Christopher Ward’s New Aston Martin Inspired Chronograph Has a Movement Worth Talking About

Christopher Ward has somewhat quietly introduced a new sports watch with a genuinely interesting movement that we think is worth shining a light on. Very often with new watch releases, we see the same off-the-shelf movements being used over and over again. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this – ETA, Sellita, Miyota, and others all produce movements that are reliable, affordable, and flexible to the needs of many of the small brands that we cover, and lots of those same brands make interesting and notable adjustments to these movements once they get their hands on them. But when a brand like Christopher Ward incorporates a less common movement into a watch that’s pretty appealing on its surface anyway, we take notice. And we’re even more interested when that watch is priced well under the $1,000 mark. Let’s take a closer look at the new C65 AM GT Limited Edition.

 Christopher Ward C65 AM GT

• Case Material: Stainless Steel
• Dial: Black
• Dimensions: 41 x 12.2mm
• Crystal: Sapphire     
• Water Resistance: 150 meters
• Crown: Screw-down                      
• Movement: ETA 251.264
• Strap/bracelet: Stainless steel bracelet (also available on leather and rubber straps)
• Price: $680
• Reference Number: C65-41QCC1-S00K0-B0
• Expected Release: Available now 

The C65 AM GT is powered by the ETA 251.264, touted as “the world’s most accurate chronograph movement.” This is a COSC certified quartz caliber that Christopher Ward has used before in their racing chronographs, but is known to be somewhat limited in production. This is a true “high accuracy quartz” movement, thermocompensated and accurate to +/- 10 seconds per year. That’s essentially the same as Grand Seiko’s vaunted 9F caliber movements, long considered the gold-standard in quartz timekeeping. 

The chronograph layout is also interesting, featuring central seconds and minutes counters, with a 12 hour totalizer at 9:00 and a 1/10th seconds counter at 3:00. This is practical and easy to read layout that is right in line with the racing inspired design of the dial. 

That dial is heavily influenced by Aston Martin DB4 Zagato, taking on characteristics of that vehicle’s dashboard. The watch definitely has an instrument-like appearance to it that’s really appealing, with red accents, radial grooves, and big Arabic numerals counting every fifth minute around the dial’s perimeter. The case is from Christopher Ward’s C65 line, measuring 41mm in diameter and just a little over 12mm thick. The finishing on Christopher Ward’s recent C65 pieces is outstanding for the money, and there’s little reason to think the C65 AM GT will be any different. 

The C65 AM GT is a limited edition of just 350 watches, and was created exclusively for Christopher Ward’s big July sale. It’s currently still available with a price tag of $680 on a stainless steel bracelet. Christopher Ward