AUTUMN 2014
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------CALIBRE SH21 thE StORy OF chRIStOphER WARD’S FIRSt EVER IN-hOuSE MOVEMENt -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SCORSESE’S HALF-CENTuRY: FIFty yEARS OF MOVIES FROM thE gREAt AMERIcAN DIREctOR -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SPORTINg TImES! SpORt’S MOSt IcONIc tIMEpIEcES -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------THE SPEAkINg CLOCk MEEt thE MAN bEhIND thE bRILLIANt ‘A bLOg tO WAtch’ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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ANNIVERSARY
ISSuE
Swiss movement, English heart
C5 MALVERN SLIMLINE
Swiss made / ETA 2801-2 hand-wound mechanical movement with 5 year guarantee / 42 hour power reserve / 40mm hand-finished 316L stainless steel case and crown / Case height-8.7mm / Sapphire crystal / Case back with exhibition window / Italian leather strap with CW engraved buckle E x c l u sivel y availa b le a t
christopherward.co.uk
AUTUMN 2014
c h r i s t o p h e r w a r d ma g a z i n e
Everyone loves an underdog. Whether it’s a football team that rises from obscurity to challenge for the league title or a young contender knocking out the undefeated champion, we all take pleasure in seeing the unfancied and unfavoured take on (and beat) the elite. As with sport, so with watches. And while we at Christopher Ward can no longer claim to be unfancied after ten years in watchmaking, it’s fair to say that we’re more than ready to consolidate our place in the higher echelons of horology. The reason? Our first ever in-house movement, Calibre SH21. To say this represents a revolution in British watchmaking is an understatement. Designed by Johannes Jahnke, the SH21 – which boasts a 120-hour power reserve – is everything an automatic movement should be: chronometer-certified, beautifully engineered and ready for any number of complications. You can read all about it, and the first watch that houses it: the stunning C9 Harrison 5 Day Automatic, on page 10. Away from the SH21, there’s plenty of other things to read about. Take Empire magazine’s Ian Freer’s essay on that most gifted of directors, Martin Scorsese, who celebrates a half-century in the movie business this year. For people who look to the skies for inspiration, editor of The Aviation Historian magazine, Nick Stroud, pays tribute to the Vickers VC10, perhaps the greatest British aircraft ever. And with Christopher Ward celebrating ten years in watchmaking, there’s an interview with founders Chris, Peter Ellis and Mike France on page 22, in which we talk about how the brand began and where we’re looking to go. Finally, we’re pleased to announce the merger between Christopher Ward and our Swiss partners Synergies Horlogères. This makes sense in so many ways, not least for the fact that it’ll connect you, the CW customer, directly with the manufacturer, and the superlative watches this new entity will produce. Read more on page 4. Enjoy the magazine, Mike, Chris & Peter
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Front cover: C9 Harrison 5 Day Automatic 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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CW | CWORLD
chrisTopher wArd MAgAziNe, AUTUMN 2014
A marriage made in heaven – and Switzerland! Christopher Ward merges with Swiss partners with the release of christopher ward’s first in-house movement, calibre sh21, it’s also been announced that the association between christopher ward and swiss production partner synergies horlogères has been formalised through a merger. the new company will be called christopher ward london holdings. chris ward says: “this merger allows us to become masters of our own destiny by creating a truly vertical watch brand where the customer is in direct contact with the supply chain, including the watchmaker.” calibre sh21 is just the first in-house movement to be created by the new company and will be joined by a number of other complications, all of which will give
All change for women’s watches at Christopher Ward From early next year, Christopher Ward will no longer carry a women-only watch collection. Instead, our gentlemen’s timepieces will be available to buy with smaller straps, as Christopher Ward co-founder Mike France explains. “Increasingly, women want to wear watches from our men’s collection but many have been put off by the larger strap sizes. At the same time, our stand-alone women’s collection now represents less than 10 per cent of sales. “Our W61 Trident model, which is exactly the same as the men’s version but with a smaller strap, has become our best-selling watch for women, and as a result,we’ve decided to become the first watch brand to make our entire men’s range available to women by offering a full range of strap sizes .” 4 orderline +44 1628 763040
“Our merger also consolidates our relationship with master watchmaker Johannes Jahnke – already a legend among CW fans for his extraordinary creations” christopher ward insulation from the swiss competition commission’s decision to allow swatch-owned movement maker etA the right to stop supplying movements to third parties by 2019/20. “synergies horlogères is led by jorg bader – you’ll recognise his name as the creator of the innovative ‘bader buckle’,” says Mike France. “his extensive knowledge of the swiss watchmaking industry, gained through a more than 30 year career, will be of enormous value in the years ahead.” “our merger also consolidates our relationship with master watchmaker johannes jahnke. Already a legend among cw fans for his extraordinary creations – the ‘jj calibres’ – johannes conceived and developed sh21. he’s already working on some very exciting new projects. watch this space!”
christopher ward is taking a stand for the first time this year at the uK’s high-end watch exhibition, salonQp, at the saatchi gallery in london, from november 6-8.
“We’ve always been fans of the standard of curation at SalonQP,” says CW co-founder Peter Ellis. “In such an important year for Christopher Ward, this is a fantastic opportunity for thousands of people to see our watches in the flesh, maybe for the first time.”
CWORLD | CW
So, just what is a chronometer? Christopher Ward has made much of the fact that its first in-house movement, Calibre SH21, is an official chronometer. But, what exactly is a chronometer? And does it have anything to do with a chronograph? For those in the dark, Mike France explains all. “A chronometer is a high-precision watch capable of displaying seconds, whose movement has been tested over a period of days in five different positions and at three different temperatures by a neutral, official body (cosc). every chronometer is unique, identified by a number engraved on its movement and a certification number issued by cosc. only six per cent of watches are granted this status.
“Every year, COSC, which is moving near to CW’s Swiss HQ in Biel, releases a chart of the brands that have received chronometer certificates – top place goes to the company that has received most. This year, Christopher Ward has moved up into 21st place, ahead of watchmakers like Zenith and Bulova. And next year, we hope to be even higher.”
In at the (very) deep end Christopher Ward customers who like to spend their weekends looking for old treasure in the depths will be coming up for air to get hold of the new C11 Extreme Chronometer. the titanium-cased extreme, similar in design to the hugely successful c11 elite, is water-resistant to 1,000m – placing it in a select club of premium diving watches. powered by a chronometer version of the sellita sw200-1 automatic movement and with an upgraded helium release valve, this 1,000-piece limited edition watch is available from september and is priced at £1150. Mike France says: “the brand is synonymous with high-performance dive watches but with the c11 extreme we’ve taken this to an entirely different level. chris is a keen diver but I doubt he’ll be overly keen to take it down to 1,000 metres… but I’m going to suggest he does!”
New C30 malvern Chronometer The Malvern series welcomes a new addition to the family with the release of the C30 Malvern Chronometer. As well as looking beautiful, the watch’s ETA 251.233 thermo-compensated quartz movement ensures that it will be one of the most accurate timepieces in the world. “The C3 Malvern has always been my favourite Christopher Ward watch,” says Chris Ward, “and I honestly don’t know why it took us quite so long to create a chronometer version.” The watch is released in a limited edition of 500, and will cost £599/£650 for Leather/Bracelet.
NEW RELEASE
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CW | CWORLD
‘‘ Theking spea clock ’’ Interviews with horology’s top influencers
Ariel Adams, Editor, A Blog to Watch Hi Ariel. When did you begin the blog? Was there any specific aim?
Well, A Blog to Watch started in 2007 even though we only changed the name from A Blog to Read in 2012. It was just after I took the bar exam in California, it began as a potential escape plan if I didn’t pass the test. I did pass, but that didn’t stop me from getting addicted to blogging. Within weeks, I was writing exclusively about watches. Do you now edit the blog full time?
Yeah, in 2009 I quit my job as a lawyer to do it. I had these delusions of having a lot of free time, but before long, the site quickly engulfed my entire life. It’s been over five years now of full-time watch blogging and I haven’t looked back. 6 christopherward.co.uk
What were the watches first got you into horology?
Good question! I was a ‘watch kid’, though I was more about the functionality and idea of wearing cool digital watches than anything else. Nothing sounded more boring than an analogue watch that just told the time. In high school, I noticed more interesting timepieces in jewellery store counters, but it wasn’t until college that I discovered more about high-end watches and got sucked in. Why do you think mechanical watches seem to be growing in popularity?
I was speaking to a luxury company executive earlier today that used to sell luxury Swiss watches in the late 1980s. He said it was no problem selling quartz at high prices back then. Today, you can’t give away them away. While a quartz watch is highly reliable, it contains a mechanism we can’t see operating. Mechanical watches work based on principles that we can see with the naked eye, and something about that makes
“We get a lot of loyal Christopher Ward owners – It’s a brand I recommend to those looking for a decently designed and priced mechanical watch” Ariel Adams, Editor, A Blog to Watch
them more personal. We also like the fantasy of a watchmaker toiling over the movement or the timepiece we’re wearing. What annoys you about the watchmaking industry?
I’ve written reams about that – quite literally. I suppose people know me as a critic because I speak my mind and am rather judgmental – but I think I can be when a company is asking for many thousands of dollars of our hard-earned money. The luxury industry is an anomalistic creation of a segmented society where we
CWORLD | CW
have rich and poor people, and that’s unfair. It’s sort of made me a snob, yes, but I don’t look down on people who can’t afford all the cool stuff I write about – I also can’t afford it! I think it’s important to read about it because it helps us get excited about the stuff we can afford.
The perfect match
Anything else?
It would be great for mechanical watches to truly exist outside of the luxury industry, but that isn’t economically feasible, so that annoys me. Along with that, I think that a lot of luxury pricing is just stupid. The Swiss are often the worst, and it’s amazing how you can find better deals from watches coming from countries like Germany and Italy. In the end, I just want awesome watches with good designs and prices that make people money but are fair when you dissect them. More and more new in-house mechanical movements. With [Swatchowned] ETA stopping to supply outside their companies and watch movement investment at a high, over the next couple of years we’re going to not only see new in-house made movements, but more that are affordable. I think bright and bold colours are going to stay, and I’d really like to see a return of contemporary design mixed in to all the vintage-inspired stuff that’s really beginning to bore me. It’s been mutual support to be honest, and not just in terms of Christopher Ward. We have a lot of loyal Christopher Ward owners who regularly comment, and the CW forum links to us a lot. It’s a brand I frequently recommend to those looking for a decently designed and priced mechanical watch. What’s your favourite CW watch?
So far, my favourite collection has been the Trident divers. I like mechanical dive watches, so that really isn’t a surprise. If you had to keep just one of your watches, what would it be?
That is a typical question and it’s unfair because it suggests a fantasy scenario that isn’t likely to happen. I do what I do so that I can enjoy a lot of watches. If I chose a favourite one it would be ‘mission complete’ and I’d start blogging about something else. You can read more from Ariel at the excellent A Blog to Watch: www.ablogtowatch.com
Released as part of Christopher Ward’s 10th birthday celebrations, this slimline version of the C5 Malvern is the perfect accessory for a semi-formal outfit. And if you’re looking to create even more of an impression – and as Christopher Ward customers that’s a given – we’d suggest pairing it with some beautiful monkstrap shoes from Loake. With a Goodyearwelted sole and a double fastening, they’re ideal for those evenings when you want to look smart but a bit cool, too. Plus, people can only gaze at your watch for so long… C5 Malvern Slimline, £399, christopherward.co.uk Loake Cannon shoes, £209, loake.co.uk
What trends do you see coming up over the next year?
You’ve always supported Christopher Ward on the site. Why’s that?
Christopher Ward C5 Malvern Slimline and Loake Cannon shoes
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– the average age of a CW customer. A quarter of you are members of the Christopher Ward forum. So, what are the rest of you waiting for?
56
%
– the percentage of you who use Facebook. Twentyeight per cent of you are on Twitter.
It’s not us…
it’s you! In February, 4,641 Christopher Ward customers completed an online survey for CW about their likes, dislikes and buying habits. The results paint a fascinating picture of what you’re really like. Here are some of the most enlightening results…
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– of you own six or more watches. Apart from Christopher Ward, Omega is the most popular brand, with 29 per cent of customers possessing a model from the Swiss company. Your favourite radio stations are Radio 2, Radio 4 and Classic FM.
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CW | mAP mAk E RS
Speed. Courage. Glory.
C70 D-tYpe – LIMIteD eDItION Sir William Lyons designed Jaguar’s legendary D-Type Long Nose racing car with one purpose in mind - to win at Le Mans. In 1957 the non-works Ecurie Ecosse team’s resplendent Flag Metal Blue D-Type, driven by Ron Flockhart and Ivor Bueb, completed a stunning hat-trick of victories for the marque This 500 piece limited edition is a tribute to one of the finest cars and greatest achievements in British motorsport history.
Christopher Ward Challenger Series
Paul Newman at the Cannes Film Festival, May 1973
C W OR L D | CW Paul Newman In the’60s, the decade that defined just exactly what ‘cool’ was, no one did it better than Paul Newman – with perhaps the exception of Steve McQueen. As you’d expect from a man who could make weeding the garden seem glamorous, Newman had an eye for a beautiful watch, and few timepieces came close to this stunning Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Reference 6239 AKA the Rolex Daytona ‘Panda’ (the name coming from its black chrono wheels). While it was powered by the same movement as other Daytonas, the Newman model featured an ‘exotic’ dial with art-deco numerals, a ‘step’ between the dial and the case, and red second indexes around the edge of the dial. At the time, Rolex struggled to sell this version with models being left on the shelf for years. That changed in the ’80s when its association with one of film’s greatest ever leading men heralded a rise in prices. On sale for $300 when it was released in 1963, last year one went for over $1m at auction in November. That’s the power of cool. While Newman is sadly no longer around, his effortless taste lives on in his choice of watch, which shows beauty really is timeless. And very, very valuable.
the Great
watch Photo: Gamma-Keystone/Getty Images
wearers
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CW | CAL IBRE SH 21
new movement time The
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Christopher Ward celebrates its tenth birthday with a stunning watch and its first ever in-house movement, Calibre SH21
I
t might seem rather odd, but when a group of smartphone owners were asked in a recent survey what feature they’d most like on their devices, nearly 90 per cent said increased battery length. Not a bigger screen or a denser concentration of pixels, but more juice. More ‘on’ time. As with phones, so with watches. Automatic timepieces, by their nature, don’t need a battery to power them, but resetting the time after a day or two off the arm is an inconvenience none of us particularly relish. But what if an automatic watch was made with enough power in reserve that it could last the best part of week without being worn? A whole five days, in fact. Welcome to the new C9 Harrison 5 Day Automatic. Make no mistake, this handsome watch is Christopher Ward’s most revolutionary timepiece yet. And while its looks will be the first thing that strikes you – it is stunningly beautiful – the real story is inside the case where CW’s first in-house movement lives: Calibre SH21.
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Why is this such a big deal? Easy. After the Swiss COMCO (Competition Commission) decision to allow the Swatch Group not to have to sell movements to third parties, Christopher Ward, along with most other Swiss brands, including Tag Heuer, IWC and Breitling, needed to find alternative sources for movements to plug the gap that will be left as a result of this ruling. Some of the larger watch companies, like those mentioned, had sufficient resources to develop their own alternative movements. Conventional wisdom dictates, however, that smaller, independent watch brands, like Christopher Ward, don’t. But then again, there’s never been anything conventional about Christopher Ward. CW director Mike France picks up the story: “A large proportion of watchmakers buy their movements from ETA, the Swatch-owned manufacturer located in Switzerland. But in 2009, it became clear that it would eventually stop selling its movements to non-Swatch Group brands.” For Chris Ward, it was clear something had to be done. “After ETA said they’d no longer ➸
Photo: Ken Copsey
“The launch of our first in-house movement, is perhaps the most important development for a British watch brand for 50 years�
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CW | CAL IBRE SH 21
supply third-party manufacturers with movements, we knew we’d have to become selfsufficient in the future,” he says. “Luckily we had master watchmaker, Johannes Jahnke, in our midst who had both the vision and skill to design and develop a movement that could be a platfrom for future complications as well.” For those not familiar with Jahnke, it’s worth finding out a little about him. This German horologist was introduced to Christopher Ward through Jörg Bader of Synergies Horlogères, the company’s then main supply partner in Switzerland (the two businesses officially merged earlier this year). At 31, Johannes is still young, but over the last few years he’s already modified existing movements to create CW classics like the C9 Harrison Jumping Hour and C900 Single Pusher. The five-day calibre SH21, on which work began in 2010, is arguably his finest accomplishment to date. The movement and its design ethic echo the preferences of its designer. Growing up in East Germany, with little or no option to buy new consumer goods, Johannes and his dad would mend cars, washing machines and bikes to get them running again. And it was always the British brands that responded best to their tinkering. It gave the young German a love of
traditional British engineering – something that shines through in the construction of both the new watch and its movement. Though he also took inspiration from another source. “On SH21, Johannes thought it was appropriate to use a method called ‘baukasten’ – a modular method of construction, which is common in car-making,” says Chris Ward. “VW use it to produce parts that can be used right across their range, and that’s what we and Johannes had in mind here.” The great thing about this method is that the C9 Harrison 5 Day Automatic is just the starting point on calibre SH21’s horological journey. Thanks to Jahnke’s vision, there’s plenty of space to add further complications, whether that’s a GMT or chronograph function. Johannes says: “The movement is a base engine for future collections of watches. We have the possibility to integrate different complications into it without adding too much height or making other compromises.” Chris Ward agrees. “We’ll make further complications on this watch… There’s enough space for modifications to be added. To a watchmaker, this space, though it’s only about the size of a five-pence piece, is like a playground.” It goes without saying that creating a ➸
“Johannes used a method called ‘baukasten’ – a modular method of construction, which is common in car-making”
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Photo: Ken Copsey
he modernist architect – and all-round good egg – Ludwig Mies van der Rohe famously said that the “devil was in the details”. What he meant by this was that the mark of an item’s quality could only be found by examining it close up. It’s this philosophy that is the starting point for our new luxury leather goods range, the Mowbray Collection. Named after the Leicestershire town in which the products were crafted (and the name of the company that made them), the range, aimed at men, is made entirely in Italian leather, specially treated for an aged look. It includes iPad cases, key fobs, wallets and a document folder. The person behind it is designer Monica Larkin, who’s created products for the likes of Burberry and Claridge’s, before arriving at Christopher Ward. “In my experience, men are far more particular than women when buying
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CW | CAL IBRE SH 21
The finish of calibre SH21 isn’t flashy, it has more in common with a bespoke Savile Row suit than an ordinary watch movement double-barrelled movement that can run for 120 hours like the SH21 is no easy task. And while other brands have also made longlasting calibres, many of them have had to compromise in other areas, such as installing a smaller balance wheel – a move that can affect the accuracy of the watch. What’s so special about the SH21 is how it combines a five-day charge with robust, precise timekeeping. This uncompromising approach has been equally applied to how the movement has been finished. Nothing is compromised, including how it looks through the exhibition back. Mike France, explains what this means in practical watchmaking terms. “When designing a movement it’s always important to have the style of finishing in mind, and geography can be an influencing factor,” he says. “So, if you’re in Geneva you’ll probably opt for a finish which incorporates those ubiquitous ‘Geneva stripes’. Mostly, these days, however, watch brands choose to mix different finishing techniques. Indeed, the machine-finished striping that’s predominant often has less to do with flat surfaces and precision than it has to do with covering scratches on the undecorated surface. That’s the opposite of what we’re about.” A look at the SH21 illustrates what Mike is talking about. The finish isn’t flashy, the ‘blued screws’ have been dispensed with in favour a plain steel look, while the rotor is simply embossed with the Christopher Ward logo. It has more in common with a bespoke Savile Row suit than an ordinary watch movement. Mike France again: “Traditionally, manufacturers of the highest quality chronographs used a flat grinding approach to ensure perfectly level surfaces for their movements, which is what we’ve done with the SH21. Machines can’t reproduce this finish successfully so it has to be completed ➸ 14 christopherward.co.uk
Johannes Jahnke on Calibre SH21 The young watchmaker behind Christopher Ward’s first in-house movement takes us through his greatest work yet
Construction “All pinions, wheels and bridges are thickly made for a robust construction, which helps to industrialise the movement. Every part is 100 per cent Swiss-made from independent (non-Swatch Group) suppliers. This adds a sourcing and logistics problem to the technical difficulties in the construction. But no one said this was going to be easy!”
C A L I B R E S H 21 | CW
Minute pinion “The minute pinion is fitted directly to the centre wheel which means that there’s no display fault on the minute hand (like on some other movements). It’s more difficult to adjust the setting force of the hands, but the result is a more precise positioning between minute and second hands (once it’s set properly by the customer).”
Barrels “Both the barrels work in a row, which means that the power in between the two is equal. If one spring is blocked or is sticking (which can happen as the movement gets older) the other barrel makes up the missing power. So we’ve not only topped up the power reserve, but also the power stability itself.”
Rotor “The rotor is made from tungsten, which is a very heavy material but difficult to mill. We chose it for a better moment of inertia which speeds up the winding process. Otherwise you’d need to wear the watch for much longer until you’ve reached the full 120 hour power reserve.”
Gear train “The gear train [the set of wheels that transmits the power source] is completely new. Even the teeth are new! The teeth of the pinions [smaller wheels] and the wheel discs are separated to save as much space as possible, while the wheels turn over and below the second barrel. The gear train has been prepared to run a chrono function in the future.” orderline +44 1628 763040 15
CW | CAL IBRE SH 21
“What gives you the license to do that?’ The CEO of a major Swiss watch brand commented, on hearing about calibre SH21” by hand until the surface shows an even depth of grinding.” The result of all this painstaking work on the movement is that Calibre SH21 has been certified as a chronometer by COSC (Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres), an honour given to only around six per cent of Swiss watches. In practical terms, that means the watch will only gain at most, six seconds, or lose just four, every 24 hours - a significant achievement for a five-day power reserve. So, what about the C9 Harrison 5 Day Automatic itself? There’s no doubt it’s one of Christopher Ward’s most beautiful timepieces yet. Sharing the same design philosophy as the movement, it merges classic British design with a modernist simplicity that immediately marks it out as something very special “It’s part of our Harrison Collection,” says Chris Ward, “and therefore, shares that pared-down, perfectly detailed English aesthetic. The simple dial, the slim, elongated hands and hand finished case, it’s all very English; we’re very proud of it.” This year, Christopher Ward turns ten. It would be easy for the company to put out a few reissues, maybe even a commemorative new watch, and leave
it like that. But CW is not about patting itself on the back. The philosophy that runs through the brand, a legacy, perhaps, of its Liverpudlian roots, is one of the underdog taking on the big boys and producing products so good that it can’t be ignored. “It’s funny,” says Mike France,“When the CEO of a major Swiss watch brand heard about what we were doing with this movement, he said to our partner at Synergies Horlogères, Jörg Bader, ‘What gives you the license to do that?’” And that’s the key here. No one gave Christopher Ward permission to start a new watch brand a decade ago or to forge a partnership with a young watchmaker that’s resulted in the first original semi-industrialised movement from a British watch brand in 50 years. This is a company that places more stock on doing rather than talking, and creating watches that are the perfect synthesis of art and engineering. The Calibre SH21 movement and C9 Harrison 5 Day Automatic herald Act 2 of the Christopher Ward story – and this second phase is going to be every bit as exciting as the first. And you can set your watch by that.
The C9 Harrison 5 Day Automatic Features ° Swiss made calibre SH21 automatic movement ° In-house by Johannes Jahnke ° COSC-certified chronometer ° Twin-barrel construction in series connection ° 120 hour power reserve ° Full tungsten automatic rotor-arm with ball bearing surgical grade, stainless steel case ° Hand-finished, and crown central second hand and 3 o’clock ° Hacking date function sun-ray one-piece metal dial with raised nickel ° Galvanic indexes and nickel hands (blue and grey only) one-piece metal dial with raised nickel ° Optic-white indexes and nickel hands sapphire crystal with AR08 anti° Museum-grade reflective coating
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case-back with full diameter anti-reflective ° Screw-down sapphire crystal ethically sourced, Louisiana alligator ° Premium-grade, strap with Bader™ deployment presentation case and owner’s handbook ° Luxury with COSC certificate Technical ° Diameter: 43mm ° Height: 13.45mm ° Calibre: SH21 automatic chronometer ° Vibrations: 28,800 A/h ° Case: 316L stainless steel ° Water resistance: 5atm/50metres ° Strap: CITES certified Louisiana alligator
i m a g e m aker | CW
Photo: Ken Copsey
“The simple dial, the slim, elongated hands and hand finished case, it’s all very English; we’re very proud of it.”
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CW | SPORT INg TImES
SPORTING
TIMES tAKIng A looK At sports Most IconIc clocKs
O
ne of things that defines sport is time. Like the lines on a football pitch or the net of a tennis court, time is a non-negotiable part of sport. A cricket Test match may stretch over five days, but at one stage, usually on a wet Tuesday afternoon, time is called. War, which sport is often compared to, can sadly go on forever. Our stadiums reflect the importance of time in sport and no more so than in the prominence given to the stadium clock, usually built in the days before access to accurate timekeeping wasn’t quite as easy as today. These super-sized timepieces, whether analogue or digital, not only told spectators (and players and coaches) what time it was, but more importantly, how long was left. In the USA, stadium clocks often act as a scoreboard, particularly in baseball, with venues like Chicago’s Wrigley Field boasting much-cherished timepieces. For fans of the Chicago Cubs, that small clock atop
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a dark green scoreboard (built in 1941) is still one of the iconic markers of their beautiful home ground. The new Yankee Stadium, meanwhile, boasts both digital and analogue timepieces, affording watch companies precious exposure to consumers. Football grounds in Britain also boast their fair share of clocks, though as teams have moved to new stadiums or renovated their homes, some stand-alone clocks have either been dispensed with or been replaced by digital scoreboards, complete with sponsors’ logos and silly animations. For years, Everton FC’s Goodison Park boasted a sturdy-looking clock in its north-west corner, which shared space with the roof of adjoining St Luke’s church. Sponsored by ‘Littlewoods Stores’, it not only told the time, but provided a convenient perch for young fans to watch the match from. Its disappearance remains one of the club’s ongoing mysteries. In happier circumstances, when Arsenal left their home of Highbury in 2006, they took the famous ➸
Photos: MPL picture Library, Getty images, PA Images, Autosport ŠHaymarket Publications
Photo: Getty images
this page: Baggy shorts and big boots in front of Highbury’s Clock End
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CW | SPORT ING TIMES
timepiece that had given the ground’s south terrace its ‘Clock End’ name with them to their new Emirates stadium. In 2010, it was replaced with an identical, but bigger version made by Smith of Derby – all part of the new ground’s process of ‘Arsenalification’. For the most part, what stadium clocks remain are there as a link to the past rather than serving any serious practical use. Sure, you’ll see plenty of Rolex or Longines clocks on the tennis courts of Wimbledon or Roland Garros, but their presence is more about brand association than timekeeping. The serious work is done by computers in faraway rooms that can calculate the speed of a serve or how long it takes Cliff Richard to start singing Summer Holiday when rain stops play. Yet, while our great old grounds remain, and people still want that link to the past, so the clocks and scoreboards of yore will live on, ticking their way down to the next moment of greatness. right: Green is the colour at Wrigley Field below-right: The Spurs cockerel atop the clock at White Hart Lane below: The Scouse masses congregate under the clock at Goodison Park
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i m a g e m aker | CW
Photo: Ken Copsey Photos: Getty images, PA images
left: Weather vane-meets-clock at Lord’s cricket ground in London above: The old Yankee Stadium. below: It’s just gone 8:10 at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough. below right: At Old Trafford, the clcok commemorates the Munich air disaster
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CW | AT T E N
in their own words whAt hAve ten yeArs oF wAtchMAKIng MeAnt For the FounDers oF horology’s orIgInAl unDerDog brAnD? It’s a decade since that fateful boat trip on the River Thames when three friends, Mike France, Peter Ellis and Chris Ward, came up with a the idea of starting a quality watch brand. A watch brand that would combine the highest level of Swiss watchmaking with a very British outlook on design, customer service and value. From the start, Christopher Ward did things differently. The company cut out high-street retailers (and their weighty margins) in favour of selling directly to the consumer, passing on the savings in the process. They avoided expensive celebrity endorsements (no film star would get a watch for free), relying on wordof-mouth, both on- and offline, to build their reputation. And they did what all great companies do – they kept coming out with brilliant products that people loved. All very simple really – at least in theory. Here then, Chris, Mike and Peter (with contributions from Jörg Bader whose company Synergies Horlogères recently merged with CW) look back over those ten years, from their first watch, the Malvern C5 Automatic, to the bright new future that the launch of their first in-house movement, SH21 promises. It’s been one hell of a trip.
“The thing that gets us up in the morning is the intrinsic values we try to put in – whether that’s product, customer service or treating people as human beings rather than numbers” Peter Ellis On deciding what the company was going to be callled
“One of the reasons we put one of our names on the dial is because we didn’t want to hide behind a Swisssounding name.” Chris Ward “We wanted the brand name to be personal, real, and have an English resonance. ‘Christopher Ward’ fits the bill far better than ‘Peter Ellis’ or ‘Mike France’.” Mike France On the early timepieces
“When I look back to 2005 and the first watches we produced like the Malverns, we did want a quintessential
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English look. We wanted everything round and smooth: functionality, simplicity and understated design all in one timepiece.” Chris Ward
“When I look back to 2005 and the first watches we produced like the malverns, we did want a quintessential English look” Chris Ward On the merger with Synergies Horlogères
“It made sense, strategically, organisationally and emotionally. It creates a unique, customer-led luxury watch brand that can look to the future with real confidence and zeal.” Mike France “The merger with Synergies means we are almost unique in the industry as we are connecting the customer directly with the watchmaker” Peter Ellis “CW always understood the value of our innovative watchmaking skills and we’ve always been excited by the Christopher Ward brand. The time was right to join forces and make 1+1 add up to more than 2!” Jörg Bader On the importance of service
“Service is something that’s been incredibly important to us. When we began, we decided there’d be nobody who delivered a better customer experience than Christopher Ward. I can honestly say, there’s a team of people here whose behaviour towards the customer is the finest I’ve ever come across in 30 years of working in retail. When people talk about our brand, yes, they speak about the watches, but almost always they refer to the ➸
“Service is something that’s been incredibly important to us. When we began, we decided there’d be nobody who delivered a better customer experience than Christopher Ward” Mike France
R A C E M A KER S | CW
“One of the reasons we put one of our names on the dial is because we didn’t want to hide behind a Swisssounding name” Chris Ward
“I see no reason why we can’t be the Rolex of the internet – as long as we make smart decisions and continue to work with people who believe as passionately as we do about putting premium watches within the reach of everyone” Mike France
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CW | AT T E N
outstanding service – and that’s because of the people in this business.” Mike France “I get hurt if I hear about bad customer service or if we’ve let someone down.” Peter Ellis
“If we’re comparing ourselves to brands that are many times the price we have to be able to look at ourselves in the mirror and know we haven’t compromised on quality” Mike France On what working at Christopher Ward means
“The thing that gets us up in the morning is the intrinsic values we try to put in – whether that’s the values of the product, customer service or treating people as human beings rather than numbers. So when people talk about us being a ‘peoples’ luxury watch brand’, we love it because we listen.” Peter Ellis On the Christopher Ward forum
“We have an incredible relationship with people on the forum. To the point where we’ve withdrawn watches, changed watches and designed watches all based on their feedback.” Mike France On the CW Challengers programme
“A group of Cambridge University students approached us to sponsor a trip to climb some very high mountains in Tajikistan. We liked that spirit of adventure, that refusal to accept that something
“Every time we challenged Johannes to develop a new complication he’d come back with something even better than we’d dared to suggest!” Mike France
can’t be done because you weren’t born with a silver spoon in your mouth. Now one of those mountains is known as Mount Christopher Ward! We developed the CW Challengers programme as a way of finding exciting young talent with world-class potential who didn’t have the backing of many of the better-known people in their individual disciplines.” Mike France
assembly, and for it to be robust. We wanted a long term aspect that would survive everything. We didn’t think of petit or slim, we wanted to do something different.” Jörg Bader
“Johannes Jahnke went way outside the box. He looked at medical industry tooling, he looked at the way cars were conceived as opposed to watch movements. What he’s created here will be the basis for a whole suite of movements.” Mike France “If we’re comparing ourselves to brands that are many times the price we have to be able to look at ourselves in the mirror and know we haven’t compromised on quality.” Mike France On the C9 Harrison 5 Day Automatic watch
“It’s made of outstanding components, it’s very readable, you’re never not going to be able to read the time. It’s very understated, too, and encapsulated in that single watch is much of what we’re trying to do here. too.
“With this movement we’ll be the first brand to link the production directly to the consumer” Chris Ward It’s not going to set you back £25,000, yet it’s the equivalent of many watches many times its price.” Mike France On annoying certain industry figures
“The chief executive officer of a famous watch brand heard about SH21. His comment was, ‘What gives you the license to do that?’ That approach is the opposite to ours – we give ourselves a license to it. It’s about breaking the rules to become masters of our destiny.” Mike France On low points
“Watching Liverpool win against Juventus in the Champions’ League during Baselworld 2005 wasn’t easy. But that apart, we’ve been far too busy to be low.” Mike France (Everton fan) On the future
“As young as we are, it’s nice to see the map on Wera’s wall and see we’ve got something like 103 pins, including the North Pole up there. Real penetration in some of the markets is one of the goals for the years ahead.” Chris Ward “I see no reason why we can’t be the Rolex of the internet – as long as we make smart decisions and continue to work with people who believe as passionately as we do about putting premium watches within the reach of everyone.” Mike France
On watchmaker Johannes Jahnke
“It wasn’t a single moment, more an emerging realisation that we were working with someone with a rare talent. Every time we challenged him to develop a new complication he would come back with something even better than we’d dared to suggest!” Mike France On the SH21 Calibre movement
“We ended up with a list: we wanted a power reserve, we wanted it to be tractor-like, solid. We wanted easy
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“As young as we are, it’s nice to see the map on Wera’s wall and see we’ve got something like 103 pins, including the North Pole, up there” Chris Ward
i m a g e m aker | CW
“I get hurt if I hear about bad customer service or if we’ve let someone down” Peter Ellis
“We ended up with a list: we wanted a power reserve, we wanted SH21 to be tractor-like, solid. We wanted easy assembly, and for it to be robust. We wanted a long term aspect that would survive everything… we wanted to do something different” Jörg Bader
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t h e C5 M alver n Automatic M ar k I Designed 2004 / First watch sold to a Mr Clarke on June 5, 2005
CLASSIC
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Someone somewhere, probably a wise Chinese chap with a long beard, once noted “even the longest journey begins with a small step”. And though it’s become a cliche, it’s also true…
MALVERN
For Christopher Ward, that moment is defined with its first watch, the C5 Malvern Automatic Mark I, which was released in June 2005. When three friends, Mike France, Peter Ellis and Chris Ward, decided to set up a quality watch brand during a boat trip on the Thames in 2004, they knew that their debut timepiece had to embody an understated British style philosophy. The Malvern did just that. The most obvious thing for any new watch brand looking for inspiration would be to copy the works of the great Swiss watchmakers. Christopher Ward, perhaps because its founders came from other industries, searched for influences elsewhere, notably in classic British design and the rounded, rolling landscape of Worcestershire, home to composer Edward Elgar. With the help of London design agency The One Off, two watch designs started to formulate: a quartz chronograph that would become the Malvern C3, and a simpler timepiece with a rounded date window – this was to be the C5 Malvern Automatic. By the time the samples came through in early 2005, Mike, Peter and Chris could see their work was paying off. The name came from those rolling hills of Worcestershire, the Malverns. “We spent literally thousands of hours designing the C5 Malvern Automatic Mark I,” says Mike of the trio’s time in a Soho design studio surrounded by countless mood boards. “It was our first watch and we knew it would set the benchmark for everything that followed.” When the first samples came through in February 2005, the C5 Malvern Automatic Mark I was even better than they had hoped for. Measuring 38mm across, the watch was powered by an ETA 2824-2 movement, and had a power reserve of 38 hours. The fact that it boasted an ‘exhibition back’, which showed off the beauty of the movement, proved that Christopher Ward paid attention to detail. All this for just £199. No wonder watch lovers from around the world scrambled to get one. Today, the C5 Malvern Automatic’s spirit lives on as a 39mm Mark II version and while this is also an exceptionally beautiful watch, it’s the original that will always have a special place in the hearts of Christopher Ward customers and founders alike. As Mike France says: “That this watch still looks fresh today says, I think, that we did a pretty good job.” There’s no arguing with that.
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CW | STORY T E L L E R
The great American storyteller As a beautiful new book comes out marking Martin Scorsese’s 50-year career, Empire’s Assistant Editor Ian Freer pays tribute to one of the world’s greatest film directors
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Photos: Jo Paterson
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rom 1963’s What’s a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? to 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street, Martin Scorsese’s cinema has been consistently bold, intelligent and uncompromising for 50 years. The subject of a new book, Scorsese: A Retrospective, by film critic Tom Shone, Scorsese has made films about wiseguys (Mean Streets, Goodfellas, Casino) and wise men (Jesus Christ in The Last Temptation of Christ, the Dalai Lama in Kundun). His rogues’ gallery of heroes have included psychotic cabbies (Taxi Driver), heavyweight boxers (Raging Bull) failed stand-ups (The King of Comedy), haunted ambulance drivers (Bringing Out the Dead), megalomaniac millionaires (The Aviator) and deluded FBI agents (Shutter Island). He’s made a sequel (The Color of Money), two remakes (Cape Fear, The Departed, for which he won a long overdue Oscar in 2007), a period drama (The Age of Innocence) and a kid’s flick (Hugo) but whatever the subject matter, he manages to make it personal and distinctive. Not all Scorsese’s films have worked but his failures are more interesting than most Hollywood’s successes. His films have been magnets for controversy. Taxi Driver was cited as a key influence on John Hinckley in the assassination attempt on President Reagan in 1981. The Last Temptation of Christ raised the ire of Christian groups for its depiction of the human side of the Messiah – in a Parisian cinema, 13 people were injured after incendiaries were thrown at the screen by protesters. His gangster classics and the recent The Wolf of Wall Street have been attacked for making the reprehensible feel glamorous. In reality, he is just being honest. ➸
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this page: Scorsese briefs De Niro and Keitel on the set of Mean Streets
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CW | STORY T E L L E R
Great Scorsese moments
“You talkin’ to me?” Taxi Driver, 1976 Crazed cabbie Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) challenges invisible enemies in the mirror, rehearsing his quick draw with a spring-loaded holster. The script just indicated that Travis mumbled to himself. It was De Niro who came up with the now classic “You talkin’ to me?” line.
© National Maritime Museum, London
Taken individually, his 26 features have explored notions of machismo, disenfranchised mindsets, the difficulty of retaining religious ideals in the real world and most famously, the allure of crime with profane passion – Goodfellas averages an f-bomb every 28 seconds – and unflinching candour. Taken as a whole, his body of work represents a compelling cogent portrait of America in general and New York in particular, a spiritually moribund world in thrall of the good life but just a hair’s breadth away from pushing the button marked annihilation. However you define it, the four-word phrase ‘A Martin Scorsese Picture’ that opens his films are as exciting as movies get. Born in 1942 to Italian immigrants Charles and Catherine Scorsese (they pop up regularly in his films), raised in a tenement block in New York’s Little Italy, Martin Scorsese was beset by asthma as a child and took refuge in the cinema, devouring films on TV – early favourites included The Thief of Baghdad, The Red Shoes and El Cid – and drawing storyboards for imagined Roman epics bearing the logo ‘MARSCO productions’. He entered the seminary with every intention of becoming a priest but dropped out to study cinema at New York University, turning out award-winning short films and staying on to become an instructor (he taught Oliver Stone). During his first tenure, he directed his feature debut, Who’s That Knocking at My Door, a rough-hewn but engaging portrait of a young Italian-American man played by a baby-faced Harvey Keitel. Semi-autobiographical, it only got released after ➸
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“My whole life has been movies and religion,” Scorsese once said. “That’s it. Nothing else”
left: Robert DeNiro’s Travis Bickle takes Martin Scorsese for a ride in Taxi Driver this page: The director with Leonardo DiCaprio on the set of The Aviator
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CW | T IME MAKE R
this page: Robert De Niro as Jake La Motta in Raging Bull. Famously, De Niro had to gain 60lbs in order to portray the boxer in his later years
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Š PA Photos Limited
Scorsese
S T O RYT E LL ER | CW
He likes a big use of sound: the punches in Raging Bull are actually smashed melons Scorsese inserted a completely irrelevant softcore fantasy sex scene in the middle to satisfy a Dutch financier. He wouldn’t do that these days. Who’s That Knocking… established much of the filmmaking personality and tics that have pervaded Scorsese’s work ever since. As a filmmaker, he likes a restless moving camera, bravura editing strategies, an eclectic soundtrack ranging from bubblegum pop to opera and a big use of sound (the punches in Raging Bull are actually smashed melons). As an actor’s director, he has guided 22 performers to Oscar nominations, earning five wins. His seven-film collaboration with Robert De Niro is the stuff of movie legend. Meeting at a Christmas party in the late ’60s, Scorsese gave the actor full reign to experiment and immerse himself in his characters. De Niro spent nights driving a cab for Taxi Driver (he wouldn’t go as far as a mohawk for the film’s climax, look closely and De Niro is sporting a bald cap), learning to play sax for New York, New York, famously gaining 60lbs to play Jake La Motta for Raging Bull and phoning Henry Hill eight times a day on Goodfellas to check details such as how his character would hold a cigarette. In later years, Scorsese has formed an equally fruitful, if less obsessive, five-film partnership with Leonardo DiCaprio. If De Niro and DiCaprio’s characters embody one theme it is self-destruction. It is an impulse Scorsese understands deeply. After Taxi Driver scooped the Cannes Palme D’Or, Scorsese was anointed as a key figure in the emerging New Hollywood, joining George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Francis Coppola as the so-called ‘movie brats’ ready to take over the movie business. At the peak of his success, the director drifted heavily into drugs and stayed there for two years snorting mostly cocaine (he took Quaaludes and booze to come down from the coke) and cheating on his wife with Liza Minnelli. “It was a matter of pushing the envelope, of being bad, seeing how much you can do,” he later said. Yet like everything in his life, these wayward years have been spun into cinematic gold. The heady times of Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street Great Scorsese moments
“Funny how?”
Goodfellas, 1990 Mobster Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) busts the balls of up-andcoming wiseguy Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) by taking umbrage at being called “funny” (“What? Funny how?”). Only Pesci and Liotta knew what was happening to garner genuine reactions around the table.
or the drug-fuelled paranoia of Henry Hill in Goodfellas wouldn’t have had the same snap, crackle and pop — not to mention lack of moral judgment — if Scorsese hadn’t lived it first. “My whole life has been movies and religion,” Scorsese once said. “That’s it. Nothing else.” He will bring these twin poles together for his next film, Silence, due in 2015. The movie is based on the novel by Shusaku Endo, and concerns undercover Jesuit priests trying to spread the gospel of Christianity in 17th century Japan. If he is a lapsed Catholic, Scorsese’s love of cinema has never waned. Throughout his career he has been a tireless campaigner for film preservation, bridging the gap between cinema’s past and future. Great Scorsese moments
Driving under the influence
The Wolf of Wall Street, 2013 Under the influence of Lemmon Quaaludes, hedonistic stockbroker Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio), completely unable to control his body movements, crawls out of a country club and somehow manages to drive his white Ferrari home safely – or so he thinks.
This two-way street manifests itself in the amount of cinematic allusions Scorsese puts into his films – his inspirations run from British iconoclasts Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, European revolutions like Italian Neo-Realism and the French New Wave and American masters like John Ford – but also his influence on the filmmakers who have followed; from film directors as diverse as Spike Lee, Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino and Judd Apatow to TV shows such as The Sopranos and Breaking Bad. Yet his work is not just for the moment, it is for the ages. In 2114, if anthropologists want to know what American life – especially Italian-American life – was like in the late 20th/ early 21st century, they could do worse than study Scorsese’s back catalogue. His creativity might have been shaped by Hollywood fictions but in the end, Martin Scorsese can’t do anything but tell the truth. Scorsese: A Retrospective by Tom Shone is published by Thames & Hudson at £29.95 on 6 October 2014 orderline +44 1628 763040 33
C70 3527 GT C70 3527 GT CHRONOMETER - LIMITED EDITION
The C70 3527 GT – named from the chassis number of the seventh Ferrari 250 GTO to leave the Maranello gates and from which it has a precious fragment of body panel in the case back– is a limited edition of 100. E x c l u sivel y availa b le a t
christopherward.co.uk
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Four minutes, thirtythree seconds Woodstock, New York State, 1952 On August 29 1952 at the Maverick concert hall in Woodstock, New York State, pianist David Tudor opened the lid of a piano and sat silently for 30 seconds, before closing it again. His hushed audience had witnessed the first movement of the premiere of John Cage’s conceptual composition, 4’33’’. pronounced ‘four minutes, thirty-three seconds’ and erroneously known as the ‘silent piece’, 4’33’’ is recognised as one of the most significant compositions of the 20th century, though it was initially greeted with a mixture of shock and bafflement. As cage said, “people began whispering to one another, and some people began to walk out. they didn’t laugh, they were just irritated when they realised nothing was going to happen, and they haven’t forgotten it 30 years later: they’re still angry.” the composer, who had studied with the profoundly influential Arnold schoenberg, created beautiful compositions which encompassed chance music, the non-standard use of instruments and experimental electronic pieces. In new york he had mixed with important artists such as piet Mondrian, André breton, jackson pollock and Marcel Duchamp and by the time of 4’33’’ he was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant garde. but in all his compositions, cage’s intention was never to shock but simply to make people listen. In 1951, he visited an anechoic chamber – a room acoustically engineered so that sound is almost completely absorbed rather than reflected – a ‘silent’ space. but he wrote later, “I heard two sounds, one high and one low. when I described them to a sound engineer, he informed me that the high one was my nervous system in operation, the low one my blood in circulation.” In a situation where he expected total silence, cage had not only heard sound but became aware of the impossibility of experiencing true silence. this realisation would lead to the disconcerting and bemusing premiere performance at the Maverick concert hall where David tudor opened the piano lid for the final time to mark the beginning of the third movement. one-minute-and-40 seconds later the piece was over but its impact on music is still being felt 22 years after cage’s death in 1992. In his words, “there is no such thing as an empty space or an empty time. there is always something to see, something to hear. In fact, try as we may to make a silence, we cannot.”
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supporteD by the chrIstopher wArD chAllenger progrAMMe, olyMpIc bronZe MeDAllIst WILL SATCH tells us whAt It tAKes to wIn bIg In the boAt
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he Christopher Ward Challenger series was set up to help aspiring young athletes achieve their goals in the highest levels of sporting competition. Rower Will Satch is the latest addition to the series. After bagging bronze in the Olympic pairs event at London 2012 with partner George Nash, he’s now working towards a gold medal in Rio 2016 as the ‘stroke’ in Team GB’s eight-man boat. Here, Will, now the proud owner of a C8 Regulator, tells us about his strict training regime, why he’s gone to a larger boat and how he coped with the comedown from Olympic triumph.
Hi Will. You and George Nash went from Olympic no-hopers to bronze medallists. How did that feel?
To be in an Olympic Games event paired with George, one of my best mates, was just unreal. There were 40,000 people screaming for Team GB at Eton Dorney that day. Normally, rowing is quite a small world – it’s basically my mum and the dog that turns up! 36 orderline +44 1628 763040
You had some post-Olympic blues…
Leading up to 2012 I had a major hip injury and ended up getting three cortisone injections to calm it down. I don’t know how the doctors did it but two days after the final, I was back in absolute agony. Then it was time to get a major operation followed by a long rehab period and special training programmes. Coming off that Olympic high, I was really down but the op was a success and, despite some discomfort, I’m training really well on it. Does being a medal-winner add to the pressure when you perform now?
Coming back as World Champion and Olympic medallist, you’re on a pedestal, but I usually perform better under pressure. The difference between a good athlete and a great athlete is that they could be woken up in the middle of the night and still perform. That’s what I try and do. Describe a typical training day as part of Team GB…
The BOA training programme takes up your whole life. I’ll be down there from 7am
to 4pm every day, with at least three hours on the river. After breakfast, it’s weights in the gym, then 20km on the water. After lunch, we finish with another 16km on the water. I train every day, it’s relentless. How are you approaching Rio 2016?
My aim is to get Olympic gold and nothing’s going to stop me. For me, it’s about being in quite a relaxed state. Normal rowers will eat, sleep, train, eat, sleep, train, eat, sleep, train. Whereas I’m a little bit more social. My release is to meet up with my friends, relax and do my own thing. I actually switch off from everything. What about other competitions?
Obviously, Rio’s the goal but I’m setting small targets along the way. I won at the World Championships in Korea last year (as part of the eight-man boat), which was great but my expectation is to try and become the World Champion every year. If I can do that then I’ll be in a good shape for Rio. You’re the ‘stroke’ in the men’s eight – how are you enjoying being in a bigger boat? ➸
HI S T O RY Makers | CW
“Normal rowers will eat, sleep, train, eat, sleep, train, eat, sleep, train. Whereas I’m a little bit more social – I see my friends” orderline 0844 875 1515
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CW | CH AL L E NGE R SERI ES
Swiss movement, English heart
C65 TRIDENT CLA SSIC
Swiss made / Sellita SW200-1 self-winding movement / 38 hour power reserve / 5 year movment guarantee / Marine-grade stainless steel case, crown and adjustable bracelet / SuperLuminova™ indexes and hands / 4mm anti-reflective sapphire crystal / Signature “Trident” motif deep-stamped into back-plate E x c l u sivel y availa b le a t 38 orderline 0844 875 1515
christopherward.co.uk
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You sit through hell all the way through the winter but then in spring and summer there are days you’re charging up a river, side by side, battling with another international crew, and it just comes right. It’s not effortless but the pain is taken away when you’re up and winning. It’s that feeling of, I guess, winning. And I like it. Interview by John Matheson
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What makes all that effort worthwhile?
“You’re there because you want to be there and you’re training because you want to win”
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As soon as it gets to race day, it’s all about just doing your own thing. That almost smooths everything out because it’s a power-endurance sport. There are all these funny dynamics that come into it but the best state to be in is a little bit angry but also quite happy. You’re there because you want to be there and you’re just training because you want to win. It’s not for anyone else; it’s almost quite selfish.
When we get to racing I don’t like looking at any of stats at all – it would sit in my mind and I’d overthink things. I just go out and race and that’s how I get the best performance. Whereas you get other people – like George – who likes data. Maybe that why he and I work so well as a crew. He loves data!
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What’s your mindset on race day?
In the role of stroke, are your tactics set out pre-race?
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Although I’d love to do the pairs, Team GB Chief Coach (Jürgen Grobler) wants me as stroke in the men’s eight, while George is in the four-boat, which is a little frustrating for me. Jürgen believes that that’s the best way forward and he’s usually right. He’s coached gold medal winners at the last six games so I think we can trust his judgement!
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CW | PE RFE CT VC10
VC10
The perfect
The Vickers VC10 was the aeroplane that defined the ‘jet age’ of the 1960s, and took the reputation of British engineering into the stratosphere, as Nick Stroud describes
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ith its sleek, swept-back wings, elegant fuselage and distinctive tail section (incorporating futuristic engine pods), it’s easy to see why the Vickers VC10 airliner was an icon of post-war British design. Even today, the imposing T-tail is enough to stir the hearts of men of a certain age. The VC10 was fast, rugged and had spectacular take-off and landing performance. Perhaps most important of all though, it had oodles of style. For the 1960s jet set, it was the only thing to be seen in when travelling to the next yacht party. Developed from a proposed enlarged civil variant of the Vickers Valiant jet bomber, the VC10 was designed to an exacting specification set out in the mid-1950s by the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), which required an aircraft able to carry a 35,000lb (15,875kg) payload over more than
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3,000 miles (4,830km) at speeds of up to Mach 0·8, plus have exceptional short-field performance. Many of the airports the new type would be visiting would be hot and humid, which compromised take-off performance, or at high altitude, where the thinner air would mean longer take-off runs. Some would be all three. As a result, the VC10 was designed around a beautifully clean wing, which was optimised to combine high subsonic cruising speeds with the best possible long-range cruising economy. Mounting four Rolls-Royce Conway turbofan engines in pods at the rear of the fuselage also left the wing free of drag-inducing engine nacelles and allowed the fitting of lift-enhancing devices which could run the full span of the wing, giving the aircraft superb take-off and landing performance. The fact that it also substantially reduced engine noise in the passenger cabin was a welcome by-product.
HI S T O RY Makers | CW
Photo: The Aviation Historian Archive
Maiden voyage
By the summer of 1962 the prototype VC10 was ready to make its first flight, test pilot Jock Bryce making a short hop from the tiny runway at Brooklands to the Vickers test airfield at Wisley on June 29. An extensive test programme followed and on April 22, 1964, the type received its Certificate of Airworthiness. BOAC’s first VC10 began commercial operations one week later with a flight to Lagos, Nigeria. Other long-haul sectors to East Africa, South Africa, the Middle East and the Far East were opened with VC10s over the next six months. By the autumn of 1964 eight VC10s were in BOAC’s service, while ➸
With its wing-mounted airbrakes fully extended and trailing vortices from the wingtips, the ninth production Super VC10 displays its elegant planform in early 1966. In BOAC service the type quickly established itself as an icon of Britain’s Swinging Sixties.
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CW | PE RFE CT VC10
left: The interior of the standard VC10 — not only more stylish, the VC10 was also quieter than its rivals, owing to its rear-mounted Rolls-Royce turbojet engines. below: The aeroplane was heavily advertised by airlines looking to capitalise on its reputation
Vickers had built and flown a ‘stretched’ version – the Super VC10 – in May that year. The new model could accommodate 163 economy-class passengers and was put to work on North Atlantic services to the USA and other long-haul routes. Not only was the comfortable and fast new airliner popular with its passengers; it also found favour with the (largely non-flying) general public, who admired the VC10’s futuristic lines, emphasised by BOAC’s stylish dark blue, white and grey colour scheme, the tail sporting two white lines, a union flag and the corporation’s tasteful ‘speedbird’ logo. Along with its American rival, the Boeing 707, the VC10 was the epitome of the ‘jet age’, the quieter (in the cabin at least) and more comfortable VC10 being the preferred choice of the seasoned jet-setter. Although the VC10 had been designed specifically with BOAC in mind, other airlines were quick to realise its value. The plane’s considerable passenger appeal allowed its operators to fill their aircraft on routes on which 707s frequently flew half-full, and its higher cruising speed – a small but important 40–50kt (75–93km/h) — meant that it spent less time in the air, thus making it more economical. It could also be turned around quickly with minimal ground support, which helped to make the VC10’s operating costsper-flying-hour significantly lower than those of its American competitor. In September 1964, British United Airways became the second civil customer for the VC10, its examples being fitted with a large cargo door in the port forward fuselage. Ghana Airways took delivery of two standard VC10s a year later, and operated them on a service 42 orderline +44 1628 763040
that lasted 15 years. Other standard VC10 operators included Nigeria Airways, Middle East Airlines, Air Malawi, Air Ceylon, Air Mauritius and Gulf Air. Super VC10 services for BOAC began in April 1965, the stretched version covering long-haul routes to North and South America, the Caribbean and, eventually, Australia via New York, Los Angeles, Honolulu and Fiji. Within four years BOAC had 17 Super VC10s giving good financial returns. The only other civil Super VC10 operator was East African Airways, which acquired three ‘convertibles’ capable of operating mixed passenger/cargo services. Into uniform
In the early 1960s the Royal Air Force realised that it would soon be in need of a fast, long-range aircraft capable of operating to and from its most remote and primitive airfields all over the world. With its exceptional short-field performance and ability to operate in ‘hot and high’ conditions, the VC10 offered the perfect replacement for the Bristol Britannia turboprop then in service. Five standard VC10s were ordered for the RAF in 1961, an order for another six following in 1962. In addition, three Super VC10s reserved for BOAC were modified and transferred to the RAF in 1964, making a total of 14 examples, which were designated as VC10 C Mk 1s. After service testing, the C Mk 1 entered service with the RAF’s No 10 Sqn in July 1966, the type making its first long-haul overseas trip, to Hong Kong, that August. The C Mk 1s were later refitted as dual-role transport/tanker aircraft and redesignated as C.1Ks, and other former airline- standard and Super
P E R F E C T VC10 | CW
VC10s were acquired by the RAF and reconfigured as dedicated tankers. The VC10 fleet provided sterling service for the RAF for more than 47 years, during which it participated in numerous exercises and all of the UK’s major overseas deployments, including the Falklands conflict, Gulf wars and operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was finally retired from RAF service in September 2013, to be replaced by the European-built Airbus A330 Voyager. The end of an era
Photo: The Aviation Historian Archive
With the introduction of new wide-body airliners in the 1970s, the VC10 was gradually withdrawn from service, although it continued to serve until 1981, when British Airways (as BOAC had become) retired its examples. One civilian VC10, the Sultan of Oman’s personal aircraft, continued to fly until 1987, when it was donated to Brooklands Museum, the site of its original construction, sitting alongside the fuselage of a former BOAC standard VC10. Another former BOAC standard VC10 is on display in Hermeskeil, Germany, and former BOAC Super VC10 G-ASGC battles the elements on outside display at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford. The retirement of the RAF’s VC10s in September 2013 has released more VC10s on to the preservation scene and five are under restoration at various locations in the UK with a view to future display. The VC10 was an elegant symbol of British design during the golden years of aviation, and flew the flag for British innovation and excellence. It was chic and yet utterly functional; an object of beauty that was at the same time supremely utilitarian. It was safe, too – more VC10s were lost to terrorist action on the ground
The VC10’s superb short-field performance and dependable ruggedness made it an obvious choice for the RAF, which used the type in both the transport and aerial refuelling roles for nearly 50 years. Here a trio of No 1 Sqn BAe Harrier GR.5s top up from a VC10 C.1K. BAe via The Aviation Historian Archive
than in air accidents – and popular with pilots and passengers alike. It may not have been built in as great numbers as the 707, but the VC10 had something Boeing’s ubiquitous workhorse lacked; the ability to turn heads wherever it went – pure star quality! Nick Stroud is the Editor of The Aviation Historian magazine, www.theaviationhistorian.com
The crew of a Super VC10 guide the graceful airliner in to land. The type was popular with its pilots, being fast and economical. Super VC10 G-ASGC, now on display at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, still holds the record for the fastest transatlantic flight by a subsonic airliner, flying from New York to Prestwick in Scotland in just over five hours in March 1979
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“When I started out – I’m 48 this year – back before computers, I used to sketch in pen and ink. I often start thinking of watch design this way now but this quickly moves to CAD on my Apple Mac as precision is rather important in watch design!”
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Watch design | CW
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CW design studio -------------------Behind the scenes at the
While Christopher Ward timepieces boast the best Swiss movements, the actual watches are designed at the studio in No 1 Park Street, Maidenhead. CW’s Senior Designer is Fraser Palfreyman, a 48-year-old Mancunian, who’s helped create classics like the C900 Single Pusher and the new C9 Harrison 5-Day Automatic since he joined the company in 2006. Alongside Chris Ward and Mike France, he’s responsible for how CW watches look…
H
ere, Fraser, Mike and Chris take us through the process of designing a Christopher Ward watch, from the initial idea to the finished product.
Hi gentlemen. How does the watchmaking process start?
Mike France: “It mainly begins with NPD [new product development] brainstorms, using a combination of market analysis, current collection performance, gap analysis and idea brainstorming. Nothing is a bad idea at this time. We want watches with a narrative, a story to tell, before we even think about how they’ll look. “A good way to illustrate this process would be to run through how the C70 Motorsport Series came about. We wanted to develop the motorsport aspect of the brand and had identified the early era of Grand Prix racing as the most interesting. The first GPs held at places like Brooklands and Indianapolis captured the spirit of the era perfectly, as did the car-number decals which were incorporated into the design.”
“Nothing is a bad idea at this time. We want watches with a narrative, a story to tell, before we even think about how they’ll look” Mike France And the tiniest details make all the difference…
Fraser Palfreyman: “Yes. Take the latest C70 series watch which pays homage to the Jaguar D-Type. A layer of the dial represents a perfectly scaled interpretation of the 1957 Le Mans-winning car’s black , while the chronograph eyes accurately reproduce the dashboard dials. It’s often painstaking but this level of attention to detail has to be part of a watch designer’s DNA.” Are you using computers at this stage?
“FP: When I started out – I’m 48 this year – back before computers, I used to sketch in pen and ink. I often start thinking of watch design this way now but this quickly moves to CAD on my Apple Mac as precision is rather important in watch design!” ➸ orderline +44 1628 763040 45
CW | Watch desi gn
Swiss movement, English heart
There’s an incredible buzz. We get a handful of samples, the guys wear them and get a feel for them. Then we press go and everything falls into place.� C1000 TYPHOON FGR4 Made in Switzerland / Self-winding chronograph with customised ETA Valjoux 7750 chronograph with hour and minute bi-compax sub-dials / 42 hour power reserve / 42mm, high-tech ceramic case with titanium sub-frame / AR08 coated, museum grade, sapphire crystal / Delta and canard wing shaped stop-second hand / Deep-etched case-back engraving / Military style, high density webbing and leather strap with Bader deployment
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Watch design | CW
“It depends. If it’s a new case, Fraser’s 2D designs are converted into precise 3D technical drawings and we print a 3D sample of the case so we can properly appreciate every nuance, including how the case looks and feels, on a wrist” Christopher Ward Next thing?
Christopher Ward: “It depends. If it’s a new case, Fraser’s 2D designs are converted into precise 3D technical drawings and we print a 3D sample of the case so we can properly appreciate every nuance, including how the case looks and feels, on a wrist. “Usually, amendments will be required so there’ll be at least another iteration. If it’s a new dial design, Fraser’s 2D drawings are often good enough to be turned into a technical specification by our team in Switzerland which the manufacturers will use to produce detailed first samples. Again, these will often go back and forth, and new samples are produced, until we’re all happy that the design is as good as we can make it.” FP: “We then receive pre-production samples which are worn for a time before the design is signed off and production can commence. Sometimes, a small detail is discovered during this wear-test period that requires amendment. Production is delayed (groan) but I’m proud to work for a brand that doesn’t compromise on quality... and design excellence is an important part of quality. And when the final production watches come back?
FP: “There’s an incredible buzz. To see something that may have started as nothing more than an idea up to 18 months earlier finally come to life is a fantastic feeling, a little like scoring a goal for Manchester United – which I do regularly – in my dreams! So, what are your favourite Christopher Ward creations so far?
FP: “The C900 Single Pusher, which I love. It has a beautifully spare design, which is not always easy to achieve. This, in turn, gave rise to our new Harrison Collection design. I’ve also got a fondness for the original GP series, which I talked about earlier, and the C8 Pilot has a classic design which appeals greatly to me.
“In my view, too many watch designs today put form before function and forget that the first job of a watch is to enable the wearer to tell the time. We always try to put function before form at CW...” Mike France
Fraser, are you influenced by other watches?
FP: “Of course! I’m always interested to see the work of other designers and it’s impossible not to be influenced to some extent, but as a rule we try not to take too much on board from other brands. “There has to be an element of going where the market demands, but I have an enthusiasm for design generally so I’m forever looking at architecture or technology for inspiration. It’s knowing which elements will work and which won’t – and I won’t design something I wouldn’t wear.”
Ultimately, what defines the Christopher Ward look to you?
MF:“In my view, too many watch designs today put form before function and forget that the first job of a watch is to enable the wearer to tell the time. We always try to put function before form at CW and the form that works best for us often has a pared-down, very English look. It started with the Malverns 10 years ago and the thread can be clearly seen in our latest designs, including the C9 Harrison 5 Day Automatic. christopherward.co.uk 47
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CW | Watch Design
18 seconds
San Diego, 2005 Some revolutions start with a gunshot. Others begin with the ransacking of a prison or the unseen exit of a ruling family. An 18-second video of an awkward young man talking, well, awkwardly, about elephants isn’t exactly the storming of the Bastille. Yet, My Trip to the Zoo, recorded at San Diego Zoo on April 23, 2005 has changed the way we consume and create media in
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a way that no one would have thought possible even 15 years ago. Because, this short ‘film’, in which Jawed Karim talks into the camera of Yakov Lipitsky, is the first ever Youtube video. All those cat flicks, biting babies and annoying ‘You can skip this ad in five seconds’ trailers begin here. Karim, along with fellow ex-Pay Pal employees Chad hurley and Steve Chen, started Youtube in February 2005, frustrated by their unsuccessful attempts to find and share video content. receiving $11.5m in investment money, the start-up site soon grew to the extent, that by late 2006, over 65,000 videos were being uploaded per day. No wonder google acquired it for $1.65bn in company stock in october 2006. in the intervening years, the rise of the smartphone has led to an explosion in both viewers and creators. it has diverted us on quiet days in the office, shocked us with people’s apparent stupidity and more importantly, launched the careers of the thousands who now use the site as their main outlet of creativity. twenty years ago, if you wanted to make it in tV or film, you’d have to spend years begging the right people for a break. Now you just upload a video. today, Youtube gets over one billion unique users per month, with 100 hours of content uploaded every minute – no wonder, among 18-34-year-olds in the US, it’s watched more than any cable tV channel. it scares totalitarian governments and inspires the people who live under them. it is a social revolution on the scale of the printing press or the invention of television. And it started with one young man telling us about elephants in a California zoo.
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