Powerful, Bronze Area Watch: Christopher Ward C65 Sandhurst Overview

Area watches, by definition, must be sturdy, dependable, and simple to learn. That’s the baseline. And to serve up a problem to the Christopher Ward C65 Sandhurst, I introduced it to the mountains, storms, and grime for two weeks, wrapped on my wrist whereas I hunted high-altitude elk in Colorado.

Whereas I didn’t discover success with my arrow, I did be taught to like Christopher Ward’s bronze discipline watch. Past an easy-to-appreciate, rugged magnificence, the bronze will put on a patina over time. And for a discipline watch, nothing helps protect recollections like a couple of knicks, scratches, and oxidation that comes with time properly spent.

In brief: The Christopher Ward C65 Sandhurst shares many traits with the very best discipline watches. It’s very simple to learn with a easy face, has a great, long-lasting lume, and sits low and small on the wrist. It runs on a well-regarded COSC-certified Sellita SW200-1 computerized motion. The place it stands out, although, is with its beautiful bronze case and choreographer-level accuracy.

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Christopher Ward C65 Sandhurst Overview

Once I opened up the properly packaged Christopher Ward C65 Sandhurst, the very first thing I observed was the beautiful bronze case. It simply glitters one thing totally different than chrome steel. The colour, the luster — it’s intoxicating to the attention. And whereas performance is important to a watch, it should additionally communicate to the wearer.

And the C65 Sandhurst did, whispering quietly, “Put me on and get exterior.”

So I did.

I loaded my truck and headed to the excessive Rocky Mountains. The Sandhurst glinted subsequent to my steering wheel. Then it jostled in opposition to gear as I arrange a camp.

It glowed within the evening as I checked how few hours I needed to sleep earlier than my 4:15 a.m. alarm. And it informed the time as I twisted my bow hand at the hours of darkness to see if it was, certainly, authorized searching hours.

My level is that I didn’t child this watch. It took all of the abuse of two weeks of very laborious elk searching, and at present, as I have a look at my wrist, it nonetheless appears to be like model new — no scratches on the domed sapphire crystal, no nicks on the bronze case.

The one level of any put on is the canvas strap, which has begun to interrupt in just a little.

The Sandhurst speaks to me. It’s so simple to learn, with a easy face and good lume that enables me to inform the time immediately, even in low gentle. The 38mm watch disappears beneath shirt cuffs. And the motion offers the red-tipped second hand a easy movement across the face.

There’s numerous historical past behind the Sandhurst, I’ll get to that in a second. And whereas I admire it and it makes for a pleasant story, the very fact is that I really like this watch as a instrument. It simply works, comfortably. It’s gentle on the wrist and appears to be robust as heck. For a discipline watch, that is the core of its existence. And right here, Christopher Ward actually achieved its purpose.

C65 Sandhurst: Bronze Watch With Particulars That Matter

So now just a little historical past. The C65 Sandhurst is a Ministry of Protection-approved discipline watch that pays tribute to the enduring 1969 Smiths W10. It’s a watch that was issued to the British military in 1969, and the watch held up as a benchmark discipline watch.

Whereas not a reproduction in any means, the C65 Sandhurst follows many design queues, from easy white numerals to a gold triangle on the 12:00 place. These all pop in opposition to a textured black dial emblazoned with the “twin-flags” Christopher Ward emblem.

It appears to be like fairly just like the historic watch, however with a contemporary twist. And it’s the one CW timepiece to hold the badge of the British Military on the case again.

The watch’s arrowed arms are deep-filled with Tremendous-LumiNova Outdated Radium BL Grade X1. I observed that these arms glowed properly even 7 hours after darkish. It allowed for easy-reading when waking up in the midst of the evening.

The arms, in the meantime, are coated in gold. Whereas this offers them a pleasant shine in daylight, it is likely to be my solely, very minor gripe with the watch. The arms look, for no higher phrase, fragile. They’re actually not slender, however one thing concerning the skinny gold edges makes them appears paper-like, as if they might bend or flop contained in the case.

In fact, they don’t. The timekeeping is strong and correct, even after I rattled this watch up and down mountains. I drove over miles of tough mountain roads, arms firmly on the wheel, wrist bouncing wildly. And the watch appears to be like excellent.

However nonetheless, one thing concerning the arms appears just a little skinny compared with the in any other case rugged look. It’s a small ding, however one thing I can’t ignore.

It’s now about 3 weeks after I set the time on the COSC-certified Sellita SW200-1 motion. And after 3 weeks, I’ve misplaced 3 minutes. That averages out to about 8 seconds per day misplaced. For a mechanical watch within the $1,000 vary, that’s wonderful.

This chronometer additionally has a “hacking seconds” operate, which permits wearers to synchronize watches. Pull out the crown and the second hand stops. Push it in once more, and it’ll start ticking as soon as extra.

Any discipline watch must be waterproof. A few heavy rain storms that soaked me within the discipline proved the Sandhurst’s 150m ranking is greater than succesful for the true world.

Bronze Area Watch Stands Out (Subtly)

You possibly can most likely inform I like this watch. There’s a lot to love about it. It hits a aggressive house round $1,000, the place it can stack up in opposition to watches like the enduring Hamilton Khaki Computerized.

However whereas Hamilton arguably leads this house, the Christopher Ward is a bit more distinctive. Although it is usually accessible in a chrome steel case, the bronze case strikes an attention grabbing but delicate look. It’s eminently practical, however has a really good-looking profile that may put on as properly beneath a gown shirt as a camouflage jacket.

If you happen to’re available in the market for a novel discipline watch, or are a watch fanatic trying to find a bronze look ahead to a group, snap one up. This sturdy, succesful discipline watch is certain to turn into a traditional.