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Bespoke Christopher Ward Project Watch

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baldrick
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Bespoke Christopher Ward Project Watch

Post by baldrick »

Hi gang,

First and foremost, thanks very much to Mr MoT for allowing me to post about this here. This is not your usual group-funded watch, rather a fun project that will hopefully appeal to MoT members.

TL;DR

A group of like-minded watch geeks have teamed up with Christopher Ward to create a bespoke watch celebrating the life and achievements of Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, the father of the modern jet engine. Registration for the project is open and the design process is just kicking off, so get involved if you're interested!

Background

This is a really exciting Christopher Ward, Limited Edition, bespoke watch project.

There is a bit of history, but stick with it and by the end, we hope you will want to be part of it.

In the winter of 2014, a group of Watch U Seek forum members came together to design a watch that was something special. We had no idea what that should be, what it should look like or how we should do it, but we had the collective desire to produce a watch that looked beautiful and meant something. Registration for the project opened on 19 November 2014.

There is something about watches and old planes that just go together so well, and the aviation theme came quickly, as did the era - early jet fighters. The design of the watch began to quickly move in the right direction. Then came the revelation. One of our number had been doing some wider research and he shared it with the project members. There were cool planes, nice photos but most of all there was the introduction of one of those great people, one of the pioneers, Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle. The father of the modern jet engine. At the age of just 22, he invented the gas turbine jet, the predecessor of every jet engine built today. Like the Montgolfier and Wright brothers before him, this was a man that changed the course of aviation forever.

So, the theme was settled. We based the design on the **** instruments of the Gloster Meteor, the first jet fighter to use the engine designed by Sir Frank and agreed the watch should honour, and be named after, the great man himself.

But here is the best part, on 15 May 1941 Whittle’s revolutionary engine took to the skies for the first time, and on 16 May 2016, 75 years later, we received a letter giving permission and support from Ian Whittle, Sir Frank’s son, to name our watch in honour of his father and his achievements. And so, we completed the design of our watch: the ACW111 - Dual Time. The initials of Air Commodore Whittle, the number of the RAF squadron for whom he flew, and coincidentally the number of watches we planned to produce.

Unfortunately, our manufacturer let us down, the project slowly lost momentum, members drifted away and we thought that was the end. But the best ideas don’t lie down and, for three years, a few die-hard members kept the forum discussions ticking over, discussing what might have been and remembering the good times. Then, the founding member came back to the forum and we started to wonder, could we still make this happen?

We had a design and some loyal members but we still needed a manufacturer. So, a few weeks ago one of or members contacted Mike France at Christopher Ward and told him all about the project and the opportunity to make a very special watch. Happily, Christopher Ward have agreed to help us bring the ACW111 to life.

The (old) design

At the time of cancellation of the original project, the design was fairly advanced. However, due to the change in manufacturer, the design also has to change, so you have a chance to get in on a fun design project from the start.

Still, to show you where we got to and the sort of talent and dedication the project has behind it, attached to the end of this post are some pictures of our original design and a video we produced to promote it can be found here:

The (new) design

Our early discussions with CW have confirmed that the previous design is not possible, so we will need to make some changes. The aim is to redesign but continue to take design cues from the **** of the Meteor, using the colours of 111 Fighter Squadron. We believe we can come up with something even better than the original design.

There is plenty to be decided and we’d like to invite you to be part of it. Not only will you get to buy a historically significant watch in honour of a great pioneer, but you will get to help design it too. Win-win!

How to get involved

Originally, we had 111 watches reserved by active participants. Many of those members still remain with the project and we've had some new joiners too. But we’d like to get some more. We’re throwing the project open to new members. It won’t be an LE affiliated to any one group or forum, but rather will be a limited edition model in its own right.

If we can get back to 111 that would be a great way to honour Sir Frank and, following our hiatus, we hope to produce the watch to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the first flight of his engine in May next year.

We have set up our own forum to discuss and manage the project, so please come and have a look around. You can find us here: https://acw111.freeforums.net (and thanks again to Mr MoT for allowing us to mention the forum on these pages - it's a bespoke project forum, for this purpose only).

You will need to register with the platform (name and email only) and then sign up to the project on our forum so we can keep track of the numbers. The registration thread, FAQs and all the important stuff is here: https://acw111.freeforums.net/board/1/a ... tant-stuff

When you sign up to the project you will get to choose your serial number from those available and will get to vote on the design decisions.

There is no commitment to buy at this stage and you can leave the project at any point. Deposits will be taken before manufacture begins to make sure we have enough people.

If you don’t want to sign up to the project you can still join in the fun and the discussions, but you won’t be able to vote on design options. While there are spaces available, you can choose to join at any time.

One of the best things about the project was the fun, discussions, banter and debates we had. Designing the watch was almost a by-product. We're really excited to do this again and I think with Christopher Ward, we can get this made.

We'd love you guys to join us.
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WPybus
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Re: Bespoke Christopher Ward Project Watch

Post by WPybus »

Yeh I love that- have just signed up!!!
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Re: Bespoke Christopher Ward Project Watch

Post by TheJohnP »

Curious as to what you are targeting for eventual price on these [mention]baldrick[/mention].
Is that something that has been determined at this stage?
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soulspawn
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Re: Bespoke Christopher Ward Project Watch

Post by soulspawn »

TheJohnP wrote:Curious as to what you are targeting for eventual price on these [mention]baldrick[/mention].
Is that something that has been determined at this stage?
We are currently voting on the movement and depending on which movement wins the vote, will then inform the pricing.

We are looking at a range from $1k to $3k for the more expensive movement.

I've been on this project since it started years ago. So it's really awesome to see it get revived and getting backing from c ward!


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baldrick
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Re: Bespoke Christopher Ward Project Watch

Post by baldrick »

Yup, and the movement will also inform the (re)design.

I expect we'll end up in the GBP 1k / USD 1.3k range, but this will mean some redesign to accommodate the new movement.

I'm happy with that, as the design phase was really good fun last time. Quite incredible to see random - and often vague - written ideas and suggestions formed into viable renders. There are some seriously talented people out there.



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baldrick
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Re: Bespoke Christopher Ward Project Watch

Post by baldrick »

Bumping just to confirm for those interested: the first project vote has been cast and the budget is GBP 1k (approx. USD 1.2k).

The budget means there has to be a re-design, so, if that sounds fun, now is the time to get involved.

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baldrick
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Re: Bespoke Christopher Ward Project Watch

Post by baldrick »

Bumping again. CW has got its various launches and sales out of the way and so this project is back in focus.

We're now discussing design elements, starting with the dial.

There are some rough ideas up on the project site for those interested.

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