C90 Beckett's - Uniquely Brilliant!

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Royston 64
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C90 Beckett's - Uniquely Brilliant!

Post by Royston 64 »

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I have kept an eye on the development of this watch since it's inception through the Christopher Ward forum (An excellent forum that operates autonomously from the brand) and the early designs were full of promise.

I love power reserve complications on automatic watches and one of my favourites is a Glashutte Original senator 'up and down' that I have. That particular watch has an immaculate Glashutte 39 - 44 calibre movement, but of course it cost me a small fortune. That said watches have been a weakness for me since receiving my first mechanical Timex at the age of 8, since then there have been many many more.

When I found out that the Beckett's was to be equipped with ETA's new Valgranges A07.161 (shortened the name slightly), I thought wow - I want one! This is one of the few movements that has grabbed my attention in recent years, others being Jaeger Le Coultre's 975 auto tractor and Omega's (George Daniels) co-axial escapement. In the case of the Valgranges though it was providing a solution to what was becoming an ever present problem - That of watch cases outgrowing their movements. Some movements were definitely struggling to provide the torque necessary to power larger sized hands and additional functions whilst still providing an adequate power reserve.Image
Although the movement wasn't a completely new development (the origins of the Valgranges calibre come from the venerable Valjoux 7750) it is certainly close to one. This movement measures a whopping 16 3/4 ligne (12 ligne in a French inch - almost exactly the same as an English inch) or 36.6mm in diameter and is 7.9mm in height. This represents an increase of 6.6mm in width compared to it's cousin - the Valjoux 7750. The amount of power reserve in the movement has also been increased by a minimum of 3 hours to the new minimum of 45 hours. On top of this, the movement finishing has been been given a visual boost. with both prominent Cotes de Geneve and Cotes Circulaire covering the Rotor, bridges and base plate. It is stunning!! Chris has had ETA customise the rotor to his own design of engraving and it really is a great job.Image
Enough about the movement though, one of the most appealing aspects of this watch is the visual impact that the dial makes on you when you first see it. Not only is it gorgeous, but it really is a fresh - unique design. The hands and markers are just the right size and style; the date window works very well, and this must have been hard to achieve with it being circular. Believe me though Chris has indeed achieved it. I also Love the inner 24hr track and of course the prominent power reserve is stunning. There are several layers to the dial and I don't think it is possible to be tired of gazing at it. I can honestly say that I wouldn't change one thing about it.ImageImage
The quality of the case finishing must also be heralded, once again it is 'top drawer' and belies the modest price tag of this piece. The bulbous shaping, polishing and alternate brushed sides are just perfect. Of course both front and back are protected by the finest Sapphire crystals. The crown is very nicely engraved (not laser engraved but properly engraved) and is the perfect size and shape for this watch - it is a pleasure to use. The whole watch is complimented by one of Christopher Wards superb black alligator grain (Real alligator is an extra cost option) leather straps. These straps have the perfect combination of suppleness and padding, and quite how he sells these separately with a deployment clasp for £30.00 is beyond me.Image
To be able to produce this Uniquely brilliant watch for £750.00 is a mystery to me. The amount of work that as gone into producing it is immense. I nearly for got about accuracy - well mine has only deviated by 2 seconds in 48hrs, considering that amounts to 172 800 seconds - it really is incredible.Image
To sum up - 'Don't walk - RUN to your nearest computer and order one - you will not regret ti!! Don't however consider doing a 'Bernie Ecclestone" on mine (I knew I'd get the Grand Prix theme in there somewhere), it might not have cost the tens of thousands that the one stolen from Bernie did - But my C90 Beckett's is more precious to meImageImage/imgImageImage
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Re: C90 Beckett's - Uniquely Brilliant!

Post by Kip »

Exceptional review and well accompanied by some excellent photos. Well done!

I really enjoyed reading this thoughtful analysis of the the "Watch of the Year".

I take it you like it.

=D>
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Re: C90 Beckett's - Uniquely Brilliant!

Post by village »

Excellent review and it's also good to see pictures of it in real life...shows that those stubby hands on the prototype have been 'slenderised' nicely.
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Re: C90 Beckett's - Uniquely Brilliant!

Post by scooter »

Thoroughly agree with Kip and village's appraisals. I can't think of anything else to say except that I enjoyed the read and pictures.

This is not a watch I've given a minutes thought to - until now.

Well done that man.

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Re: C90 Beckett's - Uniquely Brilliant!

Post by rcherryuk »

village wrote:Excellent review and it's also good to see pictures of it in real life...shows that those stubby hands on the prototype have been 'slenderised' nicely.
True, but I still don't like that hand shape!

Great review though.

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Re: C90 Beckett's - Uniquely Brilliant!

Post by Richard »

Great review and great pictures.

What really buggers me tho is the date window. Is not big enough to fit the two digit date as it seems.
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Re: C90 Beckett's - Uniquely Brilliant!

Post by jmarchitect »

Fantastic review and great pictures- thank you very much. I loved reading about the movement and was not aware that the valgranges used in the C90 has been made bigger to overcome the problems with bigger case/faces/hands.

The C90 clearly has a dedicated following and it is certainly a striking piece. I just can't get on with the style or the fact that the date window is slightly too small to allow the full date to be seen.

Never mind me though- enjoy!
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Re: C90 Beckett's - Uniquely Brilliant!

Post by highway62 »

excellent review, both entertaining and informative! :D
Sadly, the watch to my eyes at least, remains a bit of a mess in terms of styling elements which just do not coalesce into a cohesive whole :(
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Re: C90 Beckett's - Uniquely Brilliant!

Post by alphajet »

A good review of a lovely watch. 8)
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Re: C90 Beckett's - Uniquely Brilliant!

Post by Mortis »

Great review and pics. This watch just keeps growing on me!
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Re: C90 Beckett's - Uniquely Brilliant!

Post by Clarky »

The look of this watch isn't doing it for me at the moment, but I have to hand it to you for a fantastic review and pictures 8) I like the power reserve gauge, but the overall look just dosen't work for me.
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Re: C90 Beckett's - Uniquely Brilliant!

Post by downer »

Interesting review, thanks for posting. The watch is growing on me and I'm interested to see the white version when it arrives.
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Re: C90 Beckett's - Uniquely Brilliant!

Post by Loddonite »

Thanks for taking the time to put that together Royston.
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Re: C90 Beckett's - Uniquely Brilliant!

Post by scoot »

Great review and now I think that would look great on the wrist and in the watch box :)
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Re: C90 Beckett's - Uniquely Brilliant!

Post by ianblyth »

Great review and pics. Thanks for taking the time.
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