Christopher Ward C65 AM GT COSC Quartz Limited Edition

Introduction

In 2020 Christopher Ward made the decision to stop manufacturing quartz watches and concentrate solely on making automatics. The last quartz watch they planned to make (to use up their remaining stock of 350x ETA 251.264 COSCmovements) was the C65 AM GT - so called because the dial was heavily influenced by the speedometer of the Aston Martin DB4 Zagato. That was all great until a few months later, someone was rummaging through the stock room at CW Towers and found a batch of ETA 251.272, 251.274, 251.233 and 251.264 movements (many of which were missing their COSC certificates)! They’re all virtually identical, super accurate (+/- 15sec per year) quartz chronographs.

To give those ETA Chronograph calibres a home, CW came up with two variations of the C65 AM GT which they called the C65 AM 1 VEV and 65 AM 2 VEV - they made 150 of each. The ‘VEV’ names are a hat tip to the 2016 Christopher Ward C9 DB4 1 VEV Zagato watch, which had a piece of DB4 Zagato in its rear case - the DB4 Zagato in question sports the number plate “1 VEV”.

So, the C65 AM 1 VEV was almost identical to the 65 AM GT, the only differences being a ‘1 VEV’ etched into the bezel and slightly different movements (it used ETA 251.272 and 251.274 hearts). The 2 VEV is also 95% the same as an AM GT/2 VEV, but it has a black bezel and it’s powered by either a ETA 251.233 or 251.264.

Because many of the COSC certificates had been misplaced, CW never actually marketed the C65 VEVs as being COSC models, however they do have COSC movements, so you can expect accuracy of between 0 and 15 seconds variation per year.

Warranty

The transferable CW manufacturer’s warranty runs until April 2026

Strap options

It comes on a very good used CW hybird. Other options are:

1) Exchange for a brand new CW vintage oak leather strap (no cost change)

2) Head only (discount of £40)

Condition

Supplied as a ‘full set’, with case, user guide and warranty card. No COSC certificate.

As good as an example as you’ll see. It’s in beautiful condition - looks like it has barely been worn. No observable marks.

Specifications

• Case size: 41mm

• Lug width: 22mm

• Height: 12.2mm

• Waterproof: 150m

• Movement: ETA 251.264

Final Notes

• Note the first pic is a library shot, the rest all show the actual watch and package.