Watches without borders

Regular readers (hi Mum) will be aware that I'm quite fond of nice watches. And by 'nice' I generally mean uncomplicated, a classic design, something that looks as if it tells the time rather than plays music, acts as a video phone and goodness knows what else.

(Note: I reserve the right to change my mind if Apple ever produces the long-rumoured iWatch).

If it can be sold raising money for a good cause that is of course a bonus. So the only thing holding me back from acquiring a Special Edition Tagente (pictured) from Nomos Glashütte is the absence of a spare £1350. Or £1200 for a slightly smaller model, the Special Edition Tagente 33.

Design

As you can see they are simplicity itself, and better still they're mechanical. I'm fond of well-engineered products and an old-fashioned wind-up watch is something I don't actually possess, although my automatic is a good substitute.

These models are distinguished by the red '12' which is a way of reminding yourself that when you spent all that money £100 went to Doctors Without Borders (or if you're an old git like me Médecins Sans Frontières). Meanwhile you'll have a watch with galvanised white silver-plated dials, black oxidised polished hands and an a (alpha) Nomos caliber movement with manual winding, for people who know about movements.

I think they look excellent and are a discreet way of supporting an excellent cause. I may consider making a donation and telling them Nomos gave me the idea. Meanwhile if you're in the market for a watch and can withstand the price, the two models are limited to 1000 pieces each.

Christopher Ward watches move to luxury

Sometimes a company does something brave. Apple made the move into music devices and was a spectacular success. Now watch maker Christopher Ward of London, of whom I've written before, is moving into the £2450 bracket with the C900 single pusher chronograph (pictured). It's a lovely looking watch, I'd have to grant, but what interests me is that the organisation behind it has sold so much on value before.

It was never a question of being a manufacturer of cheapies, you understand. If you need a new watch and want one for under £100 there are plenty around, and Christopher Ward doesn't make them. Their watches, they told me, used quality components and movements and because there were no middle people they'd sell for around a third, maybe a smaller fraction, of the price charged by the competition.

And now we're into £2450. The reasons are as follows - a spokeswoman explained to LifeOver35 that the single 'pusher' to set the stopwatch etc. is costly and that the watches are hand assembled from start to finish in Switzerland. Johannes Jahnke in CW's Swiss atelier (French for 'workshop' and don't let anyone tell you it's anything posher) builds the watch around the Unitas 6497 calibre.

The single pusher is unusual and makes the watch look a great deal less ungainly than most chronographs on the market. The spokeswoman confirmed that this is the most expensive watch the company makes, and indeed a glance at the website confirms this; however, to get this much accuracy and indeed visibility (the window on the back, pictured left, gives you a really full view of a movement designed to show off the moving parts. Click on it for a larger view, it's gorgeous.

I have no reason to doubt Christopher Ward as a company. I've met them, they're nice guys, and no they haven't bribed me by sending me one of these (I do own a C5 automatic from a press launch a few years back). If they say the price reflects the cost and therefore the quality of the new watch I'm sure that's true.

I just think that if I had £2450 to spend on a watch there's a good chance I'd go for something from Omega, Tissot or one of the bigger names instead.

Christopher Ward of London is taking orders from August for mid-October delivery.

Shopping for duty free tailoring

Flickr: Hakan Dahlstrom

OK, here's an idea. I've done some business travelling recently and as such been in a few airports. One thing that occurred to me whilst doing all this was that it would have been good to know where the best Duty Free shops are so I could plan a bit before leaving. So, here's a brief summary of my recent notes - anyone wanting to add their own destinations and comments would be more than welcome. I'm excluding spirits and tobacco because that's not what this blog is about - of course all the usual duty free stuff is available.

London City Airport: Tiny as you'd expect from a small airport but a good selection of Boss shirts (not to my taste), Mont Blanc pens and accessories for the rich and I bought a nice Dunhill tie for my meeting (at which nobody wore ties so it's unworn). This was £62 as I was travelling just outside the EU.

Gatwick North Terminal: Under modernisation, sports gear, Harrods, Kurt Geiger shoes, no doubt there will be more as works progress.

Gatwick South Terminal: Fat Face, Boss, Kurt Geiger, several others - remember to check the retail prices outside the airport as many people have a perpetual sale on.

Heathrow T5: Vast shopping experience if you have the time, dominated by Harrods which has most of the designer brands you'd want - Hilfiger, Polo, just about everything. Also several designer shops opposite.

Copenhagen: Actually bigger than Heathrow T5. We're talking Boss, Polo Ralph Lauren, Burberry and Hermes with their own shops and a couple of menswear shops with a selection including LaCoste and others.

Luxembourg: Small but perfectly formed - as long as you like Boss and Lacoste in the menswear department. I was thinking about Polo Ralph Lauren shorts, the shape of which seems to sit OK on my body - and there were none.

Istanbul: Less of the clothing, just one or two shops, but an extensive selection of scent (as most of them have) and a Mont Blanc shop to go and drool over (I do like Mont Blanc pens, why the hell I can't develop cheaper tastes I don't know).

Milan Lenate: Are you kidding, it's Milan! Superb shirt shop caught my eye, if only I'd needed some shirts. Sadly I didn't. Also good shoes and suits - does anyone really buy suits duty free, though? Not easy to return goods I'd have thought.

Newcastle: Believe it or not you can buy duty free in internal flights, look, don't stare, I didn't know. Mostly sports gear and the usual drinks and stuff, but some nice watches at a better price than average.

Zurich: Curiously little in the tailoring department unless I walked straight past it whilst looking for my wife's cosmetics, which is entirely possible.

Please note this is not intended as a definitive guide - I wasn't specifically looking to write this entry when visiting most of these over the last 12 months or so, and may well have overlooked items. I'll welcome corrections and of course additions as comments and will add to and update this entry - leaving a note and link to say it's updated as and when.

So, what have you found recently on any business or pleasure travels whilst in the duty free shop?

Watching the watches: Christopher Ward C9 Jumping Hour

I've been playing with the new Christopher Ward C9 Jumping Hour watch. Jumping hour or jump hour watches have a long tradition; it's at least a century old, Cartier made some notable examples in the 1930s and now direct sales organisation Christopher Ward has added a model to its portfolio.

The idea is simple enough; instead of the traditional two-handed clock face you get a traditional minute hand but the hour indicator is static, in some sort of window (see the picture). Every time the hour changes it "jumps" one forward. The complexity is in getting the movement to stay steady in spite of the energy required for this sort of push forward.

The design is therefore unorthodox and that's my first problem with this watch. Call me old fashioned but I like to be able to tell the time at a glance. Look at the one in the picture and your first reaction, if you're like me, is that the time on it is ten to 12 - but it's not, it's 12.50 because everything is past the hour that's on display.

In fact when I woke up the other morning and glanced at it - now remember, it's first thing in the morning, I've just been away and I'm a bit groggy - there's an IX in the window but that doesn't matter, I can just see the hour bit pointing straight up and assume I've slept through the morning and it's something past 12. It was actually 9.15.

I just think the ability to tell the time really quickly is a good thing in a watch. It's kind of why I have one.

You do get used to it, though. On day two I was enjoying working the time out a bit more and on day three it had started to become instinctive, although anyone else looking at the watch to ask the time would have found it a bit of a struggle. My wife and daughter both found the design a bit pointless, to be honest.

I've grown fond of it. Maybe it's a bloke/gadget thing. It's well designed, although the brand badge on the face looks a little tacked on. I'm a sucker for automatics and the customary viewing window on the back to see the Swiss movement, adapted from an ETA 2824, is the usual treat.

It's this movement that explains the price. Keeping it steady with the surge in energy required to make the hour jump isn't easy. That's why this is Christopher Ward's most expensive watch to date at £1150. It's well made and attractive and if you want something a little different then the jumping hour combined with the reliable timekeeping is certainly something to consider. But at that price - and I do accept it's one of the lower-priced Swiss-made jumping hour models around - it's an expensive gloat. At that price point you can start to consider a Tag Heuer from Goldsmiths Jewellers, for example, or for £60 more a Longines; an extra £350 - not a trivial amount I agree - and you're looking at an Omega.

These will be more basic watches of course. They won't be jumping hour models or anything like it. But moving over the £1000 mark means Christopher Ward is starting to edge into the prestige brands' territory. Given the company's overt rejection of celebrity endorsements, heavy marketing budgets and the traditional retail route in general, I do wonder whether it's going to be able to compete there no matter how swish a watch looks or how technically elegant its innards may be.

Watching the watches: not quite Christmas

OK, OK, it's October so I've finally got to admit Christmas is very nearly starting to slightly threaten to arrive, in a couple of months.

So, watches. Loads of people think watches are an excellent buy for Christmas, for the very good reason that they can be indeed. In a few weeks I'll be looking at the new offering from Christopher Ward (for no better reason than it's a personal faourite of mine), but in the meantime I'm delighted that Terry Markham, assistant buyer and senior marketing merchandiser of Watchshop.com has offered some thoughts on what's going to be in vogue this coming season. For people wanting to adjust their wristwear according to fashion - and this isn't everybody - he sees four main trends which are imminent:

SLIM

Slim, elegant watches always sell but this winter, we expect slim watches to be everywhere, as most watch brands are producing a slim range. For the office, a slim watch is a great accessory to complement a suit and of course ensure you get to work on time.

Pictured: Men's Citizen Stiletto eco-drive, £279

AUTOMATIC

Automatic watches seem to be increasingly popular. They’re certainly not the slimmest of styles but we believe the increase in popularity is largely due to a real desire for the more traditional watch technologies as an investment purchase. Men in particular seem to like the idea of wearing a piece of machinery and so brands are producing more low-mid priced automatics, making them affordable. 

Pictured: Davosa Pares classic automatic watch, £1195

BLACK

The old favourite, black straps and dials have been a watch staple since time immemorial, and this is no different as we head into winter. Black complements all colours, and always radiates sophistication.  So whether your watch face is square or round, a black strap will almost certainly go with any suit or casual wear from brown belts to trainers.

Pictured: Seiko Premier Perpetual Kinetic watch, £450

BOLD

Many timepiece makers are producing a strong, no nonsense face design, bold statement watches that grab attention with their design.  Combined with understated colours, these watches are for the man who likes a design that gets people talking.

Pictured: Mondaine Automatic Retro watch, £440

My thanks to Terry. My own tastes are towards the classic - more on that next time we're on the subject. From this batch I'd probably be happiest with the Citizen or the Davosa - I'm kind of into understatement and although the Davosa has a number of different dials as befits a chronograph, it masks them with a plain white dial and therefore looks less fussy than some.

Watching the watches for Japan

Evening all - only time for a quick post today, but when the Watch Shop told me it was selling the pictured Casio model for £30 and donating £15 from every sale to Japan, I thought it only right to draw attention to it.

There's a ladies' sports watch for £20 here, and the same 50/50 split between the company and Japan applies. There will be new packaging on both of the watches to reflect the charitable nature of the purchase.

The public relations firm promoting the idea tells me that donations will go straight to the Red Cross in order to ensure they get exactly where they're needed rather than through one of the newer organisations striving to help Japan at the moment. Manufacturer Casio is of course headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, where it's all been happening. Personally this isn't something I'd be buying as the watch isn't to my tastes; if you feel the same but are a bit inspired by Watch Shop's action and want to donate, here's a direct link to the Red Cross one-off donations page.

Don't feel restricted to fifteen quid if you can afford more - and do click the "Gift Aid" box so that your donation will increase without costing you extra.

Why spend thousands on a watch?

My philosophy about watches has always been pretty simple. If it looks good, is affordable and tells the time accurately it's fine. Others disagree and I've always wondered why people spend thousands - sometimes tens of thousands on a watch.


Watchmaker Bulova has recently released the limited edition Spaceview (pictured), which will set you back £3000 or so. I'm delighted to welcome Gordon Dickens, general manager at Bulova, as a guest blogger offering some insight into why this sort of price - others in the range come in at just under £1000 - is considered worthwhile. Anyone wanting to buy me one for Christmas is welcome...

Spaceview watch from the Accutron range by Bulova

Watch purchases are driven by passion – but they are rarely an impulse buy.  Most watch purchases follow a period of research among watch retailers, friends, or fellow enthusiasts.

Although recent research [Mintel, 2010[1]] claims that the majority of people are no longer wearing watches, preferring instead to use another technological medium such as a mobile phone to keep track of time, the luxury watch industry is going from strength to strength and the Bulova Monitor[2] identified that 63% of survey participants still wear a watch every day. 

The Bulova Monitor found that appearance drives watch selection with 60% of respondents saying that watch appearance is the main factor in their purchase decision.  Watches are often regarded as jewellery or as collectible works of art rather than just a method of timekeeping. The watch market ranges from affordable yet accurate watches with electronic movements - intended solely for telling the correct time, to extremely expensive luxury watches that serve mainly as personal adornment or as a demonstration of high achievement, complete with precision mechanical engineering.

Those in the know are aware that although what a watch looks like is very important it's actually what's on the inside that counts - the all important movements.  Traditionally, Swiss watchmakers set the standard for quality, especially for mechanical movements; however, since the 1980s, Japanese-made movements have arguably caught up to their Swiss counterparts in terms of quality. Those who appreciate the European tradition of constructing exquisite timekeeping devices may have a preference for fine watches with mechanical movements, as well-built mechanical watches can often last for generations.

Watch purchases are motivated by desire rather than need.  According to the results of the Bulova Monitor, impulse purchases account for only 23% of watch purchases.  Many people justify a luxury watch purchase through the reason of ‘rewarding themselves’.

About Bulova:

Bulova has a rich heritage of 135 years of timekeeping experience including Bulova’s landmark technology - Accutron clocks and timers were used by NASA from 1959 through the early 70’s in satellites and manned-spacecraft during the Space race.  

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[1] http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/207811/The-wristwatch-may-be-the-next-casualty-of-modern-times/

[2] Throughout 2009, Bulova conducted comprehensive research and created the Bulova Monitor to obtain information on purchase decisions (sample size 1,424 consumers).

My thanks to Grace Zeal of Ogilvy PR for organising this guest blog.

Watching the watches

Christopher Ward C5SSS

Last week I put up an affiliate link to Christopher Ward watches on this site - see, it's still there. One of my Facebook friends objected immediately. Not only was I suggesting putting a watch blog up (which was an idea I'd floated) but I'd suddenly put a watch link in there. Would this bias any copy? And worse, he said, it was Christopher Bloody Ward.

All of which bemused me a bit. Yes, they were the first people to approve my request for affiliation but I only asked because I actually own a number of their watches and am pretty happy with them. My favourite for formal wear, the C5SSS, is pictured (C5 is the model number and the multiple Ss refer to the silver strap, dial and...er...something else). I also have a jazzier model based on a Bentley dashboard - it says on the site - which looks pretty good with a tee-shirt.

Personally I'm very happy with these. The less formal model is Swiss made and the pictured version has a Swiss movement but to me that's less important than the fact that they look pretty good and are - wait for it - affordable. I'm not into this "spending thousands on a watch" thing; if I'm going to spend thousands on something it had better be something I'm going to remember, not something I'm going to put on and use for telling the time. Neither of my watches cost more than £250 from the Christopher Ward site (click on the banner above by all means).

There may be people reading this blog who either collect watches or who know a bit more about the innards, and who might be able to tell me where they think I'm going wrong and above all why more expensive models represent good value. I'm open to that and by all means let's use this blog as a learning place.

So to recap on the vested interests, I have an affiliate link so if you buy through it I'll gain from it and I wrote a piece for their last catalogue for which they paid me. But I was an existing customer, there's no bias in that or in anything I've written. What does everyone else wear on their wrists around these parts - and why opt for a particular brand or model?