W
atch aficionado and IT specialist Hans van Hoogstraten is perhaps one of the
most important keys to the success of Christopher Ward London – he set up the Christopher Ward online forum in 2005 after discovering the watchmaker online. Initially thinking that the Christopher Ward London story – luxury precision Swiss-made watches at affordable prices – was too good to be true, he set about understanding more about the business. He says: “When I first read about the C5 Malvern Automatic on the internet, I was a bit sceptical, the watch reviewer had very positive comments about the low price and very high quality of the watch. But the looks of the watch
“At the time, I was investigating the technical possibilities for starting an internet forum. I decided to start a simple forum online to discuss the C5 with other watch enthusiasts.” HANS VAN HOOGSTRATEN
fascinated me so I ordered one. I wasn’t disappointed one bit. That was in December 2005. Hoogstraten goes on: “A few people registered quite quickly and we started discussions. After about two weeks Christopher Ward himself sent me an email. I thought it would be some kind of ‘cease and desist’ letter, but it was actually a very friendly email.” Hoogstraten has some 25 watches in his collection, of which seven are
Here are van Hoogstraten’s five favourite watches from his collection:
IWC Portuguese Limited Edition • Blue dial, limited edition of 2,000 pieces • Modified Valjoux 7750 movement
I really appreciate the large ‘open’ dial of the Portugese, with the two small sub-dials for chrono functions. IWC has produced a couple of LEs for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. When I stumbled upon this 2006 LE, I fell instantly in love with the steel- blue colour of the dial and the contrasting silver hands. The Valjoux 7750 runs very accurately with an excellent chrono-function. Rolex GMT II
• Ref. 16710, steel version, 40mm • Caliber 3185
This is an iconic watch. It has taken a few hits but it’s very sturdy and is still running very accurately. The case and dial are extremely scratch-resistant. I have the three available bezel-inlays (black, blue/red, black/red), which makes it possible to give the GMT a new look once in a while. Christopher Ward London C5 Malvern Automatic SWT • ETA-2824-2 movement • 38 mm diameter
This was my first Christopher Ward London watch. I’ve had it for more than five years, and I still wear it very regularly. With all my other watches there have been periods in which I didn’t wear them for a while, but this has not been the case with the C5. It has a very
clean look, simple hands and indexes, and a beautiful crème dial with nicely designed details. I still can’t believe the C5 cost me 1/10th of the price of the IWC Portugese – it gives me just as much pleasure to wear. Nomos Tangomat
• Stainless steel, 38.3mm diameter • Epsilon movement When the Tangomat came out in 2005, I immediately ordered it. I already liked the Tangente a great deal with its Bauhaus-inspired design, but with its 35mm it was a bit too small for my taste. When the Tangomat became available with Nomos’ first home- made movement and a 38.3mm diameter I was immediately sold. Christopher Ward London C6 Kingfisher Forum Limited Edition • ETA 2824-2 movement • 42mm diameter
When the Kingfisher came out, it was only available with a quartz movement. So when Christopher Ward agreed to make a Limited Edition of the Kingfisher with a mechanical movement, especially for the CW-forum members, we were very excited. I wear it during summer holidays for watersports and hiking activities. The case is large but very nicely curved to match the shape of your wrist. It’s also quite an eye-catcher – this is the watch I get most comments and responses on.
www.christopherward.co.uk 35
Christopher Ward pieces. His enthusiasm for watches started after a luxury branded quartz model started to give him problems. He started to research the market and developed a particular interested in mechanical watches. Today the Forum has some 2,500 registered members, and to date has developed two forum limited edition CW watches, with a third currently in development.
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