Christopher Ward C8 UTC Worldtimer - Special Build

The C8 UTC Worldtimer was launched in 2016. The black DLC version cost £950 and had a black face with cream markings, whereas the steel version cost £900 and had a black face with white markings. It was officially retired/sold out in 2019, but a last little batch was made in 2020 from the parts of bother models and the watch for sale here is one of those final parts bin builds.

It features the black DLC (diamond like carbon) coated case, with the white markings face from the steel model.

There’s no official record of how many of these watches were made, but based on other similar build runs from the likes of C11s and C60s that we’ve seen in the past, it’s usually somewhere between five and 15.

It’s a big watch at 44mm, but at a relatively modest 11.5mm tall, it doesn’t wear too big on the wrist (The C60 GMT, which uses the same ETA movement, stands at 13.8mm).

At its heart is an ETA 2893-2 movement. In case you weren’t already aware, the fourth hand (with the red arrow) takes 24 hours to complete one trip around the dial, making it a great travel partner. When I’m away from the UK, I set the internal rotating bezel to display LON at the top, then set the red GMT hand to London time, so I’m just a glance away from seeing the time at home.

I bought this watch in July 2020, so the transferable movement warranty is valid until July 2025.

This is one of the very last C8 UTCs to leave Park Street and likely the last one still in brand new condition.

Condition:
As new, unworn condition. Keeping great time at approx. -4 sec per day - good enough for a COSC certificate, had this been a COSC model, which it isn’t.

Supplied in original CW presentation case with warranty card, polishing cloth and a covering letter explaining it’s an historic model so the books were out of print and instead directing you to the PDF version mentioned below.

Fitted with the original vintage brown CW Tiber leather strap, which has quick-release spring bars. This strap in new condition is a rare thing because CW has long sold out of them.

Specs:

• Diameter: 44mm

• Height: 11.5mm

• Calibre: ETA 2893-2

• Water resistance: 5ATM (50m)

• Strap lugs: 22mm

A PDF version of the owner’s manual is available from the CW website:
https://www.christopherward.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-cw-library/default/dw06006e0b/pdfs/Aviation/c8_utc_worldtimer_manual.pdf

Final Notes:
Note the first two pics are library shots. The rest show the actual watch and package.