Christopher Ward C70 DBR1 Limited Edition

The C70 DBR1 is a 500-piece Limited Edition watch which was part of the original C70 Grand Prix series launched in 2009 and quickly selling out. It was followed by a 300 piece COSC version in 2011 and a 100 piece (£2000) Art Metal edition in 2013.

Most Christopher Ward collectors consider the C70 DBR1 a 'must have' watch, making it a very desirable and collectable Limited Edition which doesn’t come up very often.

The C70 DBR1 pays homage to Aston Martin’s 1959 Le Mans winning DBR1. As CW put it: "The strikingly designed quartz-powered watch is a multifunction three-eye chronograph powered by the superlative ETA 251.272 movement. It also has a date window, a tachymeter bezel and is water resistant to 10atm. DBR is an acronym for David Brown Racing. Brown bought Aston Martin in 1947 when the luxury carmaker was already an iconic brand in motor racing. He went on to build on the racing heritage. The DBR1 took first and second place in Le Mans in 1959, as well as winning the world Sports Car Championship in that year."

The C70s exposed alloy bezel and thinly applied paint make it notoriously delicate, so finding one in good condition is becoming increasingly challenging (CW has long since exhausted its supply of replacement bezels/cases).

The watch in this listing was an ‘archive find’ sold in 2015 as a ‘nearly new’ watch due to a blemish on the bezel - so it’s highly likely this is the ‘youngest’ original DBR1 to be sold. It went back to CW in August 2019 for a replacement battery, so it should be good for the next few years.

It’s had a fair bit of wrist time, but has been worn sensibly and well looked after (more desk work than brick laying), so it’s in great condition for the age and miles. There are just a couple of minor blemishes around the outer edge of the bezel, nothing really worthy of specific mention (please don’t mistake my poor quality photography lights for what looks like lots of scratches to the polished case - it’s in great shape!).

The strap is the original ‘fitted end’ leather with deployant/butterfly clasp which looks great on the watch, but was prone to splitting if squashed down flat. The ends are starting to show their age, but there’s still plenty of life in it. The launch selling price was just £300 (!), but that quickly increased to £500 for the leather and £550 for the bracelet version by the time it had sold out.

Supplied in 2015 presentation case (the original 2009 version was bigger and had green internals) with original covering letter, unused polishing cloth and owner’s book with Certificate of Authenticity.

Specifications

• Case size: 42mm

• Lug width: 22mm

• Height: 10.7mm

• Waterproof: 50m

• Movement: ETA 251.272 quartz

User Manual

A PDF version of the owner’s manual is available on the CW website: https://www.christopherward.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-cw-library/default/dwa255857f/pdfs/Motorsport/c70_manual.pdf

Final Notes

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