I bought a new field watch: I have a problem!

I really love field watches. I now have a few of them. I fear I have a problem, and it’s getting worse.

So a while back I asked for WC advice on military inspired field watches (https://www.watchcrunch.com/gordoB/posts/battle-of-the-micro-brand-military-watches-259258). The response was great, with lots of suggestions on brands that I’d not looked at before, but are well worth considering (CWC, Vaer, Smiths to name just three).

Following the discussion I decided to do some more research.

I’d been looking online at the Vertex M100A, but needed to look at one in the flesh. Luckily I’m based near their boutique in Mayfair, London. There I was able to get hands on with the modern pieces and a vintage example (thanks Vertex team). The build quality is amazing, and the design a perfect fusion of vintage and modern. Getting up close (if you can) really makes a difference. And in the case of Vertex it persuaded me of two things: the price is entirely justified, and the case size is just a bit too big (for me). So, for now, the Vertex is a pass, but if they release a smaller case in the future….

I then revisited my decision to buy the black dial Studio Underd0g 02 Series (the “midnight” version). The choice was made in a moment of panic as I rushed to get my order in during the 4 hour sales window. But afterwards I kept thinking: “StudioUnderd0g really isn’t a black and white brand, they’re all about bold, colourful and fun”. I was lucky enough to get hands on with the watches at the launch event, hosted in London. Although the “midnight” was handsome as hell, after seeing the other dials, meeting Richard (the founder), and talking to the other owners, I realised I needed to be bold and get some colour in my (watch) life. So after the event - I reached out and was able to change my order. Come April, a rather sexy young Steffany blue field watch will be nestling in to my watch box.

But having switched to a blue dial for my Studio Underd0g, I was left with a dillema: could I really live without a classic black field watch??!!! The answer should have been “Yes, you can. You have a Seiko baby Alpinist, that’s a field watch. You have an IWC Mark XX in black too. Get over yourself!”. But of course I didn’t listen to “captain sensible”. My Seiko has a fume green dial. My IWC is a pilots watch: it’s a totally different genre of watch ;).

So my hunt for the “perfect, classic, black-dialled field watch” resumed. Following the advice of my fellow WCers I spent a long time looking at Vaer, Smiths, and CWC. They all looked amazing. But I was a little put off by the 36mm case size. Based on past experience, 36mm looks just a bit too small on my wrist (about 7.5 inches). I’ve wanted to like them, I’ve tried to like them, but I just can’t and don’t.

And although Vaer offer a larger size, like the Vertex, it’s a jump to 40mm. I own / have owned a lot of larger watches, and love them. On the right watch 40mm looks great; hell, my Seiko King Turtle looks and feels amazing, and that’s a 45mm giant. But for my “perfect, classic, black-dialled field watch” I wanted it to be just a bit smaller. And it was my Seiko “Baby Alpinist”, a 38mm gem, that showed me the way. For a field watch, and for my wrist, 38mm is simply perfect.

With such a specific set of requirements: black dial, classic British military styling, 38mm size; just one watch appeared to fit the bill - the Christopher Ward C65 Sandhurst Series 2. The added perks of being a British brand, Swiss made, and COSC certified movement, all helped with my decision.

Which brings me to today. The watch arrived this afternoon and is now sitting on my wrist. It doesn’t disappoint. Is it perfect? It’s bloody close.

I bought it on the bracelet, which is solid and comfortable. I rarely wear bracelets (I live in the U.K. it’s warm for maybe 2 weeks a year), and so have immediately migrated it over to a CW canvass strap. It looks the part.

The case is spot on. Utilitarian, but has details that tell you this is a thoughtfully designed piece. It mixes polished and brushed elements in a unique way. Unlike my IWC, CW has a brushed bezel which really fits the field watch aesthetic. The polished details on the chamfered sides adds some “pop” but avoids looking “bling”. It all works really well.

The dial is matte black, with Arabic numerals that are printed, lumed and understated. The new CW logo is small and unobtrusive, and there’s very limited text filling up the dial (Rolex, please take note). The “faux patina” on the hour markers I could live without, but its not a distraction, if anything it’s simply unnecessary. The railroad track running around the outside is simply awesome.

Which brings me to the two things that are (subjectively) imperfect.

The first is the design of the hour hand: CW’s “arrow” design. I thought I’d dislike it. I thought it would bother me. I don’t and it doesn’t. It may not be faithful to mid-20th century military field watch design, but this isn’t a 1-2-1 recreation of a historic watch. CW has made a modern watch that feels classic, and the hand design fits that brief really well.

The second issue isn’t something I expected to dislike, but l do (a little bit), and that’s the box sapphire crystal. The photos of the watch online made me think the crystal would be domed, a little at least. But in reality it’s a fairly standard box design. It’s a miss, but only a minor one. I’ve had similar “frustrations” on my other watches, but forgetten what those annoyances were within 2 minutes of ownership. I’m sure this will be the same for the C65… what was it I disliked… nope can’t remember. Yep, the watch is perfect!

If you’ve got this far in my post - please accept a round of applause!! You clearly have vastly more patience than I typically display. And if I can stretch you’re patience just a little more thinly, consider this: what, pray tell, is the problem I claimed to face at the very beginning of this post (it was a long time ago, you may want to scroll back up to remind yourself).

Well the problem is: I want more watches, specifically, I want more field watches. I now want a Smiths (I’ll get over the size problem, surely). I want a Hamilton W10 (you say RAF pilot’s watch, I say mislabelled field watch). I want an Oris Big Crown Pointer Date: oh, that’s right, I just ordered one…whoops! As I say, I have a problem!