Christopher Ward C700 Grande Rapide Chronograph

The C700 was Christopher Ward's flagship Motorsport watch at its launch in 2011. It was the second CW to use the famous ETA 7750 Valjoux movement - the first being the C40 Speedhawk in 2009 and a variation can also be found in the £1,360 C60 Chronograph.

In case you didn’t already know, the 7750 Valjoux has been a part of the horology furniture since the 1970s and ‘80s, being one of the most popular mechanical chronographs in existence. It can be found inside many premium watch brands such as Breitling, TAG Heuer, Panerai, Omega, IWC etc.

The C700’s carbon fibre face was Christopher Ward’s first venture into unconventional face materials, paving the way for the likes of the current C60 Sapphire with its clear polycarbonate face.

The November 2012 model for sale here features the original circular CW logo on the face. Midway through the C700’s life, CW changed their logo to the CHR. WARD version, so early watches tend to have the original logo and later ones tend to have the later logo - photographs of both versions are used in the User Manual.

When the C700 was retired in mid 2014 the selling price was £900 on a leather or rubber strap and £950 on a bracelet.

Condition
From a foot this watch looks like new, but when you get in close you can see a few small dings and signs of previous polishing work.

It’s very unusual to see a 10+ year old CW still on its original rubber strap - the reason for that is because they’re prone to splitting around the holes which are used most regularly. The 3rd and 4th shortest holes on this strap have the tiny beginnings of splits, but by being careful when putting it on and off, it should still provide plenty of use going forward.

It was serviced by CW in October 2020 at a cost of £250. On the timegrapher it’s registering approx -23sec per day. A touch on the slow side, but with most brand new CWs having a timing tolerance of +/-20sec per day, I think we can forgive this 10+ year old piece a few seconds!

Comes supplied in original CW case (which is looking a little tired on the outside) and also includes service receipts, covering letter and the original owner’s manual with Certificate of Authenticity.

Overall, I’d say it’s a good used watch in great working order and at a great price.

Specifications

• Case size: 42mm

• Lug width: 22mm

• Height: 13.9mm

• Waterproof: 100m

• Movement: modified ETA 7750 Valjoux

User Manual

A PDF version is available on the CW website: https://www.christopherward.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-cw-library/default/dw3e083805/pdfs/Motorsport/c700_manual.pdf

Final Notes

• The first photo is a library shot. The rest all show the actual watch and package.

• The user manual states the height as 16mm. That’s incorrect, it’s actually 14mm.