In Review: Christopher Ward C65 Dartmouth II

Back in October, we brought you word of the new Christopher Ward Military Collection Series 2 (you can see that here), and ran down some of the model-specific changes. Since that article, we were able to spend some time with a loaner of the Christopher Ward C65 Dartmouth II.

On it’s surface, the Christopher Ward C65 Dartmouth II is likely the shiniest military watch you’ll run across. There’s a good dose of polish on the case, and the sapphire bezel and main crystal also do their share of catching the light. And really, that that’s whole thing – this watch is foreshadowing what it does when the lights go down. As you can see in the photo below, it’s not just the hands and indices lumed on this watch. The whole dial is, as well as the bezel itself. Frankly, it’s as crazy a light show as I’ve seen on a non-tritium tube watch, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Obviously, the Christopher Ward C65 Dartmouth II has a lot of ties into the Royal Navy, including the caseback. However, if you weren’t into the minutae, you wouldn’t even know that. And you know what, that’s just fine. If you want the look of a nice, crisp, legible dial set into a vintage-look bubbled crystal and bezel, then go for it. The military heritage just helps here, as those specs were all about usability, legibility, and durability.

Done up as they are here, with modern manufacturing practices, that means you get those classic rugged looks in a case that’s rated to a 200m WR, keeping that COSC-grade movement inside nice and dry, and keeping you on time. The lume on the dial and bezel – in the daylight – is also slightly yellowed, giving it a hint of that vintage look that you may be looking for.

Our loaner of the Christopher Ward C65 Dartmouth II came with the color-matched tropic strap, which did get the job done. Myself, I’m just not as big a fan of that particular pattern / look, so I’d probably find myself looking for just the right shade of deep brown leather to use for a simple strap (with the CW buckle swapped over).

Strap aside, the Christopher Ward C65 Dartmouth II is definitely a charmer. I think the swap to the flag iconography on the dial (instead of the name logo) was a step in the right direction, as it gets the point across while keeping things less cluttered. If you’d like to get one of these on your wrist here in the new year, they’re going for $1,150 directly from christopherward.com