Christopher Ward C66 AM 2 VEV Special Edition

In 2020 Christopher Ward made the decision to stop manufacturing quartz watches and concentrate solely on making automatics. The last quartz watch they planned to make (to use up their remaining stock of 350x ETA 251.264 COSC movements) was the C65 AM GT - so called because the dial was heavily influenced by the speedometer of the Aston Martin DB4 Zagato. That was all great until a few months later, someone was rummaging through the stock room at CW Towers and found a batch of ETA 251.272, 251.274, 251.233 and 251.264 movements (many of which were missing their COSC certificates)! They’re all virtually identical, super accurate (+/- 15sec per year) quartz chronographs.

To give those ETA Chronograph calibres a home, CW came up with two variations of the C65 AM GT which they called the C65 AM 1 VEV and 65 AM 2 VEV - they made 150 of each. The ‘VEV’ names are a hat tip to the 2016 Christopher Ward C9 DB4 1 VEV Zagato watch, which had a piece of DB4 Zagato in its rear case - the DB4 Zagato in question sports the number plate “1 VEV”.

So, the C65 AM 1 VEV was almost identical to the 65 AM GT, the only differences being a ‘1 VEV’ etched into the bezel and slightly different movements (it used ETA 251.272 and 251.274 hearts). The 2 VEV is also 95% the same as an AM GT/2 VEV, but it has a black bezel and it’s powered by either a ETA 251.233 or 251.264.

Because many of the COSC certificates had been misplaced, CW never actually marketed the C65 VEVs as being COSC models, however they do have COSC movements, so you can expect accuracy of between 0 and 15 seconds variation per year.

The C65 2 VEV models sold out in a matter of days, but when they were briefly available the price was £495 on rubber and £600 on bracelet.

The watch for sale here was bought by me in March 2021 and is number 150 of 150 - so you could say it’s the last of the last quartz watches CW ever built! It’s certainly not the last one they ever sold though because at the time of writing, they’re still offering the C3 Morgan, which was originally launched in 2018.

Strap

It’s currently fitted with a CW stainless bracelet - £650.

If you’d prefer a CW black Tropic rubber, CW black Hybrid or CW brown leather strap I can switch it over and reduce the price to £575.

Condition

It’s still in brand new, unworn condition.

It’s fitted with a CW stainless bracelet which still has all its protective vinyls applied.

This is a ‘full set’ box and papers watch. Supplied with user manual, warranty card and unused polishing cloth.

Specifications

• Case size: 41mm

• Lug width: 22mm

• Height: 12.2mm

• Waterproof: 150m

• Movement: ETA 251.233 or 251.264

• Power reserve: 38h

User Manual

A PDF of the 2 VEV manual is available here.

Final Notes

• The first seven images are library photos. The others all show the actual watch and package.

• The final photo shows it on a black CW Hybrid strap. That’s is an option (-£75) and is not included with the bracelet.