“On average, the buyers of Malverns have been younger professionals than have bought our premium dress watch collections, the C9s and new C1s”
“The C3s are the more sporting Malverns, with a look inspired by autosport, and details like those piston-shaped pushers and dashboard-like black minute markers,” Chris says. Once again, the levels of attention to detail have been significantly ramped up, so we now see the multi-faceted blued (or steel) brushed and polished hands curving to follow the shape of the crystal, a sophisticated detail normally only seen on much more expensive watches. “The Malverns have always had a wide audience,” Mike says, “but the C3 particularly appeals to people who want a classic looking watch with a sporty edge – after all, the original was based on the dashboard of an Aston Martin. The C5, on the other hand, builds its following amongst those who’re wanting to step up to a mechanical watch – quite possibly even making their first foray into mechanical watch ownership. This can happen at any age but, on average, buyers of C5s have been younger professionals than those who have bought our premium dress collections, the C9s and new C1s. For many, it is the start of a journey that can become an obsession, and we have countless customers who have started with a Malvern and then gone on to own many more CWs – as well as, of course, other brands.” The look of both these new watches is more modern than before, but still in the British watchmaking tradition that has long inspired Christopher Ward. The details are more finely-wrought and considered too, from the beveled date window to the multi-faceted brushed and polished hands.
“We’ve changed the manufacturer of our entry-level cases to improve quality,” Mike says, “and the level of detailing in the design is now hugely advanced. Although the new Malvern case has the same design DNA as the Grand Malvern, it’s simpler, and therefore less time consuming to manufacture. It is still eye-catchingly good-looking, though, and a step-change both visually and from a quality perspective from the MkII case. The detailing of the dial and hands has moved up several notches too, and all of this naturally adds to the cost. However, there is no watch out there of this quality at anywhere near the price.” No matter how good it might be, though, now that Christopher Ward makes
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things as exciting as Calibre SH21, is it hard for the co-founders to get excited about an entry level watch? “Actually, that’s not the case at all,” Mike says. “What I love about the new pair of watches is that Adrian has designed a superior watch in every regard, and yet they’re still clearly Malverns – and still within the budget of most people. Certainly, if you’re looking for the best value gateway into owning a fine watch, you will never regret buying one.” The C3 Malvern Chronograph is priced from £349, and the C5 Malvern Automatic from £499. For more, christopherward.co.uk