One of those people, turns out, was Hans, who had been a member of Timezone for many years, who had also bought one of our watches, and posted that the Tasmanian professor was quite right, and that he had also found our C5 Malvern to be the best watch in the world. He worked in many good businesses before cocreating Christopher Ward, and although he was proud of the work he had accomplished climbing the hierarchical ladder elsewhere, it was not yet great. Hes quite a bit young. As CEO Mike France says: "England is the nation that gave the world the Aston Martin and the Sex Pistols. We were staggered, firstly, by the fact that it seemed quite possible to access many of the components that these watch brands whod been around for many years and would use, still is. He brought in a couple of these designers to start working on their first ideas for watches, or, more accurately, very rough sketches. Peter and I had sold the Early Learning Centre and there are only so many beaches you can lie on. The latter developed two in-house calibers for Christopher Ward: the C9 Jumping Hour and the C900 Single Pusher. Mike recounted the story of when he purchased the first Apple iPod online and was amazed by the fact that it arrived the next day from China. Most of the Swiss brands were using the same or similar components, from the same manufacturers, to make their timepieces. The story of Chris Ward is still at 10, so weve got ways left to go. Another first is the retractable crown. And while weve come a long way since that boat journey on the Thames, we still believe Dave Malone would find the best value mechanical watch in the world on this website. Their first collection, the Malvern, was inspired by the Malvern Hills of Worcestershire. You know, the message is often managed. How many watches is Christopher Ward producing each year? It seemed the most quintessentially English name of the three of us. For a lot of people, luxury, and the concept of luxury is tied to the price with the price reflective of how luxury an actual item is. I would love to see more from that platform, particularly a GMT. And retain that sort of personal relationship that of our customers feel they have with the brand. To discuss these releases and more we sat down with Christopher Ward CEO, Mike France, who details just how they managed to keep such a pace during a year like this. In Conversation With Mike France, Co-Founder, Christopher Ward in Luxury Society. Not only is it the same shade of maroon youll find on the famous beret, but its design is inspired by the Paras belt. Check out Christopher Ward here! Founded in 1942 (as the 1st Parachute Battalion), the Paras played a leading role in missions like Operation Market Garden and the Battle Of Arnhem. But look from where weve come. And because of that, people who are interested in watches knew that we could buy the same products from the same place as IWC, or Tag Heuer, or Heath, or Breitling, because we were all buying the same base product, and in the world of watch-making that was known. but he wouldnt play ball. The watch head weighs just 38g the lightest sports watch Christopher Ward has ever released. I asked Watch expert and brand owner Mike France (Christopher Ward). The name itselfChristopher Wardwas chosen after intense debate because it sounded very English. [13], In addition to using the internet for sales, Christopher Ward handles customer service requests through an online form. It is rugged enough and legible enough (legibility doesnt always rely on Arabic numerals) to be worn on any adventure you fancy but its sophisticated enough to pass muster in the board room as well. [17], Christopher Ward watches are only available online, via telephone and from the company's showroom in Maidenhead, Berkshire. Mike gives a very honest take on the Swiss watch ind. I personally love the brushed finish, particularly on the Dune Bronze with the bracelet. Alongside the chamfered indexes and Trident hands filled with Super-LumiNova C1 Grade X1 GL its a wonder to behold., Like other watches in the Military Collection, you can find the regiments badge on the watchs underside. And in the ad we had listed the components, including an atom282642 movement, which is a well-known movement. Trident 1, 2 and 3 really show the development of Christopher Ward as a brand. Well, red tape in bigger companies sometimes tends to degrade creative freedom. So, were helped by the fact that were in an industry where you can assess a products integrity much more carefully and closely than perhaps any other industry. During our interview, Mike asked me what I believe makes a Christopher Ward a Christopher Ward, and I mentioned the case, handset, and finish. Right now, though, its about Mike France and his path into horology, how he created Christopher Ward, and how hes been working on preparing the brand for whatever the future may bring. Something that adds extra comfort and wont interrupt the graceful lines of the 41mm case. Since the end of World War II, theyve been deployed everywhere from Cyprus and Suez to Iraq, Afghanistan and most famously of all the Falkland Islands. Back to proverbs. Although the trio of founders liked watches, they didnt know how to make them. Debuting on the C63 Sealander Elite, its now making its first appearance in the Military Collection. No. In fact, the only thing that doesnt make sense is the price: just 995 for a watch that if it was made by a venerable Swiss brand would be priced many times that. Season 2, EP #7: Mike . The company even unveiled its first television advert on the day Boris Johnson said we had reached the peak of the Coronavirus . And thats very exciting. Through his experience and expertise, Mike, Chris, and Peter were able to take the first steps in making their vision come true.. In the Napoleonic wars, the Colchester Garrison was a base for 7,000 troops, and ever since, various British Army regiments have made it their home. Are there any other markets, geographically, that you are hoping to tap in the near future? WATCH: News 6 from 4-5:30 p.m. News 6 is Getting Results. [6], Christopher Ward released their first watch in 2005. It struck both us and the regiment that weight, durability, strength, comfort and technicality were critical. The lightbulb moment It all began on a gentle boat trip down the Thames in May 2004. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Theres not that much interest for me in extending the reach of the brand into other sectors like jewellery, because theres so much to go at in watches. Could you also comment on the reason for going with a brushed finish instead of the more obvious choice of an all polished logo? And we did reasonably well, but it was not a record breaking circuit to start, as we were in our first month. LIVE Join us this week for an interesting discussion about what makes a watch good value. The first Christopher Ward models that came out were entirely done in China because it was still possible in 2004 and 2005 to get Swiss movements imported from there. But there we were, getting global orders and shipping these watches out, not really understanding why it was all happening. Suddenly we were catapulted into the consciousness of watch aficionados around the globe. Ive watched Mike speak in dozens of video interviews before, and I believe hes the most publicly recognizable independent brand owner. not only from a visual perspectivewhat makes a Christopher Ward instantly recognizable from a distance and without a logobut also from a manufacturing standpoint. But youve been having an excellent run with the releases following the Bel Canto as well, like the stealthily released C60 Graphite Special Edition, C60 Shadow Special Edition and C60 Sunrise, the incredible Alliance 01 collaboration with Fears, and now the Dune Collection. From a purely horological perspective, Christopher Ward developed three elements that have made the brand successful: the Light-catcher case, the arrow-shaped handset, and the finish. He is of course right. He was one of the leading posters on Timezone and was hoping to expose us as charlatans, but to his credit and our good fortune, when he got the watch he was wowed by it and wrote a long post saying he had found the best-value automatic watch in the world. Rarely if ever do we hear of an independent brand that creates and trademarks its own case shape. We discuss the history, design an Nov 01, 2022 30:55 What Makes a Watch Good Value? It has a brushed finish on the Dune as it suits the aesthetic of the design. Its very difficult to crack the Chinese market when youre purely online. To me, the quality of the watch reflects the professionalism and excellence of the 21st century Paras., A further tribute to the Paras comes in the shape of #tide strap. By submitting your request you are agreeing to our. Were very, very lucky to have a remarkable German watch-maker on our side, so that helps us stay creative. So what we found out is that this buzz had all started because someone, actually a lecturer at the University of Tasmania at the time had somehow seen the advert that we had placed in The Independent, where we were promoting our most mechanical watch, which was the C5 Malvern at the time. So what else is out there? We shared our ideas with the Paras from the outset, and they were instrumental in helping us get the details right, he says. So theres a big focus on the US the years looking forward. Prices begin at USD $1065. Today on the Worn & Wound podcast, Blake Buettner talks to Christopher Ward's co-founder Mike France. By Brew a cup and join Omar, Mike and Jo for a chat around the devastation that is currently happening to our oceans and what the Blue Marine Foundation are doing to help! You know, I dont see any barriers to where we can go horologically speaking. He wrote a post on Timezone, describing it as the best value mechanical watch in the world. [7], For the company's 10th anniversary in 2014, it merged with Swiss manufacturing partners Synergies Horlogres SA to create Christopher Ward London Holdings Ltd.[8] This culminated in the launch of Christopher Ward's first in-house movement, Calibre SH21, in July 2014. Weve been able to achieve that, so far, but in terms of markets where that growth is coming from we see the US market potentially being much bigger than the UK market within the next three to four years. He is absolutely right, and this can be seen in the way in which the brand has been releasing new collections as well as putting team members other than the CEO in front of the camera. Mike was clear in saying that he only plays a small part in the brands history and that the latter will survive long after hes gone. And we really think the watch industries is one of those and Ive seen nothing weve seen in the 10 years weve been in business that persuades me that were not right. The programme started when a team of recent graduates asked for help with their plan to climb a new peak in Tajikistan. Such a high number of many sales started coming through Timezone that the moderator thought we must be paying people to post so he started banning them, which only led to an even greater buying frenzy. It would just deflect. Thats been achieved with the addition of a coin that rests on top of the exhibition back. Customer response will ultimately determine its longevity so the Dune is an important bellwether in that regard. So in his twenties he was building watches that were retailing at such 5,000 pounds, 100,000 pounds, and hes just a remarkable talent, and hes our watch-maker. Were becoming even more innovative, too. During our interview, Mike said more than once that his vision was to make high-end watches attainable to all watch enthusiasts to the point of making the cheapest most expensive watches. Dont get me wrong: there are many brands out there that make exceptional watches, especially when looking at Swiss independent watchmaking. Now, thats something that I wouldnt be surprised at. Refinement is perhaps one of the words that best describes Christopher Ward timepieces, and when speaking of refinement, my head goes directly to the superior finish of their watches. And we had a real passion for watches, although at that time we knew absolutely nothing about a watch industry. There are certain brands in the past 200 years that have created unique case shapes, whether it is Cartier with its rectangular Tank case or Panerai with its cushion case. Shortly after that there was the 2008 crash and we learned quickly that you can never rest on your laurels and that events drive things. Announced on 2 July 2014, the merger between Christopher Ward and its Swiss production partner Synergies Horlogres solidified a long-standing relationship between the two companies and created a new, shared company titled Christopher Ward London Holdings. And youll be able to see through the watch via the open lozenges on the dial, too. A watch this technically advanced in its construction deserves a movement thats both ultra-accurate and able to ride out any knocks it may encounter. B&B: Hi Mike! The Christopher Ward co-founder talks to Revolution about the online-only British brand he started with friends Chris Ward and Peter Ellis.
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