Chat with Chris photos June 22, 2012

Prototypes and sketches of non-production watches.
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Chat with Chris photos June 22, 2012

Post by Kip »

Here you are...these are the photos that were posted during the Chat with Chris.

I will post the transcript in a few days when completed.

I am certain that Chris will be interested in your feedback.

Enjoy!

Proposed new buckle
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C7 MKII
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C9 Rose numerals
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C9 chrono dial
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C9 JH Rose
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C11 Makaira Elite Titanium
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C11 Makaira Pro
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C60 COSC w new strap
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C900 monopusher
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W60 Coral
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W90
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W900
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C10
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W11 Amelia
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Re: Chat with Chris photos June 22, 2012

Post by 28800bph »

OK, I'm impressed! That's the last chat I'll miss.

I suppose there wasn't a price mentioned for the C900?
I think Mr. Jahnke designed a masterpiece there.

Lots of stuff to put in the budget.
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Re: Chat with Chris photos June 22, 2012

Post by Vicious49 »

Some very nice new designs by Chris.
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Re: Chat with Chris photos June 22, 2012

Post by Lavaine »

Chris certainly seems to be listening to customer feedback. An ladies/reduced diver, and a ladies auto.
The mono-pusher is fantastic, though out of my budget range, and the C11 diver is nicely executed.
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Re: Chat with Chris photos June 22, 2012

Post by Aifo »

Very impressed with the C9 rose gold, both automatic and JH. Also the green dial C7 MKII maybe the only quartz I would consider purchasing again. The mono pusher is simply out of this world and irrespective of the price, it clearly raise the brand to a new tier with it's innovation. The best thing from all of the drawings is the bold display of ambition, absolutely fantastic!
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Re: Chat with Chris photos June 22, 2012

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

A few thoughts:

1. I think the most fundamental and urgent need is being addressed with the ladies' automatics, and I'm very glad to see them appear. I hope the ladies like them and prove their popularity. :clap:

2. C11 Makaira diver - very interesting. It doesn't alter my reservations about the C11, but the blue one is smart and I'm sure the titanium version will be popular.

3. Disappointed that nothing new is appearing in the 38-40mm range, though I believe there was mention made of a gold C50. Too much like the C5 in my opinion, and I would have liked to see a new case/style in this size, e.g. slimline manual winder. I would guess, though, that Chris and his colleagues know the market well and think that this might not have a wide enough appeal.

4. The monopusher as a new flagship piece looks fantastic, and is one of the two for which I could probably sacrifice my sizeist principles. The monopusher is probably going to be beyond my budget, but the one that jumps out at me is the blue chrono dial...I want one! :D
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Re: Chat with Chris photos June 22, 2012

Post by downer »

An interesting bunch of pictures. I missed most of the chat, so I will need to read the transcript to get some insight into some of the models. However, my initial impressions:

The C7 MkII seems to address the most obvious flaw in the MkI, which was readability. The other issue that needed resolving was the fact that the bezel was prone to chipping, so I hope that has also been addressed..Personally, I think the logo is clumsy.

The C9 rose gold looks great, apart from the big, ugly logo which surely has no place on such a refined watch. With the old logo, I'd buy one tomorrow, but as it is.... no thanks.

The C9 Chrono in blue is not my cuppa but I can see the appeal of the colourful dial.

Somehow, the JH looks far more at home in the rose gold case - a definite improvement. I am a little confused about the 'limited edition' status of the steel version, but maybe that is covered in the chat......

As for the C11 divers, they are quite interesting, although frankly I don't understand the reason for swapping 12 with 0 and I'm surprised to see a countdown bezel, rather than an elapsed timer. My initial view of the C11 hands (over large) remains, although I think the bezel improves the overall balance of the dial.

The C60 COSC is ruined by the logo.

Finally, the mono-pusher. Looks fantastic - very refined, nice slim bezel, hands, markers and sub-dials. A really interesting watch which is....(I think you may know what is coming....) ABSOLUTELY RUINED with the bloody logo.
:thumbdown:

All in all, an interesting mix. It is good to see the continued expansion of the range, both in terms of number of models and also the different directions.
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Re: Chat with Chris photos June 22, 2012

Post by gwells »

all that said, downer, what do you think of the logo? ;)
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Re: Chat with Chris photos June 22, 2012

Post by downer »

gwells wrote:all that said, downer, what do you think of the logo? ;)
I know.... a broken record..... I even annoy myself with the negativity... and maybe I'm the only one... but for me, any interest in acquiring any new models has gone.
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Re: Chat with Chris photos June 22, 2012

Post by nathanclarinet »

I really enjoyed the chat and it was great to see the new models. But i was not hugely inspired by any of them in particular apart from maybe the ladies ceramic offering (w60 if I recall). I think the monopusher looks nice and classy and I can appreciate the work in the complication but at 2.5k, it is a big step up in CW pricing. That said, I have no doubt that it will sell. I like that the c7 mk2 has addressed what I didn't like about the mark 1 and the brg offering with arabic numerals looks good. However, overall I have to agree with downer and say that my biggest bug bear with all of them was the logo. It got to stage I think where I was wincing as the photos were produced with the abrasive new logo shouting out from the dial. I have not commented on this too much before but it really stood out from these pics and not in a good way IMHO.
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Re: Chat with Chris photos June 22, 2012

Post by jasonjuiceon »

Any chance the C7 MKII will come in a white dial version?
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Re: Chat with Chris photos June 22, 2012

Post by eggtronics »

From what I remember regarding prices, the standard C11 diver is going be slightly up from the current C11 so expect £450, and the elite titanium even more. The C900 is going to be around £2,500 which is a decent price for a mono pusher, especially being that Chris said that JJ will be hand making every movement!

Did any one catch the price for the C7 mk2? I think it looks great - as long as its a decent price and not OTT! Yes it's a Carrera homage but oh well, still loving it!
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Re: Chat with Chris photos June 22, 2012

Post by vega »

There was a new pilot announced that is going to be around 42mm.
It was the only one I would buy.

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Chat with Chris photos June 22, 2012

Post by DSHall »

C7 brg and a Titanium C11!!!! Mono pusher if I win the lottery between now and release. Overall very nice, and I'm sort of relaxed bout the logo although I would prefer the old one. :)
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Re: Chat with Chris photos June 22, 2012

Post by asqwerth »

The logo seemed ok to me, now that there is the addition of the "London" to balance the "Chr Ward". I was specifically checking out the logos in all the pictures, and IMO it didn't look ugly, crass or even loud in any of the designs.

I was very impressed by the monopusher (it's a JJ module on top of an existing Unitas handwound movement, right? Not a whole new movement?), and the designs for diver versions of the C11. Very clever to have aviator-looking dive watches, and I think they look good.

Rose gold C9 and JH - pretty.

Not sure about the blue dial for C9 chrono, though. The C9s chronos were already IWC-esque. Isn't the blue dial pushing it?

C7 Mk2 - hmm. Not my cup of tea. Looks plain and unexciting.
But the bezel is definitely an improvement. Shiny bezel with fine tachymeter markings = scratches and inability to read markings amongst all the scratches and reflections! :D

Now on to the pics Kip has posted about the ladies' watches:

1. W60 - nothing in the drawings indicates it has a mechanical movement or has appropriate water-resistance for a dive watch (ie, 200m at least). The measurements in one drawing indicate the whole case diameter - not including crown - is only 33mm. Since the bezel's pretty thick, that means the dial diameter's really small. I think that's too small for a modern ladies' dive - or even sports - watch. I was hoping it would be around 36mm.

I think it's probably a fashion/non-diver sports watch that merely resembles the Trident C60. I hope I'm wrong.

Also, this smaller-than-expected size plus the more feminine design will disappoint the men here who wanted a midsize Trident.

2. W90 - finally! An automatic women's watch. Thank you, CW.

I like the dial design, but again, my reservation is that it may be a little small : case width is 24mm and the dial window width is only 18mm! This makes it more dressy/formal than I would prefer, and I will have concerns about readability if the dial and hands are too small. On the other hand, rectangular watches tend to be narrower because the overall shape does take up more area on the wrist than a circular design with the same width.

I'll reserve judgment for when pics of the actual prototype watches are finally released.

3. Someone mentioned somewhere that there was a white W11. Really ? A smaller-sized C11?? Or was that a typo and he meant the white W60?

Overall, I think CW upped their game for the coming new season. I'm excited and looking forward to more news about what's coming.
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