Christopher Ward introduces the C900 Worldtimer

Just two weeks ago we introduced the brand new Christopher Ward C9 Jumping Hour Mk II to you. In that same article we announced we would be covering more news from this British brand soon and that moment has come. Today we can introduce another model from Christopher Ward’s Harrison collection, the C900 Worldtimer. The worldtimer is probably the most useful complication in a wrist watch, especially now we all know people around the globe. The C900 Worldtimer could well be one of the most easy to use world timer that we’ve seen. 

As of fairly recent, Christopher Ward has been creating timepieces with in-house/proprietary developed and produced modules and/or reworked movements. Compared to the rest of the collection, which could not be considered “Monochrome material”, this is a huge step forward and this British brand is getting on our radar. The design of these new pieces has also significantly improved and that makes it even better. The new C900 Worldtimer is one of the pieces, in the Harrison collection, and so is the C9 Jumping Hour Mk II. And soon we’ll bring you an extensive review – like you’re used from us – of the C900 Single Pusher Chronograph. I know you’ll love this, but now first more on the C900 Worldtimer that features a rather brilliant dial and display of the world’s time zones.

The in-house design team, based in Maidenhead, UK, has created a hugely detailed, multilayer dial with a funky criss-crossed ‘dimple’ base. Overlaying this is a world map, with raised meridians of longitude and latitude. And the topping on the cake, is the use of a red dot on the map to indicate the city location of the selected time zone. A city/time zone can be selected through the crown and is furthermore indicated with three letters in the aperture at 12 o’clock.

That looks absolutely brilliant, doesn’t it? However, the C900 Worldtimer is a 24-hour watch, meaning both hour hands will rotate around the deep blue dial in 24 hours! While that will probably mean getting used to reading the time differently, it also makes for a very easy to adjust worldtimer watch.

The aperture at 12 o’clock can be seen as a ‘location reminder’. The  3-letter airport codes of the timezone locations are listed in time sequence on the back-plate, using the zone-appropriate 3-letter airport code and city name. These 3-letter codes surround a crystal that reveals the modified ETA 2893 base movement.

Watchmaker Johannes Jahnke (later more about him, in our upcoming review of the C900 Single Pusher Chronograph) signed up for the modifications on the ETA 2893. This caliber features a second time zone with a 24-hour hand and a date indication. The newly created caliber JJ03 is based on an ETA 2893 base movement with a re-engineered gearing system that lets both hour hands – the ‘local’ hour hand and the GMT hour hand – rotate at the same speed, which is one rotation in 24 hours.

All together Christopher Ward’s new C900 Worldtimer makes a rather innovative worldtimer that costs just £ 1,575 GBP.

Some Specifications:

• Case: stainless steel, 43 mm in diameter, hand-finished, surgical grade, stainless steel case and crown, sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, screw-down transparent case back with mineral crystal, unique engraved serial number
• Movement: bespoke (patent pending) modification to an ETA 2893 by Johannes Jahnke – calibre JJ03, automatic, highly modified from ETA 2893, 40-hour power reserve
• Indications: Dual 24 hour time indication and continuous seconds, operated through central crown function, airport code time-zone indicator at 12 o’clock directly integrated with location indicators on the dial
• Comes on a Louisiana alligator strap with Bader™ deployment clasp

For more information, or to purchase a timepiece, visit the Christopher Ward website by clicking here.