This is a nice watch. And if your budget is at the £1000 (sub $1200) mark, you can rest easy that you have just snagged yourself what is one of the best deals in watchmaking. But let’s take a step back. While the review of the Christopher Ward C65 Dune Bronze COSC could end there, I’d be remiss if we didn’t dig a little deeper in the sand and uncover what makes this bronze beauty so great. So, put on that fedora, whip out that trowel, and fire up your buggy. We’ve got some excavating to do.
Christopher Ward is a British watch brand headquartered in Maidenhead, England, just outside London in the South of this tide-worn island. With Christopher Ward, you get a range of diverse watches in their form and function. From beautiful chiming Bel Cantos to elite-level dive watches, C Ward is making it difficult to buy a Swiss watch from anybody else.
On The Wrist
The C65 Dune series fits somewhere between the two categories mentioned above. It has reserved, classic styling that will look smart with a button-up but is still equipped with that toolish charm that means it won’t shy away when exposed to fiercer elements.
On the wrist, the 38mm case of the C65 Dune fits my just shy of 7-inch wrist comfortably. It feels wide enough to carry a bit of heft yet has short, curved lugs, measuring in at only 43.6mm lug-to-lug, that sit snuggly from top to bottom.
Elevating the Dune from just a tool watch to something far more refined is the way that it sits so low on the wrist, thanks to the 11.9mm thin C Ward Lightcatcher case. It slips easily under a shirt cuff and feels well-balanced across the wrist for work and play.
The watch that I have spent the last 1000 days wearing is my Lorier Neptune Series 3. Being the ideal watch for me regarding size and case shape, I was curious to review something totally different in the Dune. Lorier’s Neptune, while still elegant in execution, has a ‘sportier’ shape to it than the Dune. With squared-off, longer lugs, a much more pronounced crown, and a slim brushed case side, the Neptune looks and wears like a skin-diver. The Dune, on the other hand, has a far rounder, more spherical case shape, which blends into the wrist a little more. It felt dressier than something like a skin diver, and to my surprise, I think the bronze case played into that. The bronze accents and dial color combination also played more dressy than sporty. While something like the Neptune (a 39mm skin-diver) and the Dune have similar dimensions in terms of their diameter, the Neptune reads smaller on the wrist. This is due to the Neptune’s smaller dial opening, given the bezel and rehaut, which is a trait I adore in watches, and the kind of charm that might win you over with a Doxa. A lot of this is just personal preference, and what you prefer will depend on what you’re in the market for. While the Dune might be more eye-catching, given the tones and colors used, I’m much more comfortable wearing a simple steel skin diver.
Nevertheless, given the compact and versatile dimensions, the Dune feels like a watch that fits virtually any wrist size and blends seamlessly into most daily occasions.
Christopher Ward C65 Dune Bronze Specs | |
Case Width 38mm | Lug-to-Lug 43.6mm |
Case Thickness 11.9mm | Lug Width 20mm |
Water Resistance 150m | Strap Leather-backed canvas |
Crystal Sapphire | Lume Super-LumiNova X1 |
Movement Sellita SW-200 COSC | Price $1,165 |
Dial Details
In an iridescent beachgrass green, the C65 Dune Bronze wears its dial color well. Rich but not overly saturated, with a shimmer without being too glossy, the green dial of the Dune continues the philosophy behind this watch; to be the watch you wear when you slam your laptop shut on a Friday and the one you keep on the wrist for your weekend of kicking up sand or knocking around town. With a brushed, bronze twin flag logo just below the 12 o’clock marker and two lines of text printed at 6 o’clock, this dial feels like an open plain, adding to the easy-wearing experience of this watch. A lot has been said about Christopher Ward logos from the days of ‘Chr. Ward’ on early Tridents to the renowned ‘Christopher Ward’ text at 9 o’clock. I wasn’t a huge fan of either of those iterations (Ward wanted to switch to this simple twin-flag logo much sooner but had to hold out). Still, the twin-flag logo used on their new releases looks excellent, and I can’t find anything to complain about with how it’s utilized on the dial and crown.
The raised, bronze-accented circular markers used on the C65 Dune are caked in Super-LumiNova® Grade X1 lume and are very legible. Rather than a white application of lume, these markers take on a creamy hue, befitting the ‘Dune’ moniker and further instilling this idea of desert sand textures and finishes. Seeing the bronze rings around the indices glint and glimmer in the sunlight was fantastic. Those small details on the Dune distinguish it from field watches that are more ‘military’ in their aesthetic. At twelve o’clock is a prominent triangle for orientation, with horizontal trapezoids at the 3 and 9. This trapezoidal pattern is carried across to the date window, which is nestled in at 6 o’clock, and color-matched brilliantly to the beachgrass dial. The lume on the dial knows no boundaries and forces its way between ‘Swiss’ and ‘Made’ at 6 o’clock. I love the utility-first approach as executed by C Ward here, as it would have been easy to forego the lume at 6 in the place of the date window.
While I do like C Ward’s unique take on the sword handset, and the finishing on these hands is excellent, I cannot help but wonder if something slightly less sharp geometrically would have suited the overall styling of this watch more. Call me a classicist, but I would like to see Ward revive their cathedral-style handset for a watch like this (the kind they would have used around 2015 with that rounded hour hand and spear-headed minute hand). This would balance with those circular hour markers and the lollipop seconds hand, offering greater sophistication.
Case, Bracelet, and Movement
Topped off with a box-sapphire crystal, harkening back to 1960s and 70s sports watches, the Lightcatcher case epitomizes the character of this watch. The case has enough lines and details to make it feel refined, yet it still has that simple field-watch aesthetic to pull duty as a ‘do anything’ watch. The Lightcatcher case is used across most of C Ward’s sports watches, and it’s clear to see why, given its comfort and versatility.
The C65 Dune I received for review had likely already passed through a few hands, as the bronze case appeared to have some patina upon arrival. While the bronze appeared well-finished, the real charm of bronze is how the case changes and ages based on the wearer. From my time with the watch, the case didn’t change dramatically, but that would need to be a consideration if you were in the market for a bronze watch; the fact that after six months, it may have a unique hue to how it appeared on day one. This was my first experience with a bronze watch, and while I enjoyed its solidity, I’d say this has confirmed that my preference is definitely with stainless steel. One of the cool things about steel, especially if it has a mix of finishes, is the way the watch wears a scuff and a scratch. I only have to look down at my Neptune to see all the scars it carries – and it reminds me that the watch is truly mine. I’m not sure that a brushed bronze watch of any kind would wear a scratch quite as well as a steel sports watch with a polished chamfer here and there. I think it’s important to remember that while patina for the wearer is an endearing trait, it’s still nice to give your watch a quick wipe down with a cloth and get it looking its best. You can do this with bronze, but the process is different, and I’d worry that rather than having a watch that looks a little scratched from use, I’d end up with a watch that looks tarnished.
I have nothing but praise for the comfort and size of the C65 case, but I would say that, out of the box, I didn’t find the strap that came affixed to the watch quite as comfortable. The leather-backed canvas strap was well-made and felt extremely robust. Its matching bronze buckle felt sturdy and dependable. My complaint is more just in regards to how to strap made the watch sit on the wrist, making the watch feel ever so slightly off-center because of the stiffness of the strap. I’m sure this would wear in well with time and soften up, but if this were my watch, it’d be living on a single-pass olive-drab military-style strap.
One change for the bronze version of the C65 Dune compared to the standard steel variant is the movement. Both watches utilize the reliable Selitta SW200 movement. However, the one found in the Bronze is COSC. No complaints here; the crown felt solid in use (the red ring on the crown tube was a nice touch), and the watch kept a great time. The movement is visible through the sapphire case-back. Christopher Ward goes the extra mile by adding a nicely executed custom rotor decorated with the brand name and twin-flag logo. Again, small details go a long way.
Final Thoughts
As you may know, I am a confessed one-watch guy, so the way I buy a watch might be very different from how you buy a watch. If I pick out my one watch, I want it to be versatile, legible, well-constructed, and easy to live with. Therefore, for my money, if I were in the market for a C65 Dune, I’d opt for one of the models in steel, most likely the Black Sand variant (although the White Sand is very cool too). I’d buy it on a strap, throw it on a single pass, and wear it for everything. In an ideal world, if I were designing the next version of the C65 Dune, I’d forego the polished edges around the markers, opting for printed indices instead to dial up that heritage vibe. I’d also recommend a slightly more sophisticated handset and a solid steel caseback.
I enjoyed the time I spent with the Dune, and it confirmed to me something that I suspected for a long time; if a reliable, thoughtful, ‘Swiss Made’ watch is what you’re after, Christopher Ward is a brand you must consider. I often try to consider watches not just from the perspective of an ‘enthusiast’ that could sit and read about these little machines all day but also from the perspective of somebody that just wants one great watch. I detailed what I would like and purchased enough watches, watched countless reviews, and listened to that many podcasts that I’ve reached such a detailed level of specificity in my tastes, probably just like many of you reading this. I know exactly what I like, hence some of the suggested changes above. But for someone that just wants one great watch, when they see the attention to detail that Christopher Ward has gone to with the Dune (a watch that I would argue is not as flagship as, say, the Twelve, Sealander, or Bel Canto), they might say exactly what my wife did when she first saw it, ‘Can we keep it?’
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Very helpful review. I’m considering this as my next watch (in a collection based on iterating towards one or two ideal watches), and with the bronze bracelet.