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| Courtesy of Christopher Ward |
We're a bit tight for time this morning, so I'm going to give it to you straight from Christopher Ward
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| Courtesy of Christopher Ward |
In this, the 75th anniversary year of the Battle of Britain, Christopher Ward announce one of the most significant and evocative new launches in the brand’s history – the C8 P7350 Chronometer – 75-piece Limited Edition.
Commemorating the extraordinary contribution of one of Britain’s most iconic symbols, the Supermarine Spitfire, this new limited edition model literally incorporates a piece of that history – a fragment of original Dualumin from the oldest, most original and historically significant airworthy Spitfire to have flown in the battle, P7350. Indeed, “P7” is the only Spitfire still flying that actually flew in the Battle of Britain and today is part of the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF). The metal was retrieved by Christopher Ward’s historic metal partner, TMBArtMetal, following essential restoration work on the plane in 2008 carried out by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight team (BBMF).
The Watch – C8 P7350 Chronometer
The design of the 44mm C8 Chronometer is actually based on the Smith Mk II A clock that was used in P7’s cockpit, including a careful matching of the original index fonts and colours and the black, anti-reflective case. The SuperLuminova™ SLN C5 and T-C1 paints use green and blue emissions respectively.
The reverse of the watch reveals a piece of metal from the P7’s cockpit protected by highly scratch-resistant, museum-grade sapphire crystal. A silhouette of the plane’s plan has been precision-cut into the metal, showing the registration and unmistakable elliptical wing formation to great effect.
Such an important watch demands an important movement; powering the C8 P7350 is a small-second, hand-wound version of Christopher Ward’s groundbreaking in-house movement, Calibre SH21, launched in July 2014. As well as providing 120 hours of power via SH21’s twin barrels, each movement is a certified chronometer through COSC, further testifying to its quality and accuracy.
Mike France, co-founder of Christopher Ward, is delighted to see the C8 P7350 emerge from a long-standing ambition for the brand: “As a personally held passion among the Christopher Ward team, we have had a long-established obsession to create an authentic, fitting and original commemorative Aviation watch linking to the Battle of Britain and to the Spitfire in particular. Working with our partner TMBMArtMetal is always something of an adventure and we were delighted with the discovery that the P7350, a true veteran of the Battle of Britain, was made available during the BBMF’s 2008 restoration. It’s a rare privilege to find an opportunity to use history in this way.
The fact that the C8 P7350 is actually a superb watch, powered by our own Calibre SH21 in-house movement and COSC-certified, is almost incidental but we have set out to do justice to this truly amazing plane. This is a highly evocative new model and we have no problem whatsoever in seeing our own Calibre SH21 rightly overshadowed by this tiny fragment from one of the 20th century’s most iconic and influential machines.”
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| Courtesy of Christopher Ward |
P7 – Back in the sky
Adding to the very special nature of this remarkable watch, Christopher Ward have arranged with the BBMF for the 75 limited edition models and their fragments of P7350 to actually take to the skies as part of a Spitfire flypast on 18th June. The flypast is the centrepiece of a Battle of Britain commemorative evening at Bentley Priory, home of the Battle of Britain Museum. Christopher Ward have taken a table at the event and, from the pre-order list of customers for the new model, will be inviting two customers and their guest to attend and be presented with their numbered, limited edition watch.
The C8 P7350 is priced at £3495/US$4800/€4500 and is offered in a limited edition of just 75 watches. Pre-orders will be strictly limited to one per person.
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