C65 sandstorm chronometer - Review

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Richard D
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Re: C65 sandstorm chronometer - Review

Post by Richard D »

Good review, thank you. Confirms my initial thought, a time piece designed by committee. However, it does leave for an interesting watch.
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Re: C65 sandstorm chronometer - Review

Post by ajax87 »

The variety of photos in different lighting conditions really helps. I haven’t see this variety of photos anywhere else. Easy to read, too. Thanks!
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Re: C65 sandstorm chronometer - Review

Post by missF »

ajax87 wrote: Sat Feb 20, 2021 2:22 pm The variety of photos in different lighting conditions really helps. I haven’t see this variety of photos anywhere else. Easy to read, too. Thanks!
Thanks :thumbup:
I wish I could take good watch pics.... I’m pretty impatient and my hands are a bit shaky! But at least you get an impression of the different faces of the watch which was one of the most important things I wanted to convey
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Re: C65 sandstorm chronometer - Review

Post by magicman »

Great Review missF

Honest and interesting !

I do have a question, in one of the close ups, I can see what I believe is a quick release pin on the strap, does this rub against the case ? it looks very close in the photo.

Regards Steve
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Re: C65 sandstorm chronometer - Review

Post by albionphoto »

Thanks for the review. It's great to see a review from someone who actually owns one. :D :D :D

It's great to see someone else taking on writing watch reviews. They can be a lot of fun (and work) to write. I've written a few and you are doing great. Advice? Keep a template that works for you with clear sections and sub-sections. Try to have images that illustrate what you want to say in each section. As others have said try to intersperse images and text. It's not hard to do. I use flickr as a hosting tool and that makes it easy to add images within text. I also add images as attachments in a separate post. In general I have found that it is better to keep the specifications to the end of the review and refer to them in the text.

As for the watch? Personally I'm not convinced. It always felt to me to be a passion project (Zach Weiss) rescued by professionals (CW design team). I can't help thinking it has been one of the slowest selling W&W collaborations given how it is promoted on Insta and even by CW emails.
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Re: C65 sandstorm chronometer - Review

Post by missF »

magicman wrote: Sat Feb 20, 2021 2:36 pm I do have a question, in one of the close ups, I can see what I believe is a quick release pin on the strap, does this rub against the case ? it looks very close in the photo.

Regards Steve
Very well spotted. This was mentioned in another review I read, but I forgot to check it out when I got the watch. It is indeed a close thing. My feeling, though, is that currently the strap is so stiff that it sweeps downwards at 90 degrees to the case, and it is this that swings the QR pin close to the case. Once the strap haas softened a bit it will sweep away from the case before curving round my wrist, and this should be less of a problem. Hope this makes some sense.....
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Re: C65 sandstorm chronometer - Review

Post by magicman »

missF wrote: Sat Feb 20, 2021 2:46 pm
magicman wrote: Sat Feb 20, 2021 2:36 pm I do have a question, in one of the close ups, I can see what I believe is a quick release pin on the strap, does this rub against the case ? it looks very close in the photo.

Regards Steve
Very well spotted. This was mentioned in another review I read, but I forgot to check it out when I got the watch. It is indeed a close thing. My feeling, though, is that currently the strap is so stiff that it sweeps downwards at 90 degrees to the case, and it is this that swings the QR pin close to the case. Once the strap haas softened a bit it will sweep away from the case before curving round my wrist, and this should be less of a problem. Hope this makes some sense.....
Yes, that makes sense, why it's took so long for these to become common place, is beyond me.
I used to buy Fossil straps, over anything else, because they featured them.

Will you be, swapping straps out, just because it's so easy ?

Regards Steve
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Re: C65 sandstorm chronometer - Review

Post by missF »

magicman wrote: Sat Feb 20, 2021 2:52 pm Will you be, swapping straps out, just because it's so easy ?

Regards Steve
I realise I should have said more about the strap in the review.
No, I won''t be swapping this strap out - I think it suits the watch perfectly, and is an integral part of what I like about the watch, equal to any of the other features. I've never used a canvas strap before, but this one is backed by leather, very robust. In fact I'm going to buy another from CW and keep it in the cupboard for when this one wears out :thumbup:
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Re: C65 sandstorm chronometer - Review

Post by missF »

albionphoto wrote: Sat Feb 20, 2021 2:38 pm Thanks for the review. It's great to see a review from someone who actually owns one. :D :D :D
Thanks for all the advice re writing reviews. Ordering is something to consider certainly, and keeping some sort of template in mind is very good advice. Cheers! :thumbup:
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Re: C65 sandstorm chronometer - Review

Post by Bahnstormer_vRS »

A beautiful and eloquently written review, Lindsey, but nevertheless straightforward; not like some reviews which seem to be nothing more than descriptive tosh.
Richard D wrote:Good review, thank you. Confirms my initial thought, a time piece designed by committee. However, it does leave for an interesting watch.
Designed by Committee?

There is obviously going to be input from CW and W&W but I feel that Armin Strom have also, indirectly perhaps, a hand in the design as there is (to me) a clear link especially with the dial down from the Sandstorm's father, the C7 Apex.

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Sounds like a job for BahnstormerMan! :D

Next time around I'll be delighted to help with the production, but not the writing.


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Re: C65 sandstorm chronometer - Review

Post by missF »

Thanks Guy :thumbup:
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Re: C65 sandstorm chronometer - Review

Post by nbg »

Lindsey I enjoyed reading that. Thanks for taking the time to put the review together. :thumbup:

Yes the date feature is small and for many perhaps not readable at a glance. However the way I look at it (as someone who often wears no date watches) is that even if not readable at a glance, a closer look would still tell me the time quicker than the alternative of removing my phone from a pocket.

To me the Sandstorm is far and away the most interesting of any of the 38mm C65 models that CW have produced. I like it.

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Re: C65 sandstorm chronometer - Review

Post by missF »

nbg wrote: Sat Feb 20, 2021 3:25 pm
Yes the date feature is small and for many perhaps not readable at a glance. However the way I look at it (as someone who often wears no date watches) is that even if not readable at a glance, a closer look would still tell me the time quicker than the alternative of removing my phone from a pocket.

Neil
Good point well made!
I think it was patrick who said that perhaps the size of the date wheel should have been re-jigged to make the numbers a bit bigger, but I honestly think that the dimensions of the features on the dial are close to perfect. They're certainly very satisfying to my eye. This illustrates, i think, the tension between form and function when designing watches. In this example form has overtaken function in importance, but the form of this dial is so strong and striking that I can hardly find a negative thing to say about allowing this function to take a second place.

nbg wrote: Sat Feb 20, 2021 3:25 pm
To me the Sandstorm is far and away the most interesting of any of the 38mm C65 models that CW have produced. I like it.

Neil
Writing this review has helped me explore my watch and learn more about it - it has been a great process :thumbup:
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Re: C65 sandstorm chronometer - Review

Post by timor54 »

Thank you for the review, it's good to read and made me think again about this release.

I'm still not convinced about it from a legibility viewpoint. Your version seems monochromatic with its varying shades of grey, pale blue and polished steel. I also still think it has to many concentric rings of information around the dial: two sets of minute markers (why?), 12-3-6-9 hour ring, day number ring and day pointer cutout. Those rings account for over 50% of the dial area and makes it look imbalanced. The black and cream version is a lot more legible with its clear contrasting rings, but there's still too many of them.

With regards the pointer date they are always more difficult to read because there is no single focal point when you want to check the date, you have to scan around the dial to find the date. A fourth pointer date hand is relatively simple to find but it requires more concentration if it's a recessed marker such as here. It really does need to have a bold contrast with clear numerals but I guess they were running out of available dial space by this stage.

I guess it has been a bold move for W&W to do this and probably rather nerve wracking for CW to let them do as much as they have! It would be interesting to see some of the design ideas that were discarded along the way...
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Re: C65 sandstorm chronometer - Review

Post by atnits »

Very interesting.

Any chance of a photo of the rear?
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