Compressing time with the Christopher Ward C65 Super Compressor

Back over the summer, we brought you word of the new Christopher Ward C65 Super Compressor (seen here). This time around, we’re back with some hands-on impressions that we gathered after spending some time with a review loaner.

Many times, dive watches, and especially those that are dual-crown (whether or not they’re actually compressor cases) tend to be overly large. For an actual dive tool, you may want that extra few mm. For the rest of us “desk divers”, the more compact look and feel of the 41mm case is quite welcome. It allows things to stay quite legible on the dial, while not overwhelming the wrist.

For our loaner, I requested the more colorful “ocean blue” dial color, as it just brings more of that 60’s/70’s vibe to the table (and even more so if you go with the blue or orange straps they’ve got on offer). Plus, hey, these days, why not have a big bold hit of color on your wrist? For all that, though, it’s not overwhelming the ol’ orbs. The white internal timing bezel actually takes most of the attention, with a few pops of orange showing up there and on the minute hand. So, bold colors, but all done so tastefully, if you ask me.

Around back, you get more orange via the exhibition caseback on the Christopher Ward C65 Super Compressor. Through it, you see the Sellita SW200 movement and the signed movement.

But wait – there’s more orange! You’ve got that popping in on the upper crown, which controls that internal bezel (easy to remember, orange crown to time against the orange hand). This crown isn’t screw-down, which I’m ok with. It’s also not clicky or locking in place – which I’m less ok with. This means that you can easily knock it off it’s setting. Perhaps a stronger spring or detents here would help it stay a bit more set in place. Or, hey, even a screw-down crown.

That’s not all there is for color on the Christopher Ward C65 Super Compressor – nossir, you’ve got to talk about the luminous paint! This is the quality SuperLuminova, and of course gets the job done via bars and pips at the end of the indices, and the handset (including the seconds hand).

So, the question then is – is the Christopher Ward C65 Super Compressor the watch for you? While it’s over a grand ($1,025 on the strap or $1,145 on the bracelet), it’s still what we’d classify as an affordable luxury piece. While I was less of a fan of the non-locking timing crown, it is a faithful – and colorful – representation of the super compressor watches gone by. So, if you’re looking for that neo-retro look with all the benefits of a modern watch and movement, I say it’s worth checking out. christopherward.com

Review Summary

• Brand & Model: Christopher Ward C65 Super Compressor
• Price: $1,025 (strap) / $1,145 (bracelet)
• Who?s it for? You like your watches retro (styled) and colorful
• Would I wear it? Ehhh… if I were buying from the CW range, this isn’t the one I’d gravitate towards
• What I?d change: The timing crown needs to lock – or have a stiffer spring under that bezel
• The best thing about it: Color, color, color

Tech Specs from Christopher Ward

• Diameter: 41mm
• Height: 13.05mm
• Weight: 72g
• Calibre: Sellita SW200
• Case: Stainless steel
• Movement Crown: Screw-down (4 o?clock)
• Water resistance: 15 ATM (150 metres)
• Vibrations: 28?800 per hour (4 Hz)
• Time tolerance: -20/+20 seconds per day
• Dial colour: Ocean Blue or Black Sand
• Lume: Super-LumiNova? Grade X1 GL C1
• Strap width: 22mm
• Lug to lug: 47.12mm
• Bezel diameter: 39mm
• Movement diameter: 25.60mm
• Movement height: 4.60mm