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Christopher Ward C65 GMT Worldtimer Review

Chris Ward introduces a bold worldtimer in their fantastic light catcher case

GMT watches are one of the hotter trends over the past year. Most watch brands have put out a full-fledged GMT or a watch with a 12-hour bezel at the very least. Tracking multiple zones with your watch is more ubiquitous than ever and with the flood of GMT watches, it is hard to pick just one.

The Christopher Ward C65 GMT Worldtimer makes that task even more difficult. This watch isn’t just a GMT, it adds a world time bezel which adds an extra layer of timekeeping to the relatively simple-to-use GMT complication. Christopher Ward is no stranger to bringing some of the rarer complications and features to the masses, like chronometer-certified movements, moonphases, and sapphire dials. Most of these have been hits, so what about the Worldtimer? Let’s find out.

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On the Wrist

Even though many of Christopher Ward’s recent releases share the same case or many case elements, they always find a way to make it feel fresh. This is true of the C65 GMT Worldtimer. Christopher Ward’s tried-and-true light-catching case on this watch has a slight difference in appearance compared to other watches in their lineup. The DLC-coated bezel adds another layer of depth to the case which helps this watch wear even thinner than it is (12mm).

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Despite the mass of information on the dial and bezel, the Worldtimer is clearly legible. The mix of white, black, silver, and yellow is done in such a way that the elements all work together and don’t conflict with each other. This is also one case where Christopher Ward’s different take on logo placement works extremely well. Their name at 9 o’clock seems to take away an element of dial clutter. I tried to imagine this watch with their name at 12 o’clock à la the C65 Dartmouth and it just wouldn’t work.

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Christopher Ward has been using a box-style sapphire crystal on many of their watches and they are one of the few brands that considers the distortion from the crystal. They made sure to push the 24-hour ring on the outside of the dial in so that it is readable from most angles. When looking at it straight on, there is no distortion to the numbers.

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Using the worldtime functionality of this watch is simple. Contrary to what you might think, the worldtime bezel has no relation to the GMT hand. By rotating the bezel of the watch to the current GMT time, you can see the time in the other time zones separated by a full hour.

To set the bezel to a specific city location, rotate the bezel until your home time zone reaches the current time on the 24 hour dial rehaut. For example, if you’re in New York City and it’s 2:00 PM, move New York to 14:00. From there you can work out the time in any part of the world. Using this example, when it is 14:00 in New York City, it’s 02:00 in Hong Kong.

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You will notice some cities have a half-bracket next to them. This is to allow for a time adjustment that has daylight saving time. If those cities are currently in daylight saving time, you adjust the bezel so it is aligned with the line on the half-bracket. The bidirectional bezel is easy to turn yet feels tight enough to not accidently slip out of position.

Christopher Ward C65 GMT Worldtimer Video Review

Dial Details

The dial of the C65 Worldtimer inside of the rehaut is simple. Applied markers with hash marks in between look attractive without making the dial complicated to read. Christopher Ward’s branding is at 9 o’clock with their twin flag logo at 12 o’clock. The twin flag is embossed, so it disappears in most light. I’d like to see Christopher Ward take advantage of this cool-looking logo and make it applied on more of their watches. No reason to hide it.

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The black date wheel at 3 o’clock helps the date blend into the dial without being obtrusive, but it is there if you need it.

Christopher Ward has done a great job working in the yellow accents across the watch, most of which are featured on the dial and hands. The top half of the 24-hour rehaut is shaded in yellow while the bottom half is white. It’s a nice play on the day/night split that many watch brands have incorporated using a certain soda brand’s color scheme.

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The minute hand is borrowed from the C65 Dartmouth, which is one of my favorite Christopher Ward handsets next to the Trident. The hour hand is a shorter version of it, as opposed to the spear they use in the Trident series. The GMT hand is bold and vibrant with its yellow accent. Christopher Ward included their signature trident counterbalance on the seconds hand. All of these elements contrast beautifully against the matte black dial. It allows the yellow accents to really pop.

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Case and Strap

As I mentioned before, Christopher Ward has once again used their light-catching case on the C65 Worldtimer. It appears to be the same midcase as the C65 Dartmouth, which is my favorite case from the brand. It is thin and hugs the wrist well. It has one of the best case profiles you will find from any watch brand.

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Christopher Ward has worked in DLC accents across the C65 Worldtimer. I already discussed the DLC-coated bezel, but another interesting DLC addition is the caseback. Although you won’t see it often, the DLC coated caseback is cool to look at.

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If you’ve read any of my other Christopher Ward reviews, you’ll know I’m fan of their crowns. They tend to use larger crowns that are easy to operate. The Sellita SW-330 GMT movement used in the C65 Worldtimer takes full advantage of this and has a fantastic winding action.

Believe it or not, this is the first Christopher Ward watch I’ve reviewed that wasn’t on a bracelet. The black canvas webbing strap on the C65 Worldtimer is an interesting amalgamation of a couple strap designs. The top of the strap is a rough-feeling canvas lined with leather on the back. It feels comfortable on the wrist and broke in quickly. If I were to buy this watch, I would opt for the bracelet as Christopher Ward’s bracelets are excellent.

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Final Thoughts

Christopher Ward has been on quite a tear recently. They’ve released an amazing lineup of watches in the past year. From their military collection to a sapphire-dialed watch, they can push the envelope. They’ve released worldtimers prior to the C65, but they were dress models, and this is the first one in a dive watch case.

It’s becoming more difficult for me to pick out the one Christopher Ward I would buy if I were putting my money down on the table. Each of the watches I’ve reviewed has something that wows me and makes me want to throw my money down. The C65 Worldtimer adds another watch to that conundrum. The value proposition for this watch is excellent and I would have a hard time not recommending this watch to someone looking for a GMT and/or a Worldtimer.

Check out more Christopher Ward reviews at The Watch Clicker

Check out the Christopher Ward website

Case Width41mmThickness12.05mm
Lug-to-lug Height47.1mmLug Width22mm
CrystalBox-type SapphireStrapTextile Strap
Water Resistance150 metersLumeSuper-LumiNova® Grade X1 GL C1
MovementSellita SW330Price$1,140

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