Christopher Ward Magazine - Winter 2015

W I N T E R 2 0 1 5 / 1 6 – I S S U E 14

A PHASE OF

INNOVATION The C9 Moonphase JJ04: Christopher Ward’s exciting take on a classic complication

THE NEW SWISS MOVEMENT

E XC LU S I V E LY AVA I L A B L E AT

TRIDENT ENGLISH HEART

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Trident_ redefined.

C60 TRIDENT PRO 600

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The Moon has been our constant companion since the first human

looked up at the night sky and wondered what effect our nearest heavenly neighbour had on us.

With the dawn of seafaring, the Moon became an intrinsic part of how we navigated and told the time. That’s why the moonphase complication holds such allure for horologists. And it’s why Christopher Ward has launched the C9 Moonphase JJ04. A hugely ambitious timepiece, we think you’re going to fall in love with it – we certainly have! Read about it on page 10. Away from that, in this issue you’ll find the usual mix of horology and lifestyle articles, including our tempting Christmas gift guide.

As ever, thanks for reading, Peter, Chris, Mike

CONTRIBUTORS

Hannah Silver is Associate Editor of Telegraph Time and regularly contributes to ST Watches & Jewellery, OT Magazine and Wallpaper* Watches and Jewellery.

See her Xmas gift guide on page 25.

Andrew Harrison is a long-time editor, who’s worked for the likes of Mixmag and Esquire. At the centre of the Britpop movement, he writes about the days of Oasis, Pulp and Blur on page 42.

In this issue, journalist and broadcaster Rob Crossan looks at whether humans have reached the peak of their running potential. You can read whether we’re going to get any faster on page 18.

James Buttery, editor of the hugely influential WatchPro magazine and website, knows an incredible timepiece when he sees it, read his overview of the new C9 Moonphase on page 10.

Christopher Ward (London) Limited, 1 Park Street, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 1SL, United Kingdom. chris@christopherward.co.uk Customer Services: wera@christopherward.co.uk Editor: Anthony Teasdale. Design and art direction: ToyasO’Mara. Colour reprographics: JP Repro

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CONTENTS WINTER 2015/16

18>

10>

25>

CHRISTOPHER WARD’s

LIFE AND

TIME

2016 LE...

K INCR EDIB WAN T TO LOO

...IN THE YEA

R AHE AD?

33> 40>

21> 34 42 > >

34> 40> 46> orderline +44 1628 763040

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THE RACING LINE

C7 R A PI DE C HR O N OM E TE R – LI M I TE D E D I TI ON

SWISS MOVEMENT

E XC LU S I V E LY AVA I L A B L E AT

ENGLISH HEART

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CWORLD NEWS

/

REVIEWS

/

U P DAT E S

28 TITANIUM - Ti TRIDENT-PRO 600m|2000ft AUTOMATIC

SWIS S

MA D E

Titanium Tridents on the way

N EW RELEA SE

The acclaimed Trident Collection is to be further enhanced from spring 2016 with the introduction of several titanium case versions. Each model will be a subtle variation on a grey/black theme and will come with several strap options, including another first for CW, a titanium bracelet.

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LEN

GER

PR

G RAM

O

LEN

GER

PR

from Challenger to World Champion

CH

GR

ME

Will Satch:

AL

O

AMME C H

N E W S / R E V I E W S / U P D AT E S

AL

CWORLD

Huge congratulations go to CW Challenger and now three-time rowing World Champion, Will Satch, after his crew’s victory at the final of the Rowing World Championships held in Aiguebelette, France in September. > The GB team, powered by Will at stroke, held off strong competition from the current Olympic and European champions, Germany, and boats from New Zealand and The Netherlands. In the final few seconds of the race it looked as if Germany would triumph, but a final surge from the British crew secured them gold by only 0.18 of a second. This win comes after a strong season for Team GB Men’s 8+ with victories at Henley Royal Regatta and the Rowing World Cup, putting them in a brilliant position as they look towards the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Will and fellow GB8 rower George Nash will be making an appearance at the Leander Club’s CW Pop-up Shop on 21st November

Chris Ward:

NEW C9 raises the pulse After listening to some of the medical professionals in the Christopher Ward fan base (they make up two per cent of all our customers), CW is to release its first Pulsometer watch, designed to help medics read patients’ pulse rates.

For additional accuracy, the C9 Pulsometer is powered by a chronometer version of the Sellita SW 200/1 self-winding movement and will only be produced in a limited edition of 250 pieces. Available now to pre-order, the first Pulsometers will be shipped in November, making this a must-have Christmas present for the discerning doctor or nurse.

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“Feedback essential” Company co-founder Chris Ward has stated again how important CW forum members are in moving the brand forward.

He said, “Being directly in touch with our most loyal supporters is a vital ingredient in making Christopher Ward the brand it is. We really value the open and honest feedback we receive – even when it isn’t complimentary!”

Chris was speaking about an online conversation with the Christopher

Ward forum in September. With other directors Johannes Jahnke, Jörg Bader, Mike France and Peter Ellis also making themselves available to the forum, it shows CW wants to give customers even deeper access to the brand.

For their part, forum members expressed their keenness to be involved in the design process and offered help in reducing typo issues in this magazine, as well as asking a myriad of questions about current and future watches.

CWORLD

Lunch with Richard Mille Christopher Ward Co-founder Mike France, recently joined a small number of watch and car enthusiasts at London’s famous RAC Club at Pall Mall for a lunch with Richard Mille, founder and CEO of the eponymous watch brand. > “Chatham House rules apply at RAC lunches so I wouldn’t dream of disclosing any details of what was discussed but, needless to say, he spoke fascinatingly about his love of cars and watches. He also has a very interesting take on the current state of the watch industry, which isn’t wholly complimentary.

“Although we operate at different ends of the luxury watch price spectrum – Richard’s brand is targeting the uber-luxury market while we’re focused on inclusivity – I found we shared many views, and in our own different ways are challenging the status quo of an often self-satisfied industry.

“He has a precise vision for his brand and a single-minded devotion to delivering it. I found his approach very inspirational. The only disappointment was that the watch box we received from him after lunch contained chocolates and not one of his amazing timepieces!”

Moonphase at Following the release on pre-order of the C9 Moonphase in September, the new model, which incorporates Johannes Jahnke’s latest movement, Calibre JJ04, will receive its first public showing at SalonQP in London on Thursday, November 12. The organisers have also encouraged CW to make examples of the watch available for visitors to purchase at the event. If you’d like to be among the first to see, and own, a C9 Moonphase, as well as meet the man who created Calibre JJ04, you can get your tickets from salonqp.com.

Christopher Ward catches

POP UP! fever...

Following the hugely successful Archive Event at Henley’s Leander Rowing Club, Christopher Ward is using the same venue to launch its first UK pop-up shop on Saturday November 21.

The entire Christopher Ward collection will be available for purchase on the day and most of the CW Maidenhead team, including the three co-founders, will be on hand to talk about the watches and the brand.

Mike France said: “We’re all very excited to be returning to the Leander Club. We want people to be able to get close with our watches, so there’ll be no glass cases to hide the watches behind and definitely no snooty sales people. It’s going to be fun as well as an opportunity to sort out that Christmas list early.”

Staying with the pop-up theme, Christopher Ward was at the first Wind-Up New York City event in late October. Organised by online watch forum, Worn & Wound, the event, at 101 Wooster St, SoHo, NYC attracted more than 20 independent watch brands from across the world.

Helen McCall, CW Marketing Manager, said, “Wind-Up NYC presented us with a rare opportunity to occupy prime retail space alongside one of our favourite blogs. As an exclusively online brand we’re new to retail ‘IRL’ but in growing our brand in the US, being there in person really helps. We met lots of new customers as well as a few familiar faces – a great experience.”

Details about the CW Leander Club pop-up shop can be found at christopherward.co.uk.

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DE I S N I

CW LIKE ANY MANUFACTURING OPERATION, WATCHMAKING REQUIRES A SUPPLY CHAIN. ANTOINE SCHOTT IS THE MAN WHO CO-ORDINATES THIS FOR CW AT THEIR ATELIER IN BIEL What’s your job title, and (simply) what do you do?

I’m Assistant to the CEO. It implies a variety of tasks including, but not limited to, purchasing, operations management, finance and business informatics. Currently I’m working on the alignment and optimisation of the SH21 material workflow in our atelier and ERP [enterprise resource planning] system.

What’s your background?

I studied business administration at University of Berne in Switzerland and got in touch with SH for my thesis; developing the business plan for SH21. I’m very passionate about the Chinese economy, so I booked a one-way ticket to Guangzhou and took Mandarin lessons after my studies. A few weeks later I got the opportunity to work as a Project Manager in China for an international electronic manufacturing company. I stayed there for one and a half years before coming back to Switzerland and working for SH. You have to order separate parts for SH21 – how does that happen?

Making phone calls and eating pizza with our suppliers will do it!

Seriously, I collaborate closely with Johannes Jahnke and our suppliers.

For critical components we have several prototype iterations.

We hear you use a computer system called Nav to co-ordinate things. What does it do?

NAV is a sophisticated ERP software from Microsoft that’s our administrative brain and memory.

We feed the system with purchase, production and sales orders, and much more information. At the end of the day we get an overview of the sales and gross margin.

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What difficulties do you face when ordering parts?

You have to meet the known restrictions within the iron triangle: cost, quality and time. As an SME, it’s important to partner with your suppliers, especially in the watch industry where you have only few suppliers for specific components. That’s something I learned from Jörg. At the same time you need them to understand that they’ll still get a good deal even if they give you sensitive price reductions.

What’s your view on SH21?

SH21 is the SUV of the Swiss Made movements. It’s robust, powerful and beautiful.

What do you like about Christopher Ward watches?

The longer I work for CW the longer my watch wish-list gets! Especially when I see the upcoming watch models coming to market. As a Noel Gallagher fan I love that British lifestyle and the understatement you express when wearing a CW watch. My favourite is the Typhoon C1000.

Describe the atelier for us…

The atelier is the company’s heartbeat. There are eight watchmaking ‘places’ and large windows in order to have enough light for assembling the movements and watches. We work with a young and highly motivated team of watchmakers who successfully passed the watchmaking schools in Biel and Grenchen.

Finally, what’s the state of the Swiss watch industry at the moment?

It’s on a slight downturn. ETA’s announcement to stop deliveries to suppliers not belonging to the Swatch Group provoked an innovation swing in the whole industry. So even though the market is getting weaker, innovation in Switzerland is increasing. That’s good.

o. 1 N PARK ST. Maidenhead showroom storms ahead IN ONLY ITS SECOND FULL YEAR, THE CW SHOWROOM AT 1, PARK STREET, MAIDENHEAD IS IN DANGER OF BECOMING A LEGENDARY RETAIL VENUE! The number of appointments has doubled in the last year and more than 70 per cent of guests haven’t owned a Christopher Ward watch previously.

They’re also prepared to travel a long way to see us, with a travelling distance of several hundred miles not uncommon.

Declan Strange, who mainly looks after our guests, claims his good looks, charm and knowledge of the collection is the main attraction but some of us at CW Towers think the chance to touch and feel the fantastic CW watches up close may be a factor! Whatever the reasons for the astonishing success at Park Street, it’s got us thinking about opening showrooms in other locations.

Watch this space.

CWORLD

T SPEAHE K CLOCING K INTER V WITH HORO IEWS L INFLU OGY’S TOP ENCE RS

Jeremy Hobbins, Head of Horology, Birmingham City University

You’re based at Birmingham City University’s School of Jewellery. When did the horology course start?

Watch and clockmaking has been taught at the School of Jewellery for over a hundred years, but we launched the current degree qualification in 2012 to unite the previous courses we’d been running.

What are the main disciplines you cover?

We look at the evolution of timekeeping and the associated mechanisms that have developed to tell the time. Concentrating particularly on the design and complexities of the mechanisms, we enable students to understand how clocks and watches function. We also teach them the peculiarities of the different complications so that they can diagnose and correct faults.

Do you cover mechanical and digital horology? What takes precedence?

Repairs to digital technology often require specialist electronic skills. Although we cover the theory underpinning it, there’s only time in three years to develop the fundamental principles of mechanical horological servicing.

How do watchmaking and clockmaking differ?

Scale mainly. The tools and approach to servicing differ but the basics are the same. The demands of the differing escapements are where

“We’re proud to have a very high employment rate – our graduates quickly find work” the two really differ but in essence they both have to tick!

Can a student build a watch from scratch after doing the course?

We’re not currently equipped for full watchmaking but our students design and make their own clocks in their final year. These skills transfer well to watchmaking. They certainly understand the demands of the design and construction necessary to make watches, and given the right equipment, could become the next George Daniels!

Where do your graduates end up working?

We’re proud to have a very high employment rate – our graduates quickly find work. We have alumni at brands such as Patek Philippe, Richard Mille, Cartier and Swatch. Breitling and Tag Heuer have had Birmingham students, and we’ve got some working for smaller specialist businesses, in both the servicing and retail sectors.

Tell us about your relationship with Christopher Ward…

The support Christopher Ward has shown has been fantastic. In the short time we’ve been working together, Chris has taken several of our students on work placements, has generously sponsored prizes and provided valuable materials for the students to learn on.

Is there a strong tradition of clock/ watchmaking in Birmingham?

Birmingham was a thriving

horological centre, hosting such trades as dial, case and movement-making.

The jewellery manufacturing business was huge and there are still major players in the international market working on collaborative projects with our students. The historical watchmaking centre of Coventry isn’t far away and there are a number of modern brands establishing themselves in the West Midlands, too.

“I’m convinced that we’re not far away from seeing a complete watch being made in Britain” Are you optimistic about the future of watch and clockmaking in the UK?

Tremendously. Our students are the future, their aspirations and talents will help drive the industry forward. We need employers to recognise their value and encourage them to develop their skills. I’m convinced that we’re not far away from seeing a complete watch being made in Britain.

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CW | C8 FLYER

CW | MOONPHASE

A PHASE OF INNOVATION

W

hat we call time is no more than a human construct, a strict series of scales that offer regimented definition to our days, from milliseconds to millennia and beyond. As such it was the passage of the heavens that mankind took its first horological cues from, forever linking astronomy with timekeeping.

Breguet introduced the first wristwatch with a moonphase in 1929 and since then the

10 christopherward.co.uk christopherward.co.uk

complication – which shows the passage of the moon in the sky – has been a must-have for any serious watch brand. As the 20th century moved on, the atomic clock was invented, and since then the second has come to be defined by the movement of electrons within a Caesium 133 atom. Far more accurate perhaps, but infinitely less romantic.

And thus we must conclude that fans of Christopher Ward’s watches are a romantic bunch at heart, because since the very earliest days of ➸

Photos:Getty, IWM, IWC archive

CHRISTOPHER WARD’S C9 MOONPHASE PERFECTLY CRYSTALLISES THE BRAND’S DEDICATION TO INNOVATION AND VALUE, AS WATCHPRO’S EDITOR JAMES BUTTERY WRITES…

JJ04 has a continuous setting facility that “allows C8 Flyer 44mm the MoonAutomatic to traverse the - Vintage Black Edition sky with unerring accuracy�

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“We wanted a moonphase watch that stood apart from others on the market�

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MOONPHASE | CW

the British brand, the moonphase has been the complication most often requested by customers.

The moonphase project began in October 2013, when the founding trio behind the brand, Chris Ward, Mike France and Peter Ellis, drove to visit a supplier with CW master watchmaker Johannes Jahnke. They had in mind a much more dramatic realisation of the complication than the traditional sub-register approach.

“The approach was a consequence of JJ’s calibre development,” Chris Ward says. “We always want to push boundaries with our own complications and so it was natural for us to aim for an ‘astronomical’ moonphase rather than an ordinary one. In this sense, it was built in from the very beginning.”

A standard moonphase watch uses a 59-tooth wheel that advances one tooth each day, eventually falling out of sync with the Synodic (ie lunar) month by one full day after two and a half years.

This wasn’t good enough for Christopher Ward or Jahnke, who wanted to achieve something more impressive. An astronomical moonphase normally employs a wheel with 135 teeth, increasing the left; The C9 Moonphase will be able to accurately track the Moon for the next 128 years thanks to Johannes Jahnke’s innovations

accuracy to 122 years – Jahnke set to work with this level of accuracy in mind.

He began by modifying a Valgranges A07, one of ETA’s larger movements with a removeable date bridge that would be easy to work with. Since the Swatch Group-owned ETA took the decision to restrict the supply of its movements to third parties, adapting them in this fashion has become more complex. Previously, base movements would be supplied as ébauches, disassembled into their component parts. Now they are only supplied whole, oiled and ready to fit into cases. Performing any major modifications such as drilling would require the movement to be stripped again, cleaned and reassembled. So for a modification to make commercial sense it must be performed as close to the surface as possible, adapting rather than interfering. ➸

“We always want to push boundaries with our own complications and so it was natural for us to aim for an ‘astronomical’ moonphase rather than an ordinary one. In this sense, it was built in from the very beginning”

orderline +44 1628 763040

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CW | MOONPHASE

Jahnke achieved a solution with the A07 but the resulting calibre was too large. He went back to the drawing board (these days a powerful CAD package) and experimented with ETA’s smaller and thinner 2893/2892 movements, which proved too inflexible, and then the famed 2824, before settling on the 25.6mm 2836-2, a variation on the 2824 with added instantaneous day/date complications.

“Anyone can take a 2824 and make it a moonphase,” explains Jahnke. “But for us it was always important to have a big moon in the central position, this was the first idea, and to make it as simple as possible like the other JJs, like the Jumping Hour and Worldtimer. They’re complicated watches, but also more simple than others in the market.

That’s the challenge.”

His solution, the JJ04, joins the eponymous series of modified base movements he’s already created.

Jahnke stripped out the top-mounted day wheel and the date wheel’s spring-loading assembly, whilst

The size of the moonphase wheel, coupled with its constant movement across the dial, results in a watch far more animated than its competitors, allowing you to actually track the progress of the moon over the course of a day replacing the date wheel entirely. He then added four wheels to drive the moon disc, and a further two wheels for the setting mechanism.

This approach links the passage of the moon wheel across its window to the movement’s timekeeping mechanism, resulting in a smooth, perpetual motion rather than the one day progression offered by most moonphase watches. It also increased the accuracy of the moonphase to one day in every 128 years and illustrates Jahnke’s “clever, simple, affordable” mantra.

“We wanted a moonphase watch that stood apart from others on the market,” says Chris Ward. “When it became clear that JJ04 would have a continuous setting facility that allowed the moon to traverse the sky with unerring accuracy we felt this should be seen, which led to the generous aperture approach.”

As you can see, the finished C9 Moonphase employs a greatly enlarged, centrally mounted moonphase aperture and wheel, making it the central premise of the watch, more prominent than even the time display. The size of the moonphase wheel, coupled with its constant movement across the dial, results in a watch far more animated than left; Johannes Jahnke’s JJ04 movement

right; There are eight combinations of the C9 Moonphase available, including the three shown here.

C9-40-MP-SBK - £1,295 / $1,750

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C9-40-MP-SWBR - £1,357.50 / $1,865

C9-40-MP-SBS - £1,395 / $1,920

MOONPHASE | CW

its competitors, allowing you to actually track the progress of the moon over the course of a day and altering the appearance of the dial. All moonphase watches might tap directly into the source of timekeeping itself, but they’re rarely this involving.

Using a moonphase wheel three times larger than the standard sub-register approach, not to mention a three-dimensional moon stamped from a handengraved original, did initially present Jahnke with some challenges. For one, the moonphase wheel assembly is far heavier because of its size. In true ‘JJ’ style, Jahnke opted to mount the assembly directly to the reverse of the dial, in the process taking most of its load off its gear train.

In a further nod to the elemental nature of the moonphase complication, the design team at Christopher Ward decorated the central section of

the dial with wave pattern guilloche, reflecting the moon’s influence over the tides.

As you might expect from Christopher Ward, all of this has been achieved at a price that belies the watchmaking skill needed to achieve such accuracy.

But, as Mike France explains, this has more to do with the brand’s refusal to conform to established industry pricing.

“What makes our watches affordable isn’t dependent on Johannes’ solutions as much as our unique business model,” he says. “The Calibre JJ02 Single Pusher Chronograph, for instance, is incredibly complex and very difficult to build.

However, because we apply much smaller markups of around x3 to the cost of the watch, we’re able to deliver a price of at least half the nearest competitor for such a complication. The C9 Moonphase, like all

“The C9 Moonphase, like all our watches, was born of our mission to make the art of horology accessible to everyone” our watches, was born of our mission to make the art of horology accessible to everyone.”

It’s clear that with proven demand for a moonphase watch Christopher Ward could have trodden a far easier path to bring its first iteration of the complication to market. Instead, the C9 Moonphase is further proof of the brand’s commitment to providing thoughtful horological solutions at prices that challenge the established norms of the watch industry.

FEATURES • 25 jewel, 128 year moonphase complication by Johannes Jahnke - JJ04 • Modified in Switzerland from ETA 2836-2 by Johannes and his team • Self-winding movement with 38 hour power reserve • Date display at 6 o’clock • Central hour, minute and second hands • Stop-second hacking mechanism • Large moonphase disc with 3-dimensional deep-stamped moons in either nickel or gold plated 2N finish • One-piece metal dial with tidal pattern guilloche, raised indexes and hands finished in either nickel or PVD gold • Hand finished, surgical grade, stainless steel case and crown

• Museum-grade sapphire crystal with AR08 anti-reflective coating • Screw-down transparent case back • Option of either embossed Italian leather strap, Alligator strap or stainless steel bracelet, each with Bader Deployment • Luxury presentation case and owner’s handbook.

TECHNICAL • Diameter: 40mm • Height: 13.3mm • Calibre: JJ04 - modified ETA 2836-2 • Vibrations: 28.800 vph • Case: 316L stainless steel • Water resistance: 5 bar • Strap width: 20mm • Dial Colour: Midnight-Silver or White-Gold

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Swiss movement, English heart

C9 5 DAY AUTOMATIC 40mm

SPAN TIMES MO ME N TS

O F

C H AN G E

5:04 TES: 4

U 5 MIN

NDS

SECO

Michael Jackson performs the moonwalk BEFORE THE OXYGEN TENT, THE MONKEY AND THE EVERINCREASING, “DID HE REALLY JUST DO THAT?” WEIRDNESS, MICHAEL JACKSON WAS JUST THE BIGGEST POP STAR ON EARTH. ALWAYS THE MOST TALENTED OF HIS FAMILY, HE’D CHARMED US ALL AS PART OF THE JACKSON 5 IN THE 1970S AND GOT US ON THE FLOOR WITH HIS DISCO-TASTIC OFF THE WALL ALBUM IN 1979…

B

ut it was one performance in 1983 that showed not only had he transformed himself, but that he was using dance in a way no pop star had used it before.

The event was Motown 25, a live television show to celebrate a quarter-century of the best known label in black music. After performing a medley of Jackson 5 hits with his brothers, Michael was given the stage to himself to perform Billie Jean, which was currently number one in the Billboard charts.

Wearing a fedora, black sequined jacket and sparkling socks (plus, of course, that sequined glove), he snarled, popped and jerked his way through the song – dancing like he was being fed electric shocks. Jackson was a man possessed – a completely different beast to the cherubic child star of the previous decade. And then during the bridge he did something very different: the moonwalk.

Put simply, the moonwalk is a dance move that gives the impression that the dancer is being dragged backwards by an unseen force. Contrary to myth, Jackson did not invent it, but had been taught it by dancers from the TV show Soul Train. What he did do, however, was take it from a purely dance environment into the realm of pop performance. The reaction of the crowd during those few seconds was ecstatic – this was dance at a whole new level.

The 1983 Motown performance is credited with turning MJ from pop star into global icon, unable to go anywhere without being mobbed. And looking back today at those magical moonwalk steps, it’s easy to see why.

An extraordinary moment.

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CW | FASTEST TIME

N

ext time you watch Usain Bolt run a 100 metre race, as well as being in awe at the sheer speed of the man, you should be aware that you might be watching something that may never be repeated.

For, as many experts now believe, the ability of a man to ever run any faster than Bolt is slim. Very slim.

“The data is bending towards a plateau,” says University of Stanford biologist Mark Denny who’s been conducting a study modelling the fastest human running speeds dating back to the 1930s.

Denny believes that the absolute limit is no more than 0.10 seconds faster than Bolt’s current record for the 100 metres.

MAN: right; Usain Bolt celebrates gold after helping Jamaica win the 4x100m relay at the 2012 Olympics

how much faster can he

GO?

USAIN BOLT IS THE QUICKEST SPRINTER ON THE PLANET, BUT IS THERE A CHANCE THAT HE MIGHT JUST BE THE FASTEST OF ALL TIME, HIS RECORDS NEVER TO BE BEATEN? WE INVESTIGATE TO FIND OUT IF OUR ATHLETES HAVE REACHED THE OUTER LIMITS OF HUMAN POTENTIAL WORDS: ROB CROSSAN

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“The data is bending towards a plateau�

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CW | FASTEST TIME

“If you look at other species, like horses and greyhounds that are being bred to run faster and faster, it’s not working,” he says.

His theory is backed up in stats that show that in horse races like the Kentucky Derby, speed limits levelled off 50 years ago and haven’t been improved since.

“There’s no reason to think that human beings are any different from the other species, that somehow these things don’t have limits,” says Denny. Despite these claims, there would appear to be psychological barriers too which are perhaps a little easier to break. Greg Whyte, a former professional athlete and now a professor of applied sciences at Liverpool John Moore’s University, says history shows us what can happen when a supposedly ‘impossible’ feat of speed is achieved. “The best example is the four-minute mile when Sir Roger Bannister broke a record that everybody thought was impossible,” says Whyte. “The thinking from scientists at that time was that if a man ran that distance in under four minutes they would die. This led to a wonderful quote from Roger who said that when he crossed the line he thought he must be dead! But

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“The thinking from scientists at the time of Roger Bannister’s four-minute mile was that if a man ran that distance in under four minutes they would die. Roger said that when he crossed the line he thought he must be dead!” within that very same season the record was reduced again by a second and a half and now we’re running at 3.42 for the same distance.”

Yet Whyte also confirms that the times currently being recorded by Bolt are already beyond what many scientists ever believed to be possible.

So where does this leave us? Should we already be concluding that Bolt is the fastest man who will ever live? According to one study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, perhaps the key to superathletes running faster lies in adopting a totally different approach to running.

Five scientists in this 2010 study found that, when they tested athletes on treadmills and asked them to run forwards, backwards and to hop, when we hop, our feet stay in the air much longer and we hit the ground

with 30 per cent more force.

The team proposed that in theory human beings could be able to potentially run as fast as 19.3 metres per second if they hit the ground with maximum force. This means that a sprinter could complete the 100 metres in 5.18 seconds.

Improbable as it may seem for a future generation of athletes to be hopping their way manically around the track, in reality, perhaps we might be better off looking for records to be broken in other, longer races.

The dream of many athletes is to run a marathon in under two hours. It’s something we appear to be tantalisingly close to left; Roger Bannister crossing the tape at the end of his record-breaking mile run at Oxford in May 1954. His time was 3m 59.4 seconds below; Secretariat (ridden by jockey Ron Turcotte) wins the 1973 Kentucky Derby, the first horse to complete the course in less than two minutes

AP Photo, Getty images

FASTEST TIME | CW

achieving. Whyte however believes that we shouldn’t get too carried away just yet: “The fact is that we never thought that humans would be able to run a marathon in less than two hours, three minutes so I think two hours is a bit of a stretch. It only sounds relatively small but in reality that means going 11 seconds faster for every mile for 26.2 miles than the fastest man on earth can currently run. That is a huge difference in terms of physiology, in terms of biomechanics, in terms of everything that’s required in order to run that fast. Two hours may be possible but it’s going to take a considerable length of time to get down to that mark.”

Many experts also point to the technological innovations which have taken place over the last few decades as a reason for hope that these enigmatic records may one day be broken. The arrival of all-weather Mondo track surfaces in the 1960s, plus advances in sports medicine, coaching and sport science all give cause for hope that, if innovations continue, there may just be one below; Usain Bolt sets the 100m world record in Berlin in August 2009 right; Bolt, leads in the same race

or two athletes in the future who can smash the current formidable records.

But if not, maybe we should be looking to the present day and to Bolt himself breaking his own records. Athletics coach Dan Plaff who has worked with Team GB, thinks that we may not have seen his best yet.

“Bolt is so far ahead of the field that he can be joyful, playful and relaxed,” says Plaff.

“It would be interesting if two or three people could challenge him. He doesn’t lose a lot of sleep over what happens in the first 10, 20 or 30 metres. But at 50m he knows what he has to do. When he gets to 50m there’s not usually a lot of traffic around him, so it would be fascinating to see if he got to 50m, 70m, even 80m and three guys were still with him.

Would he run a crazy time or would he fold?”

If there’s any hope we may see another

human being break all of Bolt’s quite incredible records, then it appears to lie in our ability to trawl the planet for potential superstars who, up until recently, may never have been discovered.

“The thing we have to remember is that we’re watching athletes breaking world records who have had the opportunity,” insists Whyte.

“We often talk about nature versus nurture and there’s no doubt that world record-breaking athletes are born. But they’re also made. By spreading participation across the globe, we’re spreading the net a lot wider and this means we have more chance of finding those enigmas like Usain Bolt who’ll break world records because prior to that they haven’t had the access or the potential to participate.”

“We often talk about nature versus nurture and there’s no doubt that world record-breaking athletes are born. But they’re also made”

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AVIATOR MKI

MALVERN

SIC S A CL D

WAR

IF YOU KNOW CHRISTOPHER WARD WATCHES – AND AS YOU’RE READING THIS MAGAZINE THERE’S A FAIR CHANCE YOU DO – THEN YOU’LL BE AWARE JUST HOW IMPORTANT PILOT’S WATCHES ARE TO THE BRAND. THAT TRADITION STARTED WITH THE C5 MALVERN AVIATOR MK I, WHICH WAS LAUNCHED IN 2006…

“At the time I was besotted with my IWC Mark XV pilot watch,” says Mike France. “It has a brushed steel 38mm case and a B-Uhren style dial with printed Arabic numerals. There are also luminous quarter hour index markers. Best of all, a gorgeous blue sheen comes off the dial when light catches it.”

Having launched the brand less than 12 months earlier with the 38mm C5 Malvern Automatic, it seemed natural to use that case for CW’s first aviator watch. Opening up with a 44mm timepiece like the current C8 was not an option for such a young company.

C5

Looking at the C5 Malvern Aviator Mk 1 today, it’s easy to see why it did so well. The B-Uhr design cues of bold Arabic numerals (raised in this instance) and the reference triangle at 12 o’clock are all there. Despite this, there are details that are unique to Christopher Ward, such as the inner seconds chapter ring and the nod to the Spitfire propeller with the design of the hands. It’s a truly accomplished watch.

“My one frustration with it was that I really wanted to replicate the blue tint of my IWC in the black dial version but couldn’t manage to crack it,” says Mike. “We eventually worked out it was a special coating on the underside of the sapphire crystal that produced the specific light effect but never actually managed to reproduce it effectively in time.”

Another interesting feature of the watch emerged after its release. The company ran two dial colours, black and off-white. For a few months after launch the white dial out-sold the black but then the sales pattern reversed and, to this day, this trend (or anything near it) has never been seen in any aviation timepiece. Pilot’s watches have black dials – and that’s that.

The C5 Malvern Aviator Mk 1 was such a success that Christopher Ward could enter the aviation-themed watch market with confidence knowing they’d debuted with a stone-cold classic. The company was about to take off.

22

Looking at the C5 Malvern Aviator Mk 1 today, it’s easy to see why it did so well. The B-Uhr design cues of bold Arabic numerals (raised in this instance) and the reference triangle at 12 o’clock are all there

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Spirit in the Sky THE NEW C8 FLYER AUTOMATIC – 44MM

Inspired by the Best of British Aviation

E XC LU S I V E LY AVA I L A B L E AT

christopherward.co.uk

CHRISTOPHER WARD’s

LIFE AND

TIME

2016 IB LE O K IN C R ED WA N T TO LO

.. .

.. .I N T H E Y EA

R A H EA D ?

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH’S HANNAH SILVER PICKS HER FAVOURITE CHRISTOPHER WARD WATCHES TO MAKE SURE YOUR WRIST IS PERFECTLY PREPARED FOR WHATEVER LIFE THROWS AT IT

>

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LIFE & TIME 2016

The everyday, everyman (and woman) watch...

C3 Malvern Chronograph MK II While this model looks great on both a man or a woman, the gently sloping numbers and pretty, gold accents will add some serious vintage chic to a lady’s everyday ensemble. Its Aston Martin inspiration comes through in design accents like the simplicity of the uncluttered white dial, and sub-dials that recall the dashboard. There may be elements of the past, but the watch itself is resolutely modern and won’t date, something that’s sure to appeal to the stylish lady in your life.

Incredible price point, too.

C3 MALVERN CHRONOGRAPH MKII - £335 / $460 / €455

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LIFE & TIME 2016

The Christmas Day cracker...

C60 Trident Pro Wouldn’t it be nice just for once to get a present that you actually wanted? Instead of a wacky (ie unfunny) jumper with a picture of a Christmas pudding on the front, how about a watch? Even better, a watch you’ll treasure for the rest of your life. I think the C60 Trident Pro 600 fits the bill perfectly. An upgrade on the original Trident (and now waterproof to 600m should you fancy a Boxing Day dip), it’s tougher than ever thanks to the new ceramic bezel, while the Super-Luminova® indices will come in handy on those dark, winter nights. Sure, you’ve got presents to buy for everyone else, but don’t you deserve a treat yourself? This is it.

C60 TRIDENT PRO 600 - £660 / $915 / €890

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LIFE & TIME 2016

The weekend sportsman’s watch...

C7 Rapide Chronograph Whether you spend your Saturdays watching your beloved team throwing three-goal leads away (rather too frequent for some members of the CW staff) or watching Formula 1 in the living room, you’ll need a watch that’s about as accurate as you can get.

The C7 Rapide Chronograph fits the bill nicely. Powered by a Ronda quartz movement, the watch’s sporty influence can be seen in the hard-wearing aluminium bezel and split-timing sub dials – the ideal present for the sports fan who absolutely needs to know just how much time is being wasted by the opposition team’s goalie.

C7 RAPIDE CHRONOGRAPH MKII £299 / $415 / €400

The charm-thein-laws watch...

C8 P7350 Chronometer The C8 P7350 is rather special. Marking the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, it contains a piece of the original Duralumin from the P7350, the only Spitfire left to have flown in the battle and still be airworthy.

Perfect to impress the in-laws, it provides a great talking point and demonstrates your respect for British history. While the design, inspired by the Spitfire’s interior, is cool, flip it over to show your fatherin-law the piece of metal from the P7’s cockpit for real wow factor. Carry on like this, and one day he might forgive for you taking his princess away from him. Might.

C8 P7350 CHRONOMETER - £3,495 / $4,800 / €4,725

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LIFE & TIME 2016

The watch for that job interview...

C9 5 Day Automatic A job interview requires a sober, but not dull, appearance; a dignified front which hints at the intelligence within is what we’re after here. In terms of timepieces, the understated C9 5 Day Automatic ticks all the boxes.

A well-designed, clean dial shows you don’t need to be flashy, though the solid gold bezel and glinting dial will assure the interviewer you know quality when you see it. The C9 5 Day Automatic was also the first watch from Christopher Ward to house the in-house movement, Calibre SH21, so when they ask you about innovation you’ll know where to point them.

C9 5 DAY AUTOMATIC - LIMITED EDITION GOLD - £2,175 / $2,995 / €2,950

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LIFE & TIME 2016

The one to make your friends envious...

C9 GT40 An absolute stunner of a watch, the new C9 GT40 not only looks fantastic but carries with it a real piece of motorsport history in the shape of a laser-cut piece of the wheel spinner from the GT40 P-1075, one of the only cars to have won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race twice (in 1968 and ’69). And that’s only the start.

With a dial based on the car’s rev counter, it also boasts a power reserve sub-dial, so you can see when the movement – a ETA Valgranges A07.161- needs a top up. But as you’d have to leave it off for 46 hours for the watch to stop, a lack of power is probably not something you’re going to have to worry about.

C9 GT40 - LIMITED EDITION £2,950 / $3,950 / €3,985

The nocturnal timepiece...

C8 Regulator You know those nights where you end up in a bar that used to be a warehouse, surrounded by a large amount of people with beards, tattoos and skinny jeans?

Yep, you’re in hipster territory, and there’s only one thing for it – the C8 Regulator.

Influenced by the World War II-era mechanical regulator watches which were used for nighttime bombing raids, its austere look and use of Super-LumiNova® Old Radium on the hands and indexes means it’ll be visible no matter how dark it gets. Turn it over to admire the beautiful, bespoke Unitas hand-wound movement at its heart.

C8 REGULATOR - £1,025 / $1,400 / €1,385

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LIFE & TIME 2016

The high flyer...

C8 Flyer Automatic You know what it’s like: you’re never off the plane, air hostesses greet you by name and your second home is a secret lounge where they keep a masseuse on call 24 a hours a day should you pop in. Sound familiar? No, us neither.

Still, there’s no harm in looking the part while you’re getting there.

If you’re a traveller, I recommend the C8 Flyer, a sleek black number that takes its design cues from the Smiths Mark II clock found in the cockpit of WWII Spitfires. With an engraving of the famous Farnborough Wind Tunnels on the case back, this understated watch will get approving nods whether you’re in the first-class lounge or if you’re very lucky, the officers’ mess.

C8 FLYER AUTOMATIC - £599 / $825 / €810

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LIFE & TIME 2016

The wedding day special...

C5 Malvern Slimline Women take note, the slender C5 Malvern Slimline is just the thing for a thinner wrist. This hand-wound watch came into being after the brand revisited the C5 Malvern Automatic on Christopher Ward’s 10th anniversary, reducing the thickness, but increasing the case width to 40mm.

With some elegantly curved lines added to the piece, it’s available in a choice of different colour dials but we reckon the glimmering purple is a great choice for a formal wedding. Bold enough to add some zing to a black tie gown, but dressy enough to look the part – this watch has some serious class.

C5 MALVERN SLIMLINE - LIMITED EDITION PURPLE - £399 / $550 / €535

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LIFE & TIME 2016

The blind date watch...

C60 Trident GMT Romantic dates can be awkward – you want to show you’ve made an effort, but not like you’ve been staring dolefully into your wardrobe all day. The C60 Trident GMT on a distinguished leather strap gives off just the right level of cool and will ensure serene unflappability.

Probably one of the most wearable watches in the collection, it has the clear indices and handy luminosity that are so popular at the moment. And with a fourth hand – this is a GMT watch after all – you’ll be able to tell your new companion the exact time in the foreign city of your choice (just don’t let them know it’s set to ‘Magaluf’ time).

C60 TRIDENT GMT - £799 / $1,100 / €1,080

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CW | DEATH & GLORY

34 christopherward.co.uk

DEATH AND GLORY

PALIO SIENA DI

FORGET ‘THE SPORT OF KINGS’, THE PALIO DI SIENA IS A HORSE RACE THAT

Photos: David Ramos Getty Contour

UNITES EVERY STRATA OF TUSCAN SOCIETY IN A SHARED APPRECIATION OF

I

COMPETITION, VIOLENCE AND BITTER RIVALRY

f you’ve watched a horse race like the Grand National, Melbourne Cup or Kentucky Derby you’ll be under no illusions as to how dangerous it can be. Seeing an unseated jockey desperately trying to cover himself, or the favourite tripped by Aintree’s feared Chair fence is enough to put anyone off the nags for life.

Now take that same sport and transfer it to the main square of a medieval Italian city. Add in thousands of partisan spectators, drunken tourists and hundreds of years of tradition (plus mutual enmity), and you’re left with a race that’s less a sport, and more a street fight at 40mph.

The Palio Di Siena takes place twice a year (July 2 and

August 16) in Siena’s Piazza di Campo, and sees one horse each from the city’s different quarters (‘contrade’) compete in a contest that began in 1656. Only ten horses are allowed to enter – leaving some contrade disappointed – with each team allotted their animal by ballot. And, unlike regular racing, a horse can still win if its jockey, who must ride bareback, is dismounted.

Like Florence’s Calcio Storico (or even the Isle of Man’s TT motorcycle race), the spectacle bears little relation to the modern world around it. Jockeys are allowed, nay encouraged, to shove and physically block their rivals, while the track, if it can be called that, is just a steeply angled ➸

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CW | DEATH & GLORY

ribbon of cobbles covered in sand. Riders are slammed into the surrounding walls with alarming regularity.

The theatre of it all is uniquely Italian. The piazza is draped with banners of the competing contrada while the jockeys wear the bright pastel colours of their team (sample names: ‘Eagle’, ‘Snail’, ‘Crested Porcupine’). And this being Italy, there is a pre-race parade in which jockeys take in the adoration of the crowd and wave their long whips in the air.

Morris dancing this is not.

As you’d expect, not everyone likes the Palio. Animal rights activists believe the sport is cruel, while violence among fans of rival contrade is not unusual before and after races.

But the Palio shows no sign of losing popularity, either with locals or the tourists who descend on the city every year to witness the madness. In a sanitised world full of rules and regulations, to the people of Siena it is an emblem of freedom, tradition and heroism all rolled into one. Like a horse that carries on even when it’s deposited its rider into a wall, it cannot – and will not – be stopped.

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top and above-left; The course is just a circuit of Siena’s main square above; The race is an excuse for feasting on an industrial scale opposite; Horses are blessed in every contrada’s churches

Photos: David Ramos Getty Contour

J J M A S T E R C L A S S | CW

In a sanitised world full of rules and regulations, to the people of Siena it is an emblem of freedom, tradition and heroism 37

JJ’S

ERS HMAK WATC RC LA S S E M A ST

MASTERCLASS PART 2

THE DOUBLE BARREL IN HIS SECOND HOROLOGY MASTERCLASS, CHRISTOPHER WARD’S MASTER WATCHMAKER JOHANNES JAHNKE DEBATES THE PROS AND CONS OF PARALLEL AND SERIES CONNECTIONS IN DOUBLE-BARRELED CONFIGURATIONS The barrels are the powerhouse of the movement, so it’s unsurprising the double barrel calibre (as opposed to one with a single barrel) delivers an increased power reserve thanks to its two mainsprings, each of which are housed within tooth-edged barrels.

In my movement development work at Christopher

38 christopherward.co.uk

Ward, my aim is to bring power, precision and stability to the movement, as opposed to focusing on making it extra-slim. There are pros and cons to choosing either parallel or series connection for the barrels – but considering my main focus is stability, it should be clear why I choose a series connection for Calibre SH21.

PARALLEL CONSTRUCTION Pros for parallel construction Two barrels push one centred minute pinion. As the minute is relatively heavily loaded, it makes sense to install the parallel barrels opposite to this pinion, thereby enormously reducing the bearing pressure. The turning direction of both barrels is the same, helping to charge them. With just half the power stored in each barrel it’s easier to achieve extremely flat barrels, making for an ultra-slim movement.

Cons for parallel construction This exerts double the force on the minute pinion, making it necessary to halve the power of the mainspring, thereby leaving it open to the risk of sticking.

If a spring sticks, its power delivery to the minute pinion halves again, reducing precision and stability. Often it’s difficult to install the barrels opposite to the centre wheel and still have both barrels touching the central wheel in the main layout. Some watchmakers have tried to compensate for this by using a side pinion which delivers power from one side to the centre wheel. However this doesn’t give them the bearing pressure reduction achieved by having both barrels driving the central wheel.

SERIES CONSTRUCTION

Pros for series connection (as found in Calibre SH21) Power in the mainspring is equal to a single-barrel solution. Power is equal in each barrel. If one spring sticks, the other can catch up and will reduce the impact to the minute pinion.

The power-to-revolutions ratio remains much more even over time, meaning the power delivered is much more stable within the first day or two after full winding.

Our SH21 movement loses much less energy on the first day compared to those with one barrel or parallel constructions. So our COSC certification is not only valid on the first day, and it’s only after the third day before power losses start to affect accuracy. This makes for a far more stable movement.

Cons for series connection Delivering power into the barrels isn’t straightforward, as they can’t be charged via the two barrel-axes. In SH21’s case, power is delivered from the rotor to the outer teeth of the first barrel. The spring of the first barrel delivers power in to the axis. Power is then delivered to the second barrel via a gear train system of three wheels (which equal the turning direction of the two barrels). The second barrel then operates like a one barrel construction. This means the addition of two to three extra wheels into the movement, all with their attendant pinions and additional jewels. It’s a far more powerful, stable and accurate movement – but it’s not small!

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GREAT CITIES

TOKYO GREAT CLOCKS

THE JAPANESE CAPITAL IS BOTH CHAOTIC AND ORDERED, AND SO ARE ITS TIMEPIECES

W

hen director Ridley Scott was making Blade Runner, he looked to Tokyo as the inspiration for his dystopian Los Angeles of the future. Visiting today, it’s easy to see why.

There is no place on Earth like the Japanese capital.

From the endless neon signs in the entertainment districts to the shops that sell all types of everything, it’s a city that lives at 100 miles per hour.

But dig deeper and you’ll see a different side.

In the parks where people go to relax (and, just as importantly, be seen) and the temples where they worship, an older Japan can be found – one that is concerned with harmony, balance and tradition.

It’s little wonder then that Tokyo is also the horological capital of east Asia, something that’s reflected in the public clocks on display. above-right; The ‘Anime’ Nittere Ohdokei Automaton clock right; The Yurakucho Marion clock, complete with ’70s styling and drum-beating figurines below; The medieval-style astronomical clock

by Giulio Paolini and Seiko

➸

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GREAT CLOCKS | CW

© Arjan Richter, © PA Photos Limited

top-left; The “Clock of Peace” at the Senso-Ji Temple Asakusa, Tokyo left; The stars align for the solarpowered Star Clock at Sapporo station above; The world’s biggest pendulum clock, Yukkuri Rhythm below; A digital clock displaying 8:59:60 at the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology in Koganei, marking the moment a leap second was added to the world clock in July 2015

At the heart of watch and clockmaking in Tokyo is Seiko, so it’s no surprise that some of the city’s most recognisable clocks are made by the company. The Seiko Yurakucho Marion is one such timepiece. With ’70s styling to the fore – check the numerals at 12 o’clock – underneath sits a selection of gold drummer-boys which play chimes on the hour. It’s both ingenious and a little bit cheesy.

Of course, it’s not all about Seiko (though it’s also behind the world’s biggest pendulum clock in Shinjuko, and an astronomical clock made with Giulio Paolini). One timepiece that demonstrates Japan’s ability to mix both tradition and modernity is the National Clock Of Peace at the Senso-Ji Temple, whose construction mirrors that of its neighbour. It reminds us that few countries have been as transformed by war as Japan.

Finally, and perhaps most beautiful of all, is the solarpowered clock at Sapporo station. A riot of stars set against a blue background, it reminds us of time’s everlasting relationship with the heavens. You can bet it’s pretty accurate, too – after all, this is Japan we’re talking about.

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CW | BRITPOP

A BIT OF A 42 christopherward.co.uk

BRITPOP | CW

TWENTY YEARS AFTER BRITPOP, ONE JOURNALIST WHO WAS AT THE HEART OF THE SCENE LOOKS BACK TO THE DAYS WHEN THE UK WAS THE CENTRE OF THE MUSIC WORLD WORDS: ANDREW HARRISON

I

t’s the fate of every great pop moment to be reduced, eventually, to a single image which has little to do with what really went on. From postcard punks in Trafalgar Square to grinning hippies in anachronistic dayglo, every pop culture turning point becomes a TV clip show version with the edges smoothed off.

In the case of Britpop – the mid-’90s glory years of Blur, Pulp and Oasis, the climactic collision of everything great in Anglophile rock, pop, haircuts and shoes from 1963, 1968, 1977 and 1988, and perhaps Britain’s last truly unifying mass pop moment ever – it’s all been boiled down to that familiar photograph of Oasis’s Noel Gallagher shaking hands with starstruck new Prime Minister Tony Blair at Number 10. Yet the Downing Street meeting in July 1997 marked not the apotheosis of Britpop but the moment it fell to pieces.

A musical movement that began by reminding Britain that it still had things to be proud of – Lennon, McCartney, The Kinks, Bowie, John Barry, the Fred Perry shirt and the Doc Marten boot – would now enter a downward spiral signalled

by Oasis’s overblown third album Be Here Now.

above; Blur in their Britpop pomp, 1995 left; “And what do you do?” Tony Blair meets Oasis star Noel Gallagher in July 1997

DANCE MUSIC DOESN’T GET PROPER CREDIT FOR WHAT IT MEANT TO BRITPOP The Downing Street photo is more interesting for what it doesn’t show: the electrifying, chaotic ground-upwards mess of Britpop and its urchin roots in new wave, mod and football culture, plus all the ravers, DJs and oddball fans that made this more than just a Carnaby Street rerun.

The Britpop years from 1992 to 1997 remain an as yet unrepeated golden moment of optimism and pure fun. Alongside brilliant records like Blur’s Girls & Boys, Suede’s Animal Nitrate or Oasis’s Live Forever, it was sustained by a whole parallel universe of British dance music – Orbital, Tricky, Underworld, Aphex Twin and a thousand weekend clubs and raves whose house and techno had reached critical mass.

“Dance music doesn’t get proper credit for what it meant to Britpop,” says Conor McNicholas, who would go on to edit NME in the noughties. “The story tends to be retold as just blokes with guitars. But the same people who were dancing to Blur at an indie disco would be clubbing and buying records by Massive Attack, Portishead, The Chemical Brothers… Britpop really did unite the nation. Music had been so tribal, but for once everyone was into the same stuff. And for a very brief time it was all brilliant.” ➸

“BRITPOP UNITED THE NATION. MUSIC HAD BEEN SO TRIBAL, BUT FOR ONCE EVERYONE WAS INTO THE SAME STUFF… IT WAS ALL BRILLIANT”

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CW | BRITPOP

A BIT OF A I was editing a monthly music magazine called Select in 1992 when we noticed that something new had begun to rumble in British music. The canned misery, rote guitar tantrums and greasy hair of American grunge were becoming unbearable. After a decade of cringing away in shame from anything identifiably British, a new crop of UK acts began to revel in the best of our own traditions.

Seedy Londoners Suede connected the thin, pale, ill androgyny of David Bowie and Morrissey to a clattering glam metal racket, and won the 1993 Mercury Music Prize with a dazzling debut album. A troupe of misfits from Sheffield called Pulp transplanted art school extravagance and Bondtheme magnificence to the sex-starved English suburbs.

After false starting as a kind of pop Pink Floyd in 1990, Blur rediscovered the Ray Davies/XTC/Madness playbook of classic English observational songwriting – their Modern Life Is Rubbish album in 1993 fired Britpop’s starting pistol.

And then there were The Auteurs, Supergrass, Elastica, Saint Etienne…

These bands were in love with a cheeky, poignant, largerthan-life pop idiom that was animated by the common touch.

They looked great, in repurposed mod togs and the same cagoules and trainers your friends wore. They sounded like you. They were you.

“Britpop got big so fast that you could hardly believe it,” recalls writer and broadcaster Miranda Sawyer, then writing for The Face magazine. “We’d got through the ’80s thinking that the good bands, the cool bands could only ever get so far — but now they were on Top Of The Pops, headlining massive gigs.” Within a few months Britpop became a tabloid phenomenon. “Suddenly you had Damon Albarn or Jarvis Cocker, who’d been on the dole only a few months before, being chased down the street by paparazzi.”

“SOMETIMES IT REALLY FELT NOTHING WOULD EVER BE AS GOOD AGAIN” In August 1995 Oasis and Blur were drawn into a pantomime battle to see which of two substandard singles – Roll With It and Country House – would make it to Number One on the same day. (Blur “won”). When Michael Jackson gave a sanctimonious performance at the 1996 Brit Awards, Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker jumped onstage to lark about and mock him. Cocker was arrested but became the unlikely hero of the affair. Britpop was becoming a 24-hour live comedy drama with a cast of characters just like you.

It couldn’t last. Britpop’s blokey swagger opened the door to the flintier, nastier phenomenon of laddism. The worlds of art, food and TV presenting borrowed Britpop’s demotic language to give us Damien Hirst, Chris Evans, Tracey Emin, 44 orderline +44 1628 763040

above; Blur frontman Damon Albarn in action on stage Brit Awards 1995 right; Pulp’s Common People reached number two in UK Pop charts, May, 1995 opposite; Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker, standing by a Hillman Imp car, London 1991

SUDDENLY, YOU HAD DAMON ALBARN OR JARVIS COCKER, WHO’D BEEN ON THE DOLE A FEW MONTHS BEFORE, BEING CHASED DOWN THE STREET BY PAPARAZZI Jamie Oliver and others, but the charm began to disappear.

The better, more inquisitive bands went looking elsewhere for inspiration and ceded the field to Britpop ‘B’-listers like Ocean Colour Scene, The Bluetones, Shed Seven and Menswear, the Britpop Monkees.

By the time Noel was taking tea at Number 10, the Spice Girls were screeching about Girl Power in Union Jack frocks – it was Brit, it was Pop and it was terrible.

“Britpop burned so brightly that it used up all the oxygen in the room,” reckons Conor McNicholas. “Sometimes it felt like nothing would ever be as good again.” Certainly there’s been no pop moment as potent or all embracing since. The internet broke up the mainstream arena that Britpop had colonised so well. How do you become the biggest thing in pop when there’s no Top Of The Pops? Today’s music landscape is a mosaic of microgenres, all connected by social media and streaming. There’s no pulpit to seize and yell “Parklife!” from.

But the echoes of Britpop are all around us, in the radio careers of Jarvis Cocker and ex-Kenickie singer Lauren Laverne, in Damon Albarn’s ever-evolving work and Noel Gallagher’s gearshift into the nation’s favourite grumpy old rock star. The best of the music – Pulp’s Common People, Elastica’s Connection, Suede’s Trash, scores more – still stands up. And when the 2012 Olympics ended, who played the final concert in Hyde Park but Blur? Conceived out of a love of the past, Britpop has become a nostalgia proposition in its own right. Like you and me, it’s gonna live forever.

BRITPOP | CW

“BRITPOP BURNED SO BRIGHTLY THAT IT USED UP ALL THE OXYGEN IN THE ROOM” christopherward.co.uk

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LIINKDE ED MRANDS WIITRHITTHE B

P CW S

Cross -eyed

LONDON’S SPECTACLE-MAKERS CUBITTS MAKES EYEWEAR IMBUED WITH THE SPIRIT OF THE CITY THE COMPANY RESIDES IN, AS CW EDITOR ANTHONY TEASDALE FOUND OUT ON A TRIP TO ITS KING’S CROSS HEADQUARTERS

T

here’s a lot of similarity between spectacles and watches. While technology exists to make both items redundant, the benefits of wearing them goes well beyond their original purpose. A great pair of glasses can transform the way you look immediately, adding character and identity to your face. Without his specs, Buddy Holly would just have been a normal bloke with an ear for a good tune.

One company that’s becoming ever more visible in the sector is Cubitts, a bespoke spectacle maker based in London. Known for its beautiful handmade frames, its products occupy a totally different realm from the anonymous highstreet glasses seen on most faces.

Here Cubitts’ co-founder (and former applied mathematics graduate) Tom Broughton talks to CW Editor Anthony Teasdale about the rise of his company, London’s ophthalmic history and why a shop space is vital to their overall vision.

Hi Tom. When did Cubitts start – and why?

We launched in late 2013, although the company was many years in the making. The main driver, quite frankly, was my love of spectacles. Few objects you wear are so individual and personal.

What makes your glasses so special?

Our frames are all handmade in the traditional way. They’re never, ever injection-moulded, and have details like pin-drilled hinges (which

46 christopherward.co.uk

take longer and require more skill than the usual ‘heat sunk’ approach), rounded temple tips and custom hardware. We also spend a long time thinking about the accessories: for example, our cleaning cloth features an illustration by the artist Stanley Donwood (most famous for producing all the Radiohead album cover art).

How are your glasses made?

The main stages are cutting the frontpiece, adding the shape and details (the base curve, the bridge), milling out the groove and space for the hinges, ‘shooting the sides’ (adding the metal rod to the temples), and lots of hand filing, polishing and love. In total, there’s over 50 different steps in the production of a single frame.

You’ve opened a shop in London. Why was that?

While online is very important, we wanted to be able to start offering eye tests, in-person fitting of frames and bespoke service – all of which needs a physical space.

We chose Soho because it’s such an interesting square mile of London: the first true pair of spectacles were created a couple of streets away in the 18th century.

Where else can people buy your spectacles?

We’re available online and in a very small number of retailers who we feel share our aesthetic and aspiration (such as Trunk in London’s Marylebone).

What are your favourite models?

I currently wear one of our new

“In total, there are over 50 different steps in the production of a single frame”

“Our frames are all handmade in the traditional way.

They’re never, ever injection-moulded, and have details like pin-drilled hinges”

models, Bingfield, which is a stainless steel frame with a round pantoscopic lens and titanium nosepads. It’s got quite an early’90s feel to it, and is actually based on the style of a classic British NHS frame.

Finally, why ‘Cubitts’?

We’re named after the three Cubitt brothers, Victorian engineers and architects who built much of London, including King’s Cross station. What they did amazingly well was design and build beautifully, but in an efficient way. That’s our inspiration.

LIKE MINDED | CW

“The first true pair of spectacles were created a couple of streets away from our present shop in the 18th century”

orderline +44 1628 763040

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THE

T A E R G CRH T A WWEARE S

MARTIN LUTHER

A MAN’S CHOICE OF WATCH WILL TELL YOU SOMETHING – THOUGH NOT EVERYTHING – ABOUT HIS CHARACTER. IN THE CASE OF AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER MARTIN LUTHER KING JR, THIS CERTAINLY RINGS TRUE…

D

R King may have been the ultimate proponent of equality in American history, but like other revolutionaries he was aware that as a statesman, he had to look, well, statesmanlike.

And part of that included the watch he wore, a gold Rolex Datejust.

It shouldn’t be surprising that King wore the DJ. As photos from early protests in late ’50s Alabama show, the man had style, wearing soft-shouldered suits and immaculate shirts to demonstrations – demonstrations that would often lead to his violent arrest. The Datejust – a watch that was anything but modest – fitted in with this perfectly.

The son of a pastor, MLK was born plain Michael King in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1929, but his father changed it to ‘Martin Luther’ as a tribute to the Christian reformer of the same name.

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Inspired by his father’s opposition to segregation in the Deep South, MLK grew up with a desire to change the South’s racist ‘Jim Crow’ laws.

Thanks to his fortitude and strategic talent – especially his promotion of non-violent resistance – King, as the head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, became the civil rights movement’s figurehead. This led him into meetings with political giants of the age like John F Kennedy, Lyndon B Johnson and Robert Kennedy. And each time the gold Datejust was on his wrist.

Though King was – almost inevitably – assassinated (in Memphis, 1968), his legacy really does live on, whether it’s the wholesale rejection of previously respectable racist attitudes or by the fact that the president of the United States is now a black man. Two things that were unthinkable in King’s time.

A good watch can’t define a great person, it’s his or her actions which do that. But having something special on your wrist is a reminder that our time here is finite, and that the worst thing we can do, especially when presented with injustice, is do nothing at all.

By that definition, Martin Luther King Jr really was one of the greats.

Photo: Getty images

KING JR

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