Christopher Ward C70 French Grand Prix 1906 Chronometer Chronograph Limited Edition

Following the success of 2009’s original C70 Grand Prix series of eight watches, Christopher Ward embarked on a number of stand-alone C70 Specials. They included the GB COSC, DBR1 COSC, BRG, DBR1/2, VW4 COSC, 3527 GT, D-Type and the HRDC..!

At the end of the C70’s lifecycle in 2015, CW released a set of four COSC-certified (accurate to +/-10sec per year) pieces as the C70’s swan song. They made 500 of each of the four watches, which celebrated the first ever Grands Prix of four different countries: The (green) British GP 1926, the (yellow) Belgian GP 1925, the (red) Italian GP 1921 and finally the watch for sale in this listing; the French Grand Prix 1906!

The “C70 French GP 1906 Chronometer” to give its full title, celebrates the first ever French GP which was held at the now iconic town of Le Mans. The event’s ‘grand prize’ of 45,000 Francs (the equivalent of 13kg of gold at the time or half a mi££ion today) was put up by local businesses in an attempt to attract visitors and trade - needless to say, the investment is still paying dividends today!

The 12-lap race was won by Hungarian, Ferenc Szisz in his Renault 90CV in a time of… 12 hours and 14 minutes! You’ll find his name and time on the plate on the left side of the case.

The the final few pieces of this watch sold out in 2017, so this July 2017 watch is one of the last C70 GPs to leave Park Street. The movement warranty is valid until July 2022.

Condition:
If you’re familiar with C70s, you’ll know their exposed aluminium bezel has a reputation for getting fairly easily marked. The fact that this watch is coming up for four years old and the bezel is still immaculate demonstrates that it’s only seen very limited wrist time. It has been worn so there are some tiny blemishes here and there (the ‘worst’ are a couple of small nicks on the plaque on the left side of the case), but I’d still describe it as being in fantastic condition. The strap is also in great condition, indicating only occasional wear.

It comes as a ‘full set’ complete with original deluxe wooden case, covering letter, unused polishing cloth and original owner’s manual with Certificate of Authenticity.

Specs:

• Diameter: 42mm

• Height: 11.8mm

• Calibre: ETA 251.264 COSC

• Water resistance: 100m

• Strap: 22mm

Owner’s Book:
A PDF version of the owner manual is available on the CW website: www.christopherward.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-cw-library/default/dw063b0e72/pdfs/Motorsport/c70coscgp_manual.pdf

Final Notes:
The first picture is a library photo, the rest show the actual watch and package.