Value Proposition: Christopher Ward C5 Malvern Slimline

It doesn’t happen that often that a stylish and elegant mechanical watch, which perfectly qualifies as a thoroughbred dress watch, is offered for a retail price of € 499 Euro. Christopher Ward, a British brand that was founded in 2004 by Mike France, Chris Ward and Peter Ellis, celebrate their 10th anniversary and for this they sought inspiration in the first ever Christopher Ward model, the C5 Malvern Automatic.

Perhaps Christopher Ward is not a ‘usual suspect’ here on Monochrome, however some of their recent timepiece look simply great, and are a magnificent value proposition. New models like the C9 Jumping Hour Mk.II and C9 Harrison Big Day-Date were featured here on Monochrome because of their super clean, classic, looks, and the very competitive pricing. The Christopher Ward C5 Malvern Slimline that we present you today, comes at a retail price of just under € 500 Euro and is available with three different dial colors: white, blue and charcoal.

Do not expect high-end finishing, an alligator leather strap, or the use of precious metals. That’s simply not possible for the given price, however you will get a nice looking classic dress watch, with a standard, robust, mechanical heart.

The blue and charcoal dials feature a sunday finish, while the white dial has a matte finish. The stainless steel case measures 40 mm in diameter and just 8.70 mm in height, which is something we applaud. Inside ticks the hand-wound ETA 2801-1 movement, a robust movement that is in production since 1983 and is used throughout the industry.

When fully wound it has 38 hours of power reserve, and it ticks the time away at a pace of 28,800 vph (4Hz). Time is indicated by a central hour, minute and second hand, and perfectly in line with the dress watch style, and logically it does not feature a date function.

The Malvern C5 Slimline will be available as of June 2014, and can be pre-ordered from the Christopher Ward website.