C1000 Cockpit edition and its a lovely watch, so I feel your pain.

If you are not able to get a replacement case from CW, (and that is a real shame), I think the chances of finding a correct CW C1000 replacement case only on ebay are slim to non-existent I'd say. - You might find a defective/non working C1000 (maybe water damage or something?) to use for the case parts, but again I fear the chances are pretty slim, since replacement ETA 7750 movements/parts to fix one are readily available, but you never know....

The other two viable options as I see it (and as mentioned previously) are, (in no particular order):

1. get a generic PVD black St. Steel case and transfer the movement and dial over - this is very easy for a competent watch maker, (not one of those guys that replaces batteries in a shoe repair place! :lol: ), but you would need to know the EXACT dimensions for the dial diameter/opening (easy enough) and whether CW have fitted a movement ring and the diameter, (rather than securing the movement in with standard case clamps), again another critical case dimension for the case. - From memory, (I don;t have mine in front of me), I suspect the former as the dia of the visible dial is larger than the dia of an ETA 7750 movement......don't quote me on that though, as I say ......from memory. - Ideally you'd want CW to source and fit the 'generic' (or CW ETA 7750) case for you as this way you may still have some balance of warranty after.

The downside of this is that you don't have that beautiful engraved Eurofighter on the case back (it won't fit on to a generic case), but you would have a wearable watch again.. :thumbup:

2. You repair it (or get it repaired for you), using some form of adhesive (ideally specialist ceramic adhesive?) - not an area of my expertise so suggest to do some research - the downside of this is that no matter how good a job is done, its likely that the repair will be visible to some extent - the upside is that you'd still have the original case and it should be fairly quick and cheap to repair. --- If you do go down this route, (and if you have no luck with finding a replacement case, then what have you got to loose?!), then I would recommend wearing it on a NATO or single piece pass-through strap, for the reason that if the lug does come un-glued, the watch head will be retained on the strap by the other spring bar and not fall to the floor.... plus you should be able to carefully fit the spring bars then feed the strap through, rather than putting undue stress on the glued lug with a spring bar tool + strap.

Might also be worth getting in touch with CW again (unless you have exhausted this avenue) in a few weeks time after the busy sales period (plus the service/repair dept is closed due to Covid at the moment).

I hope that helps a little, and I hope you manage to get it fixed so that you can enjoy wearing it again..... (in the mean-time you have a desk chrono?! :silent: ).

all the very best of luck with it, and please do let us know how you get on. :thumbup:
CW: C8 Flyer UTC, C1000 Typhoon Cockpit Edition, C65 Super Compressor, C60 Trident 600 GMT, C63 Sealander GMT and Many others!
User avatar
CBMVic20
Senior Guru
Senior Guru
Posts: 721
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 6:21 pm
CW-watches: 3
Location: Leafy Surrey

Re: Broken Ceramic C1000 Typhoon

Post by CBMVic20 »

Sorry that your watch case has shattered, how did it happen? Strap broke or slipped off the table?

I would claim this on household insurance for a replacement (not neccessarily another Typhoon) rather than try to repair as the lug will always be a weak point now in the case. You could always sell off the rest of the parts inside or even contact CW and see if they will give you some goodwill towards another watch.
CW C9 SH21 | C60 Apex SH21 | C65 SH21
Ernst Benz Chronoscope DLC
Oris WilliamsF1 Day Date 2004
Phoibos Leviathan DLC
Seiko 5 Sports Orange "Baby" Monster
Tag Aquaracer | F1 Panda

Too many watches, not enough time :(
User avatar
Robotaz
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 1182
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:56 pm
CW-watches: 3
Location: Tennessee

Re: Broken Ceramic C1000 Typhoon

Post by Robotaz »

Ugh. Really sorry to hear this. I hadn't even considered your circumstances when pondering ceramic watches. I seriously doubt I'll ever buy one now.

JB Weld? lol
Dilbert
Senior
Senior
Posts: 113
Joined: Sun Aug 18, 2019 4:51 pm

Re: Broken Ceramic C1000 Typhoon

Post by Dilbert »

GXWARDFAN wrote: Thu Jan 07, 2021 8:28 pm I contacted CW and they don't have any replacement cases.
After reading this post, I'm incredibly disappointed that CW doesn't keep a small stock of replacement cases. It might be a rare breakage, but GXWARDFAN's case can't be unique.

Do you think that Longines and Omega are the same?

Image

Image

Incidentally, this Omega bears several similarities to the C60 Elite 1000 GMT. Could it be Omega's first homage to CW? :)
User avatar
Caller
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 2124
Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2014 11:44 pm
CW-watches: 2
Location: Hua Hin, Thailand

Re: Broken Ceramic C1000 Typhoon

Post by Caller »

Dilbert wrote: Thu Feb 04, 2021 12:36 pm After reading this post, I'm incredibly disappointed that CW doesn't keep a small stock of replacement cases. It might be a rare breakage, but GXWARDFAN's case can't be unique.

Do you think that Longines and Omega are the same?
Well in the early days of the DS models, when I followed the Omega forum, Omega did replace the ceramic cases of a couple of mishaps. From memory, a small chunk near the lugs had dropped out of one, and the other was a broken lug. But as the watch is still in (limited) production, there shouldn't be any immediate issues. Not sure about the PO, I assume the same if it's still in production.
'Tis me
Dilbert
Senior
Senior
Posts: 113
Joined: Sun Aug 18, 2019 4:51 pm

Re: Broken Ceramic C1000 Typhoon

Post by Dilbert »

Bahnstormer_vRS wrote: Fri Jan 08, 2021 2:30 pmthe OP's C1000 Typhoon is at least nearly five years old.
For a quality timepiece, five years is young. And the OP's watch cost £1,500 five years ago. At this price, spares should be available for at least a decade (if not longer).

Many enthusiasts like me keep our watches for significantly longer than five years and expect a brand like CW to have spares. Without batting a Swiss eyelid, Oris has just replaced the bezel insert on a diver of mine that's over twice as old as the OP's watch. I'd expect the same from CW.
H0rati0 wrote: Fri Jan 08, 2021 4:54 pm I agree, this is a CW weakness and they ought to address it to bolster the long term value of the brand as well as customer satisfaction. Eg Omega, Zenith amongst others still have parts and offer restorations for models going back decades and that does make me more inclined to invest.
Precisely.
User avatar
MichaelMD
Senior Guru
Senior Guru
Posts: 462
Joined: Tue Feb 02, 2021 3:09 pm
CW-watches: 1
Location: Maryland, USA

Re: Broken Ceramic C1000 Typhoon

Post by MichaelMD »

This was a very interesting read. Sorry to hear about this OP. I can imagine on a limited edition like this in ceramic CW basically took every case they produced and put movements in them and sold. I'm not really too surprised they don't have spares although it is disappointing. I would really suggest going the adhesive route. some of these specialized adhesives are incredibly strong and I believe you would barely see the crack after repair. Yes it would always be a weak spot, but unless you dropped onto or struck a hard object with it I think it would hold just fine. Better to go this route than discarding or buying a new watch. Give it a shot.
exHowfener
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 1018
Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 6:26 pm
CW-watches: 1

Re: Broken Ceramic C1000 Typhoon

Post by exHowfener »

With modern specialist adhesives, the join, far from being a weak point is often stronger than the surrounding material.
I started out with nothing and I still have most of it left
User avatar
rkovars
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 3256
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2020 7:56 pm
CW-watches: 5
Location: New England, US

Re: Broken Ceramic C1000 Typhoon

Post by rkovars »

exHowfener wrote: Thu Feb 04, 2021 6:39 pm With modern specialist adhesives, the join, far from being a weak point is often stronger than the surrounding material.
I was going to answer that as well. If done correctly, the repair should be stronger than the surrounding material. I don't know the specifics with working with ceramics. It might pay to ask around to a bunch of different sources to get some opinions.
Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well.
Jack London
Soporsche
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 1921
Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2016 10:22 am
CW-watches: 9
Location: London

Re: Broken Ceramic C1000 Typhoon

Post by Soporsche »

I hope that GXWARDFAN has either resolved his issue or comes back online to benefit from some of the great suggestions here!
Stephen

A few CWs and other brands
Dilbert
Senior
Senior
Posts: 113
Joined: Sun Aug 18, 2019 4:51 pm

Spare parts and CW's long-term ownership prospect

Post by Dilbert »

And I hope that someone from CW headquarters spots this thread (do they ever look at this forum?) and acts on the need for spare parts generally – especially the parts that get damaged (bezels, crowns, etc.).

Imagine how many CW watches have a ceramic bezel and, over time, the percentage of cracked bezel inserts. Oris and other brands can replace old bezel inserts for years if not decades. Consequently, it's unhelpful for CW's reputation if the company can't match this long-term ownership prospect.
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post