C70 VW4 Chronometer Limited Edition
Christopher Ward C9 And C70: DNA Of Legendary Cars
Limited editions! English manufacture Christopher Ward has added beautiful sports watches that pay tribute to the golden age of car racing to its Motorsport collection. Some of them have even been injected with the DNA of legendary sports cars.
By Rémy Solnon
Specialised journalist
Christopher Ward (Ch. Ward) is an English watchmaking brand founded by three friends – Mike France, Chris Ward and Peter Ellis – on the banks of the Thames in 2004. Their aim is to produce quality high-end, "Swiss Made" watches at reasonable prices. To achieve this, the brand’s timepieces, manufactured in Switzerland, are sold directly on its website at prices close to manufacturing costs. Thus, they offer a very interesting quality-finish-price package. Their movements come from leading manufacturers such as ETA, Sellita or Ronda and some are certified chronometers by the "Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres" (COSC), which guarantees their reliability and precision.
The brand has created several collections of traditional, aviation and diving watches. Its Motorsport range made it known to mechanical sports aficionados, too. Several of its watches pay tribute to 20th century iconic racing cars and have introduced a completely innovating and exclusive concept: embedding a piece cut from the legendary car that inspired each watch.
Christopher Ward C9 GT40 Power Reserve Limited Edition
The last piece in the Motorsport collection, the C9 GT40 Power Reserve Limited Edition, celebrates the double consecutive victory of the Ford GT40 MkI frame P/1075 at the "24 Heures du Mans" in 1968 and 1969. Amounting to only 40 individually numbered pieces, the pieces in this original, limited-edition collection stand out because of their aluminum oscillating mass. The latter is carved in an authentic central wheel nut from the sky blue and orange car whose color combination evoked Gulf Oil's logo.
The 43-mm 316 L steel case is equipped with a screwed back engraved with the commemorative inscriptions "Ford GT40 - P/1075 - Le Mans double winner 1968 & 1969 - Limited edition". The sapphire crystal reveals its exclusive oscillating mass, shaped like a rim. The piece’s black dial features a truncated minute scale and a red zone inspired from the speed counter on the dashboard of the Ford GT40. The C9 GT40 Power Reserve Limited Edition is driven by a self-winding ETA Valgranges A07.161 caliber. Its 46-hour power reserve is displayed on the dial by means of a “fuel gauge” indicator. Last but not least, the crown is decorated with the "Chr Ward" logo in a superb orange enameled finish that reminds us of the Gulf Oil logo. The strap is made of high-end Italian leather and closes with a deployment buckle.
This piece is the last in a series of four commemorative watches dedicated to car racing legends. All four pieces were based on one of the English brand's best sellers - the C70 Chronometer - and two of them were also imbued with the DNA of celebrated cars. They have several features in common such as the 42-mm 316 L polished steel case topped by a bezel with a minute scale, as well as the valve-shaped, steel crown and pushers.
The tri-compax dial - visible behind the antireflective-treated convex sapphire crystal – is the canvas on which a tachometer scale on the flange, a double minute scale and the numerals in the shape of racing numbers are displayed. A date aperture is placed at 4 o'clock. The piece is equipped with Swiss-Made, COSC-certified and thermo-compensated ETA quartz calibers.
Christopher Ward C70 DBR1 Chronometer - Aston Martin Centenary Limited Edition
In 2013, Christopher Ward paid tribute to one of the most outstanding English racing cars, the Aston Martin DBR1/2, winner of the "24 Heures du Mans" in 1959. The C70 DBR1 Chronometer - Aston Martin Centenary Limited Edition included a plate from the aluminum body of the winning car, cut out of its race number. Through the transparent back of the "Aston Martin DBR1/2 - 1st Mans 1959 - Shelby/Salvadori" there was the inscription of the two drivers’ names. The aluminum dial and bezel were in Aston Martin Green. The tachometer scale was finished with the commemorative inscription "DBR 1/2 1959". The movement was a quartz ETA 251.233 caliber with 27 rubies. The perforated brown leather strap evoked the sporty seats as well as racing gloves. The range was limited to 100 pieces.
The plate from the aluminum body of the winning car
Christopher Ward C70 3527 GT Chronometer - Limited Edition
While most of us can only dream of owning a Ferrari 250 GTO, some saw their dream come true in a way thanks to this authentic watch for car enthusiasts by Christopher Ward. The chronograph C70 3527 WP Chronometer Limited Edition provided the opportunity to wear one of the most legendary racing cars of all times. For this limited edition of 100 numbered pieces, Christopher Ward inserted on the caseback body panel a piece of metal from the seventh 250 GTO whose restored version was produced in 39 models in 2005. The legendary car piece was cut out to reveal the number 6, a reference to its plate – "6 GTO" – on a Rosso Corsa background. The traditional Italian racing color was also used on the bezel and the dial. The three timers displayed the hours at 9 o'clock and the chronograph’s 1/10th of a second at 3 o'clock as well as the small second at 6 o'clock. The yellow and gray central hands indicated the chronograph’s seconds and minutes. The car’s chassis number -3527 GT - was engraved on a small plate screwed on the middle whereas the car's production finish date - May 22, 1962 - appeared on the tachometer scale. The whole was driven by the ETA 251.233 caliber.
Dessous de la Christopher Ward C70 3527 GT Chonometer
Christopher Ward C70 VW4 Chronometer Limited Edition
In 2013, Christopher Ward paid tribute to the historical victory of the Vanwall VW4 in Aintree in 1957. Indeed, it was the first time a British car driven by two British drivers (Tony Brooks and Stirling Moss) won the Great Britain Formula 1 World Championship. One of the distinctive features of the C70 VW4 Chronometer Limited Edition was the "British Racing Green" dial – the color used for British racing cars at the time. Further, there was the tachometer scale inscribed with "90.61" in red – the VW4’s best average speed and the fact that the car’s race number replaced the number "12" on the dial. The watch was produced in a limited edition of 1,957 pieces.
Christopher Ward C70 D-Type Ecurie Ecosse Limited Edition
The C70 D-Type Ecurie Ecosse Limited Edition is a tribute to yet another legendary racing car: the Jaguar D-Type that won the "24 Heures de Mans" in 1957. It featured the same metallic blue of the Ecurie Ecosse team that hired the car. Three timers evoking the Jaguar’s dashboard completed the dial with the grille motif: a speedometer for the chronograph's minutes at 9 o'clock, a water temperature gauge for the 1/10th of a second at 3 o'clock and a speed counter for the small second at 6 o'clock. The movement was a quartz ETA 251.233 caliber with 27 rubies. It was produced in a limited edition of 500 pieces.
