CW Twelve Skeleton Has Landed!
So Christopher Ward has been teasing their new release for a while. Most people figured out what was coming but now we actually see it…
I like a lot of people were excited about this release until I saw the price….$4k 👀🤔
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. People were lining up to pay that price for a bel canto because there was no competition. However, with this complication, you can afford a Zenith Skyline skeleton on the second hand market for the price CW are asking…
Personally, as a fan of the brand, I’m a bit disappointed. The marketing did not match the release and the price point pushes it into the “cool watch but don’t care” category.
Every release doesn’t need to be a game changer but…They hyped it up in the marketing to be a game changer when it doesn’t appear to be one. Although, when it comes to finishing, it’s always best to reserve final judgement until seeing it in person; which I will definitely do one day.
Anyways what do you guys think? Dissapointed, excited, don’t care, is it worth the price?
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Love CW but not a fan of this
Epic fail.
Let’s take a popular watch,popular mainly for its dial work and get rid of the dial.
This has all the earmarks for a crash and burn.
Cool but don’t care sums it up for me. I would like to see CW step back from novelties and issue an elegant (e.g., dressier) three hander no date (or sub seconds dial). I think CW has proven to the world that they have technical chops (Bel Canto, moon phases, etc.).
It's very hard for me to get excited by skeleton watches in general and by CW in particular. So no, this one is not for me.
I don’t love it. I appreciate it, but I would need to see it in person. It’s a bit too busy.
Overall cool advancement. But it is not for me.
Ugly and potentially a brand overreaching (but then again, maybe they know their fans 🤷)
Epic fail.
Let’s take a popular watch,popular mainly for its dial work and get rid of the dial.
This has all the earmarks for a crash and burn.
I don’t think it will crash and burn. However, I don’t think it’s going to move like the Bel-Canto did or as CW expected it to.
Who knows, I already see people saying they love it and are starting to save…you don’t need everyone to buy a watch just the right people.
Not long ago CW were bringing value at the sub 1k. The marketing pointed they were 3x less expensive than swiss counterparts using similar quality components, name checking Oris/Longines as their target competitors. I'm not sure where they are going now. I feel $5k+, we bumping up to "luxury" where we lose a little value proposition for the brand name. The Bel Canto brought something new. Chiming watches are a rarity, but skeletonized watches exists from mall watches to Hublot. To a non-watch enthusiast, they would not know where the money went. But in luxury sector, they would if it had the name Cartier (even with a solar movement).
Wow that is really cool. I’ve always like the designs of CW but never considered it because, crazy I know, the logo. When it was the full name I thought Dan Henry, a little better with the next logo, but still.
The Bel Canto is cool but this is even better.
Looks very nice, but the price is waaay off. Nope.
It looks amazing, but yeah not Skyline price amazing
Price is ridiculous, they're not a brand name with kudos yet trying to complete with the big boys.
I actually really like the skeletonisation, but really dislike the integrated bracelet and titanium.
Good luck to them, but they're moving away from what I'm interested in about them .
Price is ridiculous, they're not a brand name with kudos yet trying to complete with the big boys.
I actually really like the skeletonisation, but really dislike the integrated bracelet and titanium.
Good luck to them, but they're moving away from what I'm interested in about them .
I think they view this as an experiment. The price point worked with the Bel Canto, so let’s try it with a different complication. I think they just chose the wrong complication and material to get the same effect.
Also, it’s not like they aren’t going to stop producing pieces under $1k. From talking with the brand at events that’s very much so their bread and butter.
Every brand needs some type of halo piece(s) and CW is trying to establish their’s. I think the only real trouble with this release is they’re giving people hype fatigue and lost a little bit of confidence in their marketing…they hyped this up way too much, branding it as industry innovation and blah blah…when it’s clearly not.
I think they view this as an experiment. The price point worked with the Bel Canto, so let’s try it with a different complication. I think they just chose the wrong complication and material to get the same effect.
Also, it’s not like they aren’t going to stop producing pieces under $1k. From talking with the brand at events that’s very much so their bread and butter.
Every brand needs some type of halo piece(s) and CW is trying to establish their’s. I think the only real trouble with this release is they’re giving people hype fatigue and lost a little bit of confidence in their marketing…they hyped this up way too much, branding it as industry innovation and blah blah…when it’s clearly not.
But marketing is supposed to do just that, create hype. You yourself admitted to being excited for this even though the public figured out what was coming.
But now that it’s announced, a community are in an uproar. Seems to me, people like the watch, but are upset about the price, which is fine, but I’m sure their cost goes up with the additionall polishing they have to do with the movements to make it appealing for a skeleton.
One person above mentioned “they’re not a name brand to charge these prices”, yet if it was a name brand, the response would be “oh, they’re only charging these prices cause they’re a name brand”.
While I respect yours and everyone’s opinion, seems like everyone is bashing the watch yet no one has actually seen the watch in person.
Brands are looking to grow. While we would love them to remain the same company they started as, to reach masses, they have to grow and try new things. I personally applaud them for trying something different; something they haven’t done before.
I think they view this as an experiment. The price point worked with the Bel Canto, so let’s try it with a different complication. I think they just chose the wrong complication and material to get the same effect.
Also, it’s not like they aren’t going to stop producing pieces under $1k. From talking with the brand at events that’s very much so their bread and butter.
Every brand needs some type of halo piece(s) and CW is trying to establish their’s. I think the only real trouble with this release is they’re giving people hype fatigue and lost a little bit of confidence in their marketing…they hyped this up way too much, branding it as industry innovation and blah blah…when it’s clearly not.
How is an unattainable $5k watch going to be a halo for a brand people look at for their sub $1k watches, or a Bel Canto at the very highest?
This gives me the same vibe as the $56k all gold Deep Sea from two weeks ago. Why? For who? Completely out of touch and a huge marketing blunder.
But marketing is supposed to do just that, create hype. You yourself admitted to being excited for this even though the public figured out what was coming.
But now that it’s announced, a community are in an uproar. Seems to me, people like the watch, but are upset about the price, which is fine, but I’m sure their cost goes up with the additionall polishing they have to do with the movements to make it appealing for a skeleton.
One person above mentioned “they’re not a name brand to charge these prices”, yet if it was a name brand, the response would be “oh, they’re only charging these prices cause they’re a name brand”.
While I respect yours and everyone’s opinion, seems like everyone is bashing the watch yet no one has actually seen the watch in person.
Brands are looking to grow. While we would love them to remain the same company they started as, to reach masses, they have to grow and try new things. I personally applaud them for trying something different; something they haven’t done before.
I wouldn’t say I’m bashing the release. I’m just saying I’m disappointed by the marketing. I understand your point about marketing, yeah I t’s effective but it’s also short lived cycle for most consumers.
The speedmaster is a great example. They have been riding the moonwatch hype for 60 years and it’s help build an empire. Now, even though many people have owned one, the marketing has driven watch enthusiasts numb to the speedmaster. They like it and appreciate it but it’s not on their radar as something to buy.
Personally, the hype marketing cycle is entertaining but gets exhausted quickly and a lot people feel the same way.
Can I get one without the huge Christopher Ward type and lettering? Not everyone likes their branding, me included. Not for me with that pricetapg.
Field Watch? ✅
Dive watch? ✅
GMT? ✅
Moonphase? ✅
Military watch? ✅
Integrated sports watch? ✅
Chiming complication? ✅
Skeletonising demonstation? ✅
How far are away is @ChristopherWard away from an ultra thin, double split chronograph with perpetual calendar on a meteorite dial for under 10k is my question….😉
I’m not a fan of this particular watch but I am a fan of any company that pushes their own boundaries and dares to challenge the ‘conventional’ watch industry
I think they view this as an experiment. The price point worked with the Bel Canto, so let’s try it with a different complication. I think they just chose the wrong complication and material to get the same effect.
Also, it’s not like they aren’t going to stop producing pieces under $1k. From talking with the brand at events that’s very much so their bread and butter.
Every brand needs some type of halo piece(s) and CW is trying to establish their’s. I think the only real trouble with this release is they’re giving people hype fatigue and lost a little bit of confidence in their marketing…they hyped this up way too much, branding it as industry innovation and blah blah…when it’s clearly not.
Yes I absolutely get it's a hero product, but surely that's the Bel Canto. Just seems like they're desperately trying to climb the tiers, when that's not what attracts folks to them in the first place. Why on earth would anyone buy this halo piece from a Budget microbrands (because that's how most people see them) when they could get a used Zenith or new Oris skeleton.
Just seems like they've lost their roots & should be investing in improving their mediocre but reasonably priced bread & butter range .
Having said that I do like the brand and wish them success and hope it sells out.
Yes I absolutely get it's a hero product, but surely that's the Bel Canto. Just seems like they're desperately trying to climb the tiers, when that's not what attracts folks to them in the first place. Why on earth would anyone buy this halo piece from a Budget microbrands (because that's how most people see them) when they could get a used Zenith or new Oris skeleton.
Just seems like they've lost their roots & should be investing in improving their mediocre but reasonably priced bread & butter range .
Having said that I do like the brand and wish them success and hope it sells out.
Those releases could be coming later in the year.
Looks relatively neat but at this price they're playing with big boys e.g., Baume & Mercier Riviera skeleton version, TAG's skeleton Carreras, the transluscent Oris, hell could even probably find a Zenith Defy skeleton used for around that
I’m a sucker for dials so I struggle to like watches without dials. I still haven’t seen a skeletonized watch that I actually find attractive. This one is no exception. No way I‘d burn thousands of Euros for a watch like this, no matter how great the engineering is.
I wouldn’t say I’m bashing the release. I’m just saying I’m disappointed by the marketing. I understand your point about marketing, yeah I t’s effective but it’s also short lived cycle for most consumers.
The speedmaster is a great example. They have been riding the moonwatch hype for 60 years and it’s help build an empire. Now, even though many people have owned one, the marketing has driven watch enthusiasts numb to the speedmaster. They like it and appreciate it but it’s not on their radar as something to buy.
Personally, the hype marketing cycle is entertaining but gets exhausted quickly and a lot people feel the same way.
But that’s what I mean by expanding. Omega has been riding the moon watch story for years, and it’s their best selling watch. Let’s not be naive and think omega is catering to watch enthusiasts. They’re not catering to the less than 0.5% of the population. They’re aiming towards the general public (who don’t know of the moon watch hype) who have capital to spend on a luxury watch. We are not the target demographic.
But that’s what I mean by expanding. Omega has been riding the moon watch story for years, and it’s their best selling watch. Let’s not be naive and think omega is catering to watch enthusiasts. They’re not catering to the less than 0.5% of the population. They’re aiming towards the general public (who don’t know of the moon watch hype) who have capital to spend on a luxury watch. We are not the target demographic.
For sure and I think CW trying to do the same thing is a mistake but maybe not. There is a gap in the market developing and perhaps they hope to fill it.
Cool but don’t care sums it up for me. I would like to see CW step back from novelties and issue an elegant (e.g., dressier) three hander no date (or sub seconds dial). I think CW has proven to the world that they have technical chops (Bel Canto, moon phases, etc.).
This movement in a manual wind version, with a slim dress profile; I think that would be interesting. 🧐
This movement in a manual wind version, with a slim dress profile; I think that would be interesting. 🧐
And in precious metal. @Mike55 will make it happen or tell us to settle down.
And in precious metal. @Mike55 will make it happen or tell us to settle down.
Settle down lol
Honestly, it is so wonderful ... Hope you all get to see it soon!
But marketing is supposed to do just that, create hype. You yourself admitted to being excited for this even though the public figured out what was coming.
But now that it’s announced, a community are in an uproar. Seems to me, people like the watch, but are upset about the price, which is fine, but I’m sure their cost goes up with the additionall polishing they have to do with the movements to make it appealing for a skeleton.
One person above mentioned “they’re not a name brand to charge these prices”, yet if it was a name brand, the response would be “oh, they’re only charging these prices cause they’re a name brand”.
While I respect yours and everyone’s opinion, seems like everyone is bashing the watch yet no one has actually seen the watch in person.
Brands are looking to grow. While we would love them to remain the same company they started as, to reach masses, they have to grow and try new things. I personally applaud them for trying something different; something they haven’t done before.
If I can make a few of observations: until today I was unaware that CW has an “atelier collection“ comprised of the Bel Canto and the Twelve X. At least for me, this helps contextualize what the brand is attempting with the watch and perhaps the movement. Maybe it will have a limited run as CW fleshes out the atelier collection, idk.
Anyway, I think you’re witnessing a Seiko-like dilemma in the Twelve family. That is, asking consumers to work against muscle memory and pay a hefty price tag for a model that while significantly better has a much less expensive relative (think the 62MAS iterations). The Twelve X is not for me so I am moving on.
I APPRECIATE this watch and what they've been able to create. I admire their ambition very much. When it came to the twelve - I was looking for an integrated bracelet, and CW convinced me to "reach up" to The Twelve over some more affordable options (PRX, Tsuyosa). I didn't dive in right away, but recently added The Twelve in titanium to my collection and enjoy it. But while I can admire well done skeletonization, for me, I like a solid dial. Even open hearts have never really done it for me. That said, I do think this continues to solidify CW's bonifides as a brand with more than well-made, value-for-money up it's horological sleeve. Thus, like the Bell Canto, this skeleton Twelve can become a reason to buy into the BRAND even if someone like me was less interested in buying that particular watch.
I think it’s pretty cool. I’m not gonna buy it, but I like it