Non aficionado review of the Malvern C5 Mk iii

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Underhilldc
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Non aficionado review of the Malvern C5 Mk iii

Post by Underhilldc »

Watch: Malven C5 Mk iii C539AMK3-0937

Product page: https://www.christopherward.co.uk/c5-ma ... c-mk-iii-9
Date acquired: June 2018


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Overview

I am not a watch buff at all. I had been wearing the same Accurist my brother and sister bought me for my 21st for almost 9 years when the strap broke on a work trip to China and the watch went missing from my pocket. I always have a phone in my pocket and I wear a Garmin Forerunner 230 for running and kayaking but I like the feel of a ‘real’ watch on my wrist for general life. A ~£45 Timex filled the gap for a few months but all of the complications rapidly stopped working, so I was building up a head of steam to get myself something nice when my parents generously offered to buy me a watch for my 30th. They aren’t watch people so left the choice up to me with a guideline budget of £500 and a preference to buy something new rather than used. I happily hit up the internet and got rapidly lost into the world of watches.


I’ve not written a review before and I’m certainly not a watch aficionado so this review is HIGHLY impacted by my priorities listed below. If you are looking for a more informed review I found the below very useful when deciding what watch to go for:

Watch it all about: https://www.watchitallabout.com/christo ... ch-review/ (Their youtube video in particular is great)

Wrist watch review: https://wristwatchreview.com/2017/03/30 ... ic-mk-iii/

Gear Patrol: https://gearpatrol.com/2018/05/23/best-watches-grads/ - This isn’t a review of the Malvern C5 but it is the first time I had come across Christopher Ward.

My priorities (in order of importance:

1. Price: As previously mentioned I had a ball park budget of £500 and I tried to stick to that.

2. Aesthetics: To be honest the look of this watch was very important to me. The only other ‘jewellery’ I wear is my wedding band; a simple silver band made by a local craftsperson, so I was hoping for something understated and stylish. This would be my day to day watch so I wanted something that would look equally at home at a wedding, in the office or knocking around with friends. I work in sales so nothing too flashy but it would be nice to have a couple of interesting features if someone looked carefully. Hopefully this watch would last a long time so the more timeless the better.

3. Movement: I have never owned a mechanical watch but after trying a few of my cousin’s (he is something of a collector) I knew that if I could afford one they just feel that bit more special. I had no strong preference between automatic and hand wound. I always have a phone on me so the exact timekeeping was not a major stress.

4. Date: I fill my name in on countless company entrance sheets and it is very useful to be able to see the date at a glance!

5. British: I am very proud to work for a British manufacturer. I have been following Bremont for a couple of years and love that they are making a British watch. At the other end of the price spectrum I have enjoyed that Accurist celebrate their British heritage. I knew I wouldn’t be able to find a watch fully made in the UK but any British link would be great.

6. Robust/Warranty/Service – In an ideal world I would buy a 100 ATM bullet proof watch but I could quickly see that with my other priorities a diver might be beyond me. I normally wear my Garmin Forerunner for activities so this wasn’t too much of a disaster. Still, I would need some sort of waterproofing so that the watch didn’t die in the event of an accident (and I have a dog that loves to swim so accidents do happen!). My cousin (the watch collector) strongly advised me to only go for a Sapphire screen so that was a must. I will treat this watch with care and I want it to last for a long time so a good warranty, a reasonably priced servicing scheme and a reputation for customer service would go a long way.

7. Other complications: I won’t be using this watch as a stop watch, I use my phone to see the time zones of my customers abroad and I don’t need to see the phases of the moon so I had a preference for a clean face (I’m desperately telling myself that as I knew I couldn’t afford a world timer or a moon phase watch!).

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Other brands/watches I seriously considered:

- Tissot: Tissot make very affordable watches and have a solid name behind them. The Everytime Swissmatic looked a cracking watch but in the end I decided it was too plain

- Citizen: Again, Citizen offer affordable automatic (ish) watches at a cracking price but I couldn’t find one that felt right. It’s a totally personal thing but to my mind their watches are a touch busy looking.

- Farer: I loved the aesthetics of the Farer brand and their celebration of British explorers. I strongly considered the Barnato II but I decided I didn’t want Quartz. The more I think about it now though, even if their automatic watches had been more affordable maybe their bold colours are more suited to a collection watch than a everyday wearer.


How the Malvern ticked the boxes:

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1. Price: No messing around here, Christopher Ward watches are unbelievably good value. So unbelievable in fact that if I had not seen reviews extolling the 60:60 I may well have stayed away thinking it was too good to be true. Citizen and Tissot have automatics at a similar price but for a small British brand, CW is exceptional.

2. Aesthetics: I fell in love with the Malvern C5 Mk iii the moment I saw it. In particular I think it’s worth mentioning:

a. The Logo: I know there has been some debate about this but I love the new logo. I think it looks modern but should age well. I don’t think I would have bought a Mk i or ii as to my mind they look old fashioned. It’s a personal thing but I read in the ‘interview with Chris’ recently that the average customer age has come down 10 years since the change in logo and that makes sense to me.
b. The hands: Again, I love the brushed blue hands. They aren’t in your face but add a bit of character to the face of the watch. They look great with a blue suit but are understated enough they don’t clash with other colours.
c. The transparent caseback: If you are going to go for a mechanical movement it is SUPER cool to be able to see it. It would have been too much on the front of the watch but it is a lovely thing to take the watch off now and again and watch the cogs turn.
d. Strap: The colour is exactly as pictured on the CW product page and I am made up with how it looks.
e. Quick release straps: Brilliant. I never knew that this was an option but after purchasing two additional straps it now feels like I have three watches instead of one (although I am not sure the nato works). It takes seconds to switch between them.
f. Crown and strap clasp logo: I doubt anyone else will ever notice these on my watch but I do, constantly. Tiny details like this reinforce for me the care that CW take making their watches and the respect they have for their customers.

3. Movement: The sweep of the second hand makes me happy every day, as does the audible tick. The video of the movement on the CW product page is bang on. I have added a note under accuracy but for the most part I am extremely pleased.

4. Date: Does what it says on the tin here but I should note:
a. The date is easy to change.
b. I am very pleased that CW explained you shouldn't to change the date between 20.00 and 02.00. This might seem obvious to more experienced watch users but as a mechanical newby this was new information to me!

5. British: It felt great buying from a British brand and I was appreciated the chance to go and try on the watch (unfortunately I had to cancel my appointment as I had a meeting run over, but CW were fantastic about that). I was born in Manchester and live in Cardiff now (married to a proud welsh woman) so I was very pleased that the ‘London’ was removed from the logo. I am definitely British but I’m not from London and I feel more connected to the brand with the new logo.

6. Robust/Warranty: I’ve had the watch for just over a month and treated it as I plan to for the rest of its life. I take it off for adventures (climbing, kayaking, mountain biking, washing the dishes, showering!) but I otherwise basically ignore it. I can’t see any scratches to the face or case at all. I occasionally clean the watch with the cloth provided in the box but it doesn’t seem to pick up undue smudges. I was very pleased to read about the fast and cost effective servicing. I wasn't aware of this forum until after I had taken delivery of the watch but stories like this: http://www.christopherwardforum.com/vie ... =1&t=49938 make me absolutely confident I have made the right choice.

7. Other complications: Again, this does what it says on the tin but I can’t think of any complications I have felt are missing. For my job a world timer would have been nice but it would be a ludicrous luxury at this price point. Maybe once I am a millionaire (this time next year Rodney!).


Note: I’ve bought a blue leather and a grey nato strap from Barton to look better with non-brown shoes, add a bit of variety and save the beautiful CW camel strap from general wear and tear. I love the blue leather but I don’t think the Nato works, the Malvern C5 is so slim that the extra two bands underneath make a huge difference. If you have made it this far I would really appreciate your feedback, my wife isn’t a fan (she loves the blue leather) but I am torn.

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What would I change?:

- Accuracy: The C5 does seem to be slow by a minute or two over a month but as I previously stated this is not a major issue for me. I did once lose an hour but as this was a one off and I had edited the time earlier in the day I assume I had not properly reset the crown. Naturally if it happens again I will take advantage of the 60:60 guarantee. I very much doubt this will be a problem.

- Water resistance: This might be impossible at the price point and I wouldn’t sacrifice the transparent caseback for it, but in an ideal world 5 ATM rather than 3 would allow me to wear the watch in my (non power) shower. It’s a small thing but this would reduce the friction of wearing a watch every day.

- Robustness of the leather strap: It’s been extremely hot whilst I have owned the watch and I’ve only ever worn rubber or distressed leather straps before so again, this could be totally unfair, but I have found more marks appear on the leather strap than I would have liked, including a grey mark seemingly from the metal of the watch itself. If I hadn’t changed the original camel leather for a new strap for day-to-day wear I worry it would rapidly look more scruffy than I am comfortable wearing to an important customer visit/a wedding etc. I am planning on treating myself to a CW Milanese strap at some point which I am sure will remove this as an issue.

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(Apologies for my awful skin here)

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- Illuminated hands: I really don’t know if this would work on a dress watch, very possibly not. That being said it would be nice to be able to read the time in the dark.

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(The C5 looks great in low light though)

TLDR:
CW have provided a cracking looking mechanical watch for an (almost) unrivalled price. Once you factor in the British providence it is a complete stand out watch in the market.
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