CHRISTOPHER WARD C7 RAPIDE AUTOMATIC

With the exception of a few military specials, the Christopher Ward C7 (and C70) range has always been home to their sport/motorsport inspired watches. The C7 Rapide first arrived in 2008 as a quartz chronograph and that battery chrono theme continued with the launch of the Mk2 in 2012, which was essentially a Mk1 case with some new face designs.

It wasn’t until 2017, when the C7 Rapide range got a complete overhaul, that an automatic movement became available in a C7 for the first time. The watch for sale in this listing is one of those ‘Mk3’ C7 autos - although CW never officially called it the Mk3!

Apart from the name and the fact that it’s a 42mm watch, the Mk3 (2017-on) C7 Rapide range has very little in common with the previous C7 models. The standout feature of the automatic watch has to be the multi-part case construction with its contrasting case/ring colours and its hollowed out lugs. Both those made it a pretty expensive watch to manufacture and pretty unique to look at.

The watch for sale in this listing dates from June 2018, so the transferable movement warranty is valid until June 2022, or June 2023 if it’s serviced by CW between now and June ‘22. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend that service, because the cost of the service is similar to that of a replacement movement at an independent specialist. Plus the time-keeping is currently spot-on, so if it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it!

Condition

As mentioned above, the time-keeping is currently bang-on - COSC would be proud!

Supplied in the original CW box including user book with Certificate of Authenticity.

It’s fitted with a CW camel leather strap in almost new condition, but if that’s not to your taste I can switch it to a CW black Hybrid rubber if that’s more your thing.

Condition wise, the bezel has picked up a number of marks, all clearly visible in the photos. The price reflects those defects and makes this a great value and very wearable automatic CW daily.

Specs:

• Diameter: 42mm

• Height: 11.15mm

• Calibre: Sellita SW200

• Water resistance: 10ATM (100m)

• Strap lugs: 22mm

• Lug-to-lug: 48mm

Owner’s Handbook

A PDF of the owner’s book is available on the CW website: https://www.christopherward.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-cw-library/default/dw543007a4/pdfs/Motorsport/c7-rapide-auto.pdf

Final Notes:
Note the first pic is a library shot. The rest show the actual watch and package.