Tag Archives: desk diver

William Wood

Again I have to have been a little sceptical of this brand when they first popped up on Instagram, now with the launch of their second watch I have to admit that I was possibly a little quick to judge. The brand like many others just had to get itself of the ground.

The first watch the Chivalrous collection, as you can see above, was a fairly generic looking quartz powered two hander. One feature I did like, as a fan of solid casebacks, was the solid caseback incorporating a brass coin made from a melted down 1923 firefighter’s helmet.

The story behind the watch is quiet interesting, the company’s founder’s, Jonny Garrett, grandfather was William Wood a firefighter. The company, as many others, was launched after a Kickstarter campaign. They have susequently won the Esquire Self-Made Entrepreneur of the Year 2018. They aspire to becoming a British luxury brand that uses recycled firefighting material in a sustainable, cool and chivalrous way.

Their next step towards acheiving this goal is their second watch, the Valiant, an different take on a classic divers watch again using recycled firefighting materials.

In this case the strap is made from recycled fire hoses. For those that might not be keen on a red strap there is also a military version using ex-military fire service green hoses.

Apart from the straps and the firefighter’s helmet logo on the dial the watches follow the classic format.

Technical Specifications:

  • Swiss ETA 2824 or Japanese NH35 Automatic movement
  • Case diameter 41mm
  • Case thickness 16mm
  • Lug width 20mm
  • Water Resistant 100 metres / 10 ATM
  • 316L Stainless Steel case and metal band
  • Double domed sapphire crystal glass with anti-reflective coating and blue tint
  • Rotating bezel with Super-LumiNova 12 dot
  • Super-LumiNova hands, indices and bezel 12 dot
  • Domed dial with date window and sweeping second hand
  • Crown inset made from original 1920’s British brass firefighters helmet

The watches are reasonably priced at £695 for the NH35 version or £995 for the ETA.

I am sure here might be many watch buyers that for some reason or other are not keen on the military associations of many of this type of watch on offer. These watches offer that alternative. You can discover more and buy the watches at https://williamwoodwatches.com/.

Chr. Ward C60 Trident

Two days ago Christopher Ward announced a new version of their C60 the Pro 600.

c60-43-chr-sbbsi-b_1_nf

This is their description of the watch.

Built to the most exacting standards, the C60 Trident Chronograph is a watch created for diving professionals that even non-swimmers will covet.

The boldness of the deep navy and metallic yellow dial design catches the eye immediately and, upon closer inspection, it is easy to be impressed with the intricacies of what may be our most detailed dial to date. Worthy of special attention is the 60 seconds sub-dial which “breathes” via a rotating disc behind a cut-out display delivering ease of reading for the diver as well as a fascinating appeal for the more casual wearer.

The uni-directional ceramic bezel has been enhanced with the professional diver in mind by the addition of a full minute-track, and a better defined font for the numerals which are filled with high-grade SuperLuminova for outstanding luminosity.

Engineered to resist water at up to depths of 600 metres (2000 feet) the fluid contours of the Trident case, which also incorporates an automatic helium release valve, surround one of the most reliable and robust chronograph movements, the self-winding ETA Valjoux 7750. All told, therefore, this is a remarkable watch that signals another milestone in an unfolding story that positions Christopher Ward in the vanguard of British watch design.

The watch will be available early March.

Here is a nice dramatic video showing the watch off

Video Link