AUTUMN WINTER 2013
HIGH-TECH HIGH FLYER THE NEW C1000 TYPHOON TOUCHES DOWN
PRECIOUS
METAL NEW CHRONOMETER HOLDS A PIECE OF MOTORSPORT HISTORY
THE CRESTA RUN ENGLISH ECCENTRICITY STARTS A LEGEND
Worldtimer C900
CHRISTOPHER WARD CREATES A SYNCHRONISED WORLD-BEATER
WE BACK A MODERN TAJIKISTAN ADVENTURE...
Swiss movement, English heart
C8 REGULATOR - £995
Made in Switzerland / Modified, hand-wound, Unitas 6498 mechanical regulator movement visible through full diameter crystal case-back / Côte de Genève movement finish / Central continuous minute hand with 12 hour and 60 seconds bi-compax sub-dials / 44mm, satin-brushed, 316L stainless steel case/ Anti-reflective sapphire crystal / SuperLuminova™ “Old Radium” indexes and hands / Vintage leather strap with Bader deployment / Also available with PVD black case E X C L U S I V E LY A V A I L A B L E AT
christopherward.co.uk
L O N D O N
CONTENTS
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L O N D O N C H R I S T O P H E R W A R D M A G A Z I N E A U T U M N W I N T E R 2 013
REGULARS 2 CWorld news
FEATURES
The latest updates and new models for autumn winter 2013 are presented, along with the latest news from the Christopher Ward community.
10 Bader buckle A patent is pending on the superb new deployment clasp from CW’s Jörg Bader. We are using it first...
18 Timespan We celebrate the 1971 Monza GP, the closest finish in F1 history, when 0.61 seconds split five cars.
35 Timespan
6 Delta wing dynamics
12 Fast and bonnie
17 New faces
A fine ceramic case – a first for CW – and a titanium frame are among the impressive hi-tech features of the C1000 Typhoon, the new aviation model.
Speedy and beautiful, the classic yachts designed by William Fife of Ayrshire are sought-after treasures for the sailing cognoscenti.
Best-sellers from the CW women's collection have been given appealing new looks this season.
In just 1:57 minutes, a young trucker from Memphis changed the world with his first disc.
48 Time in mind Prof John Wearden examines our mental chronograph, the human brain’s ability to measure time.
20 C900 Worldtimer
24 Beauty of danger
30 Still life
Johannes Jahnker’s third complication for CW has produced an amazing 24-time zone watch that sets a new standard for the entire industry.
To fly down an icy chute at 80mph, thrill-seekers head for the legendary Cresta Run in St Moritz every winter – and it was all a crazy British idea.
We get under the skin of how artist Polly Morgan has helped make the art of taxidermy come alive once again with her extraordinary work.
L O N D O N
Christopher Ward (London) Limited, 1 Park Street, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 1SL, United Kingdom chris@christopherward.co.uk Customer Services: wera@christopherward.co.uk Editor: Eric Musgrave www.ericmusgrave.co.uk. Design and art direction: ToyasO’Mara. Colour reprographics: JP Repro.
Front Cover: C900 Worldtimer - £1575
36 Piece of the action
44 Vintage postcards
46 Scaling Mount CW
CW’s latest motor racing chronometer contains a fragment of the most famous Aston Martin ever, the winner of the 1959 Le Mans 24-hour race.
Eminent artist Tom Phillip has amassed a collection of 50,000 picture postcards, which includes a unique gallery of real, but anonymous, people.
Five young British adventurers are on an ambitious adventure to climb an unknown peak in Tajikistan and name it Mount Christopher Ward.
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| NEWS
A U T U M N W I N T E R 2 013
THE C900 SINGLE PUSHER CHRONOGRAPH: WATCH OF THE YEAR? The exceptional C900 Single Pusher Chronograph has been shortlisted for the European Watch of the Year award from the prestigious and influential 00/24 WatchWorld magazine and website.
Last year the C9 Jumping Hour Mk 1 was runner up for this award and hopes are high that Johannes Jahnke’s superb movement modification for the C900 will win the highly prized top slot. Jahnke and Chris Ward personally explained the watch to the all-important jury of eight watch experts in London on June 26. Since it started in 2000, the 00/24 Watch of the Year contest has become a respected institution in the watch industry. The C900 is shortlisted in the category for watches costing up to £2500. The results will be will be revealed at a gala evening on 24th September.
CW SPREADS ITS WINGS TO USAF That was the verdict on Christopher Ward from its contact in the 56th Rescue Service Squadron of the US Air Force on delivery of a special C7 Mk1 to the American flyers. This is the first time CW has taken a special order from USAF personnel. Known officially as the 56th RQS, the squadron is based at RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, the largest USAF base in the UK. The 56th is a combat-ready search and rescue squadron of Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters (derived from the 2
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UH-60 Black Hawk), which are capable of executing all-weather missions day or night in hostile environments. The dial of the C7 Mk1 sports chronograph features a profile of the twin-engined chopper along
with the squadron’s crest displaying that iconic American figure, the Jolly Green Giant. An outline of the giant’s footprints appears on the backplate above the motto “That Others May Live”. The watch was supplied with steel bracelet and leather strap options. Personnel from the 56th RSQ learned of CW’s work with RAF squadrons while on joint manoeuvres and decided they would like their own watch too. Through a private arrangement with CW the process took over a year in total and the watch is available only to members of the 56th RQS and related USAF detachments.
NEWS | CW
MT. CHRISTOPHER WARD SUMMIT IN SIGHT? Six thousand miles east of Maidenhead, five young adventurers, led by Scotsman Struan Chisholm and proudly supported by Christopher Ward, are (hopefully) nearing the peak of a 17,000 foot high previously unclimbed mountain in the desolate Rog Valley of Tajikistan before placing the CW flag at the summit.
Last we heard (communication is understandably difficult and sporadic) they were about to establish second base camp on the first peak after overcoming the loss of Struan’s rucksack containing his passport and visas following a fall on a treacherous scree slope! We go to press with fingers crossed for a safe and successful adventure. More about Tajikistan 2013 on pages 46-47
ENGLISH WATCHES NEED SWISS HEARTS The resurgent domestic watch industry is making encouraging progress, but it is a long way from having an infrastructure that can support British-made mechanical watches, Chris Ward told an industry audience in London in July.
SMOOTH REGULATOR Watchmaking tradition is celebrated in the C8 Regulator, the latest and most intriguing addition to Christopher Ward’s Aviation series. Powered by a hand-wound Unitas 6498, this bold 44mm timekeeper has separate dials for hours, minutes and seconds, thereby ensuring greater accuracy.
Known originally as a regulateur, the device traditionally was used by watchmakers in clock form to help them regulate the precision of the watches they were making. The C8 emulates the purest regulateur, which has the second and hour dials positioned vertically above and below the minute hand axis in the middle, so that on the hour the minute and second hands point up and line up, and at midnight all three hands do so. The arrangement at midnight and midday reflects the fact that in the workshop the hour display was not of great importance, but the minute display was. Released for autumn 2013, the C8 Regulator is available in a brushed steel or black case and features SuperLuminova™ with a green emission on the numbers, 5-minute markers and the three hands. This echoes a later use for regulators for precise timing on night-time bombing missions. The dark brown vintage leather strap uses the new Bader Buckle (see pages 10 for the full story of this innovation). A crystal backplate allows a full view of the Unitas 6498. The C8 Regulator costs from £995.
Speaking at the inaugural London Watch Show, the co-founder of Christopher Ward applauded the advancements being made in the revival of British watchmaking, but stressed that his eponymous brand uses only the best components, including Swiss-made movements. In the UK, apart from a tiny number of handmade movements, there is no movement industry to speak of. Joining Chris in the panel discussion at the trade event, which was held at the historic Grand Freemasons Hall in the City of London, were Giles English from Bremont and Giles Ellis of Schofield. The revival of a UK watchmaking tradition has mirrored the rise of Christopher Ward, which was established as a company nine years ago and produced its first watch a year later. Planning is under way for its 10th anniversary next year.
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5-STAR RACING AT THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX Ron Symonds, the lucky winner of this spring’s Christopher Ward Ultimate Racing Prize draw and his wife Annette, were hosted by Chris Ward himself at a brilliant day out at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on June 30.
“THE RACING WAS EXCELLENT AND YOUR HOSPITALITY EQUALLY SO.”
They were able to watch all the action from the Brooklands Suite, which sits at the heart of the action in the centre of the circuit. From inside and on the private balcony, our motor sport fans could watch the field accelerate from the Village complex along the Wellington Straight before braking hard at Brooklands, directly in front of them. The cars then feathered the throttle though Luffield on their way to the National Pit Straight. On their VIP day Ron and Annette were wined and dined from breakfast to lunch and through the afternoon in fine style. Ron, who had entered the draw at the CW Motorsport Festival in March, said: Thanks Chris and Christopher Ward for the truly great day that Annette and I enjoyed with you at Silverstone for the F1 grand prix. The racing was excellent and your hospitality equally so.’ And he's still loving the watch too - of course!
THE GIFT OF TIME
READY. STEADY. ROSSO! Following the outstanding success of the now-sold-out C7 IRR this spring, CW is planning to launch, in early 2014, a chronometer version in Italian Racing Red in a limited edition of just 500 pieces.
The Ronda 3540.D calibre found in the original watch is to be replaced by the ETA 251.233, which is used for the C70 motorsport series, so the chronograph dial layout will be re-configured. The price is expected to be similar to other chronometers in the C70 series.
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Worrying about choosing the wrong Christopher Ward watch as a present will be a thing of the past from this autumn thanks to a selection of gift vouchers the company is introducing.
The printed vouchers, available in Sterling, US dollars and Euros, will be issued in various denominations and will be beautifully presented in the customary Christopher Ward style. If successful in this format, the company will add digital versions at a later date allowing delivery into the recipients inbox at a specifically chosen moment, e.g. Christmas morning or a minute past midnight on a birthday.
LIKE A HURRICANE…
SOLID GOLD, PRECISION ACTION
resting place 12 feet beneath one of central London’s busiest road junctions. Pieces of aluminium from this historic fighter will be included in a unique Christopher Ward watch, to be released in late 2014, which will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain in 2015. Ray Holmes died in June 2005, aged 90, but the memory of his selfless and quick-thinking act of gallantry will be lauded in this most desirable and special of aviation watches. CW also has worked with TMB ArtMetal for its latest chronometer, which includes a piece of a famous Aston Martin racer. See p36.
“FOR OUR FIRST USE OF GOLD, WE KNEW WE HAD TO GO WITH ROSE GOLD”
Rose gold, that pale pink precious metal, has replaced yellow gold as the CO-FOUNDER CHRIS WARD. colour of choice for many leading high-level watch THE brands. In its first use of 18ct solid gold, Christopher Ward SHRINKING INCREDIBLE has selected an appealing C60 TRIDENT PRO shade of rose gold thefor Christopher Ward, the first In anotherfor bezel of highly-acclaimed Trident Pro is to be slimmed down this C60 C9 Jumping Houra Mk 2. model. The highly popular 38mm spring into
“For our first use of solid has a 42mm case, but the range existing gold we knew weishad to go that some customers require aware company with rosea gold, co-foundertimepiece on their wrists. more” compact Chris Ward. has nowwill continue to feature the new models The“Rose become the dominant gold 2824-2 or Sellita SW200-1 automatic Eta colour inmovements. virtually all theIn keeping with the sleeker major markets, versions of the new W61 women’sthe profile,including UK.” At £1850, will the C9 have reduced-size straps. Jumping Hour Mk 2Prices will bestart at £xxx. available from September in a limited edition of only 250 pieces.
above; Sgt Ray Holmes’ Hawker Hurricane P2725 TM-B. far left; The German Dornier bomber (minus tail and outer wing sections) about to crash on the forecourt of Victoria railway station on the 25th September 1940. left; The intrepid excavation to recover the remains of P2725 TM-B from beneath the road gets underway in May 2004. below; A large section of its Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, here seen on display in the Imperial War Museum, London.
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Out of ammunition, he decided to hit the intruder for six and sliced through the bomber's rear fuselage with the wing of his Hawker Hurricane fighter, forcing it to crash onto the forecourt of Victoria railway station. Holmes bailed out of his crippled plane, which plummeted to earth on nearby Buckingham Palace Road. Buck House was safe and the British pilot’s heroic act is celebrated today as epitomising the resolve and heroic spirit of the Battle of Britain. In May 2004, Christopher Bennett of London-based TMB ArtMetal, under the cameras of Channel 5 for a live television programme, recovered the remains of Holmes’ Hurricane P2725 TM-B from its
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On 15th September 1940, RAF pilot Sgt Ray Holmes spotted a German Dornier bomber over London heading for Buckingham Palace.
BLUEBIRD UPDATE Bluebird Speed Records will offer a British-made electricpowered sports car next year as part of its celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of Donald Campbell holding the world speed records for land and for water simultaneously.
The sleek Bluebird DC50 (above) will be limited to just 50 models and each will be built precisely to the customer's specifications. The car, which will use the advanced electric drive train technology the team has developed over 16 years, will command a six-figure price. CW is the official timing partner to the Bluebird team, which is awaiting further news of a proposed “Formula E” race series for electric-powered cars. The model shown below right is the latest idea for a possible Bluebird entrant if the E series is confirmed. Next year will see the return of Bluebird to conventional racing as plans are underway to enter a Bluebird team in the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race. Orderline 0844 875 1515
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TYPHOON
TA DEL
G S N I C I M W A N Y D
HE N T AKES I IUM HT L ITAN WHIC LEVE T H , T W L I T E E W IGH OD HER N ED E M N W I T HT ON MB NO CO YPHO YET A HIS LIG S THE S I T A .T 00 TO MIC ENT ESSIVE RD RA G C10 M E A E R action, the Typhoon C V W IMP HIE ITIN ER is armed with air-to-air he sweeping delta EXC STOPH AL AC IS AS D IT. missiles, Mauser 27mm cannon RI wing configuration has IRE TCH NIC CH CH G WA T INSP and a 1000lb bomb. E created some T OF TRON R THA aircraft The current version of this twinmemorable and iconic E S HT – of which 53 engined master of the skies, the YET aeroplanes in recent times, such as FIG O R were for the RAF – Typhoon FGR4, has provided the Concorde and the Vulcan. In the EU
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last 10 years, the Eurofighter Typhoon, which was first delivered to the Royal Air Force in 2003, has maintained the triangular wing tradition in spectacular style. The canards or small wings mounted forward of the main wing give this remarkable multi-role fighter an even more distinctive silhouette. Now the RAF’s most advanced combat aircraft, the Typhoon is flown by 1 Squadron and 6 Squadron from RAF Leuchars in Fife and 3, 11, 17 and 29 Squadrons from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire. The two bases are the northern and southern centres of the RAF’s quick response capability. Typhoons are also on permanent ops in the Falklands. The Eurofighter has been a joint development by the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Spain. Initial agreement was made in 1988, but contracts for the first batch of 148 6
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was not signed until 10 years later. Deliveries to the RAF started in 2003 to enable detailed development and testing to be carried out. The first Typhoon Squadron at RAF Coningsby was formally activated on 1st July 2005. A second tranche of 67 Typhoons has been added since then. The early version of the plane, which is most often a single-seater, cost £64.8 million. The improved second generation models carry a price tag of £90m. For this, the RAF (and the above; A delighted German, Italian, Spanish airforces, plus Graham Furley receives C5 those his of Saudi and Oman) get a sleekBattle of Britain looking craft(70) that is just over 52ft long Automatic from (almost 16m) with a delta wingspan of Chris Ward, more than 36 accompanied by ft (just over 11m). Two Eurojet EJ200 Squadron Leader turbojets, the afterburners of which sit side by side at the Tara McLuskieCunningham rear of theand fighter, provide 20,000 lbs of Wing Commander thrust each to deliver a top speed of 1.8 Erica Ferguson, Mach (1370mph) at a maximum who form the RAF altitude of 55000ft (16764m). Ready for Heritage team
inspiration for the latest aviator’s watch from Christopher Ward. In keeping with the technical sophistication of the computer-controlled jet fighter, the C1000 Typhoon marks another technical advancement for the company, being the first of its watches to boast a ceramic outer case. In a further refinement, a titanium frame supporting the movement sits inside the ceramic. The protective carapace of ceramic is fitted around the inner case through intense pressure. Ceramics - versions of which have been used for heat shields on US space shuttles to protect them as they re-enter the earth's atmosphere – were first used for watches as long ago as the 1980s, but the latest ceramics are far more high-tech. The appeal of this advanced composite comes from its light weight, scratch-resistance, durability, smooth touch and deep opaque appearance, especially in the ➸
C1000 TYPHOON
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“EACH SEASON WE ARE PUSHING OURSELVES AND OUR WORKSHOP IN SWITZERLAND TO COME UP WITH INNOVATIVE ADVANCEMENTS TO ENHANCE THE PERFORMANCE AND APPEARANCE OF OUR WATCHES. CW CO-FOUNDER MIKE FRANCE.
The Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 has been the inspiration for the high-tech C1000 Typhoon, which is built around a titanium frame covered with an advanced ceramic case. A modified ETA Valjoux 7750 powers this striking black chronograph.
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above; C1000 Typhoon backplate has a full intricate rendition of the FGR4 seen in the form of an intricate 3-D raised coin effect. The plate is engraved with “Typhoon FGR4 Multi-Role Combat” and the RAF motto “Per Ardua Ad Astra” (“Through struggles to the stars”), which originated in the days of the Royal Flying Corps in 1912.
C70DBR1-COSC Special Edition
THIS NEW WATCH FROM CHRISTOPHER WARD IS SIMPLY MAGNIFICENT. THE DIAL IN BLUEBIRD BLUE IS BASED ON THE SPEEDOMETER FROM THE BLUEBIRD CAR THAT BROKE THE 300MPH BARRIER IN 1935. DON WALES, GRANDSON OF SIR MALCOLM CAMPBELL
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C1000 TYPHOON
matt black finish used for the C1000 Typhoon. Today’s ceramic is six or seven times tougher than steel; it is so tough that only a diamond can scratch it. “Each season we are pushing ourselves and our factory in Switzerland to come up with innovative advancements to enhance the performance and appearance of our watches.”says co-founder Mike France. ‘We used titanium for the first time this year in the case for our C11 Titanium Elite diver’s chronometer. To create a watch to do justice to the RAF’s Typhoon, one of the most sophisticated pieces of machinery ever built, we knew we had to stretch the boundaries of watch case construction beyond anything we had done previously. The high-tech ceramic case of the C1000, which is built around a highly sophisticated and yet extremely lightweight titanium ‘cage’, represents the pinnacle of our work in this arena to date. We believe in the C1000 we have a watch that not only honours the amazing Typhoon aircraft, but further confirms Christopher Ward as a watchmaker that continues to seek perfection through innovation and, moreover, achieves this at a price level that brings truly remarkable watches to a
wider audience than ever before.” A modified version of the revered ETA Valjoux 7750 movement has been used for the new chronograph. The backplate, crown and twin pushers are IPK black-coated titanium, supporting the predominant colour scheme of the watch which is also carried through to the rugged leatherbacked webbing strap and buckle. Details taken from the plane itself have enriched the appearance of the watch. The chrono eyes echo the twin circles of the jet’s after-burners. In one variation, the lower eye is modelled on the official low-visibility RAF roundel of baby blue and salmon pink. The white numerals are rendered in the font used on the Typhoon’s HUD (Head Up Display), part of its sophisticated Cockpit Information Unit (CIU). These and the sky blue indexes are luminous, looking very effective against the black dial. The shape of the titanium minute and hour hands are inspired by the hands on an aircraft’s dials, although the Typhoon itself has no dials, only LED displays. In a very neat touch, the counter balance of the second hand displays the unmistakeable silhouette of the Typhoon while its tip carries a canard delta reference.
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“WE BELIEVE IN THE C1000 WE HAVE A WATCH THAT NOT ONLY HONOURS THE AMAZING TYPHOON AIRCRAFT, BUT FURTHER CONFIRMS CHRISTOPHER WARD AS A WATCHMAKER THAT CONTINUES TO SEEK PERFECTION THROUGH INNOVATION” CW CO-FOUNDER MIKE FRANCE.
ter th is way On the detailed backplate a full rendition of the wonderful shape of the FGR4 is seen in the form of an intricate 3-D raised coin effect. In a high-precision stamping, the plane as seen from above sits in the centre of the case back and makes a smart contrast to the matt black ceramic case. The plate is engraved with “Typhoon FGR4 Multi-Role Combat” and the RAF motto “Per Ardua Ad Astra” (“Through struggles to the stars”), which originated in the days of the Royal Flying Corps in 1912. The spectacular C1000 Typhoon will appeal to anyone with an interest in aviation history and anyone who appreciates exceptionally high-quality chronographs. It is set to whip up a storm of interest among the Christopher Ward community.
C1000 TYPHOON FEATURES • Swiss Made • Customised self-winding automatic chronograph • Hour/Min chronograph function • 42 hour power reserve • Ceramic case with titanium sub-frame, titanium crown and pushers with PVD black finish • Anti-reflective sapphire crystal with museumgrade AR08 coating to both sides • After-burner detailing on dial and crown • Low visibility RAF roundel at 6 o’clock • Typhoon delta wing designed stop-second hand • SuperLuminova™ indexes and hands with blue emission • Highly detailed, raised coin Typhoon medallion on case back
• Individually engraved serial number • High density webbing and/or leather strap with titanium buckle or Bader deployment clasp in PVD Black Finish • Beautiful presentation case, owner’s handbook and microfibre cleaning cloth TECHNICAL • Diameter: 42mm • Calibre: ETA 7750 (modified) • Case: Ceramic and titanium • Water resistance: 5atm/50 metres • Strap: High density webbing /leather • Dial colour: Black
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BADER BUCKLE
JÖRG BADER HAS USED 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN WATCHMAKING TO DESIGN A BRAND-NEW DEPLOYMENT SYSTEM THAT MAY WELL REPLACE THE INDUSTRY STANDARD. CHRISTOPHER WARD WILL BE THE FIRST COMPANY TO USE THIS PATENTED INNOVATION.
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he ethos of Christopher Ward is to combine high quality components, technical innovation and excellent value for money in its watches. Central to its success has been the expert input of Jörg Bader, the leader of CW’s Swiss operation. For his latest development he has created a new deployment clasp - the Bader buckle - which is so clever that it is covered by a patent. The watch industry uses two buckles. The more expensive is the patented Dexel buckle, which was designed by Elio Granito almost 20 years ago. It is often used by high-end brands and adds
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upwards of £200 to the selling price. More commonly used – and the one that CW employs – is a “butterfly” clasp that was designed 30 years ago by Bader when he first started out in the watchmaking business. As it is not covered by a patent, and, as Jörg himself admits, offers a less elegant solution than the Dexel clasp, it is appreciably less expensive. Bader, with regular input from Christopher Ward, has been working for years to find an alternative to the Dexel that delivers the same benefits at a hugely lower cost. The Bader buckle is the long-awaited solution. “I have thought about doing something different with a buckle perhaps five times over the past 10 years, but each time I was producing something that was too complicated,” says Bader. “The beauty of the new design is its simplicity.” Compared to the ubiquitous butterfly clasp, his Bader buckle is simpler, less fiddly for sizing the leather
strap and it ensures that it is leather rather than steel the wearer feels against his or her skin. The butterfly buckle is formed of three parts linked by hinges. The Bader has only two hinged parts, so closing it is simpler. The clever part is that the mushroom-shaped pin, which has to be there anyway to size the strap correctly for the wearer, is also used as the anchor on which the clasp locks. This incredibly neat solution means the pointed end of the leather strap now rests on the inside of the deployment clasp negating the need for additional leather loops to tidy and hold the end in position. Like the Dexel, the Bader deployment is released by squeezing pushers on each side of the top plate. “We have taken as much care developing the Bader buckle as we would take modifying a movement,” says CW co-founder Mike France. “We are confident our customers – and our rivals – are going to be very impressed.”
THE BADER BUCKLE | CW
“WE HAVE TAKEN AS MUCH CARE DEVELOPING THE BADER BUCKLE AS WE WOULD TAKE MODIFYING A MOVEMENT,” CW CO-FOUNDER MIKE FRANCE.
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Clockwise from opposite page: 1. Precison-engineered 316L stainless steel is used for the Bader buckle. The new deployment system uses the elongated mushroom-shaped pin as the” anchor” for the top locking clasp. 2. Pushers at the side of the top clasp release the pin to permit the strap to be opened. 3. The locking pin is positioned at a hole on the strap to set the size on the wrist. CW is amending the thickness of its straps to suit the new mechanism. 4. The leather of the strap, not steel, touches the skin. The lower part of the clasp sits between the two straps. 5. The Bader deployment upper and lower bands are hinged in the middle.
“THE BEAUTY OF THE NEW DESIGN IS ITS SIMPLICITY”
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CW | SAIL OF THE CENTURY
Fastand
BONNIE
BEAUTIFUL TO LOOK AT AND EXHILARATING TO SAIL, THE ELEGANT CRAFT CREATED IN SCOTLAND BY WILLIAM FIFE ARE A YACHTSMAN’S DREAM COME TRUE. NEARLY 70 YEARS AFTER THEIR CREATOR’S DEATH, THEY ARE SOUGHTAFTER TREASURES FOR THE SAILING COGNOSCENTI.
ome of the most exquisite examples of the yacht-builder’s art came home again to the west coast of Scotland this summer. For eight days in June and July the Ayrshire coastal village of Fairlie was the centre of the Fife Regatta, a breathtaking gathering of around 20 vessels that were built or designed there by William Fife III, the Enzo Ferrari of the classic yachting world. The third generation of boat builders on the Firth of Clyde, Fife flourished from 1890 until his death in 1944. His period is now seen as a golden age of British yacht building, when wealthy adventurers like tea tycoon Sir Thomas Lipton could commission superb boats in which to challenge for the America’s Cup. Fife designed Shamrock I in 1899 and Shamrock III in 1903 for Lipton, but the US challenger won in both cases. From modest craft that can be sailed by three or four crew to huge yachts like the Cambria of 1928 that is more than 100 feet long with a 170-foot mast and requires 20 skilled yachtsmen to control her, Fife’s beachside yard produced as many as 15 vessels a year. Specialist yacht restorer Duncan Walker is such a fan that he named his business Fairlie Restorations – even though it is based about 450 miles south of Ayrshire in Southampton. “Fife was one of four great British yacht designers of the period, along with G L Watson and Alfred Milne, who were also Scottish, and Charles E Nicholson, who was English. But what makes Fife different is that as well as being a superb naval
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architect, he had an artist’s eye rather than just a technician’s eye. He wanted his boats to look beautiful. Fife boats were incredibly well built, with a level of craftsmanship that we can only marvel at today. And they sail bloody well too.” Fife’s yachts were made to the highest technical specifications of the day, with iron frames being covered in wood. Teak was used for leisure craft while lighter mahogany was preferred for the racing classes. Fife’s aim was to create yachts that were “fast and bonnie”. Although some sources suggest that as few as 100 Fife boats survive from the 600 he designed (most of which were built in the Fairlie yard), Walker believes there could be as many as 300. “I am putting my head on the line there, but there are quite a few small ones still around. The oldest we have worked on restoring dates from 1897 and the most recent from 1938. It’s an indication of how well they are made that there are so many.” The latest Fife to be found, in a barn last year, is Katydid from 1892. Another enthusiast who has fallen under the spell of the magical Fife yachts is marine artist and keen sailor Alastair Houston, who was raised in Ayrshire. He had never heard of the company until he was crewing on a yacht in the Mediterranean in 1989 and a ravishing classic wooden yacht pulled up alongside. He was astonished to be told it had been built a few miles from his home. That chance meeting led Houston to encourage Fife owners to have their own regatta of their maritime thoroughbreds
SAILTECHNICALLY OF THE CENTURY | CW ELITE | CW
above; The Fife Regatta 2008 Altair 1931 Schooner racing from Kames to Largs. The Fife Yachts are one of the world's most prestigious group of Classic yachts, the 'Stradivarius' of sail, from Scotland's preeminent yacht designer and builder, William Fife III.
‘WHAT MAKES FIFE DIFFERENT IS THAT AS WELL AS BEING A SUPERB NAVAL ARCHITECT, HE HAD AN ARTIST’S EYE RATHER THAN JUST A TECHNICIAN’S EYE. HE WANTED HIS BOATS TO LOOK BEAUTIFUL AND THEY SAIL BLOODY WELL TOO.’
Photos; Ken Copsey
YACHT RESTORER DUNCAN WALKER
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back at the source. With the assistance of the late French yachting legend Eric Tabarly, who owned the Pen Duick, which Fife designed in 1898, the dream became a reality. This summer’s gathering was the fourth in a series of Fife Regattas that started in 1998 and has been held every five years since then. “Most classic yacht regattas take place in the Mediterranean, but I wanted to bring these beautiful yachts back to where they were built or, in a few cases, designed. This year we had one come all the way from California and another was brought on a truck from Italy. It has become something of a pilgrimage,” says Houston, whose celebrated body of work includes evocative watercolours of Fife yachts in full sail. “Another masterpiece, Kentra, had been restored by Hamble-based Fairlie, sailed around the world and then was stored in Ayrshire, half a mile from where she was built, for seven years. After getting her ready again, she slipped back into the water just two weeks before the regatta. These are yachts of outstanding beauty. They are pieces of art on the water.” 14
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top; William Fife III in 1903; above; The Fife workforce pose with the tools of their trade. William Fife (II) stands in the back row wearing a bowler hat c.1880 right; Moonbeam III 1903 Gaff Cutter in the Fife Regatta this Summer racing from Kames to Largs.
MONOPUSHER
Although William Fife’s craft fell curiously out of favour in the 1960s and 1970s, the revival of interest began in 1987 when Albert Obrist, a Swiss businessman well known for his huge collection of superbly restored Ferraris, embarked on the restoration of a 1931 Fife yacht, Altair, using Southampton Yacht Services, where Duncan Walker was No 2 to Captain Paul Goss. Altair is a huge craft – 105ft long on deck, with a 100ft mast and displacement of 130 tonnes. It cost £25,000 to build more than 80 years ago; it is currently for sale for €4.6 million (about £3.93m).
“MOST CLASSIC YACHT REGATTAS TAKE PLACE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN, BUT I WANTED TO BRING THESE BEAUTIFUL YACHTS BACK TO WHERE THEY WERE BUILT OR, IN A FEW CASES, DESIGNED.” ALASTAIR HOUSTON, OF THE FIFE REGATTA
1n 1991 the restored Altair – in the eyes of some experts, the most beautiful yacht ever built – visited Fairlie to celebrate her 60th birthday. One of those who sailed in her on the visit was Archie MacMillan, then aged 92, who had been the last manager of the Fife company before it closed some years after the great man’s death in 1944. MacMillan sold to Walker a fabulous collection of some 600 original Fife drawings. The site of the Fife yard is now covered by a block of apartments. Obrist so enjoyed the Altair process that he decided that a restoration yard
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Photos;Charles Hood
dedicated only to classic and historic racing yachts should be established. That is the one now headed by Walker and naval architect Paul Spooner; the company trains apprentices in the skills of traditional yacht building. Among the other Fife yachts it has restored is Tuiga, which Walker located in 1989, some 80 years after it had been launched. One of the largest Fife yachts to come on the market, it was restored over four years with the assistance of the original plans from Fairlie. This unique vessel is now the flagship of Monaco Yacht Club as Prince Albert is a fan of Fife’s work. Another notable restoration undertaken by Walker and his team of craftsmen in Hampshire was the 125ftlong, 79-tonne yacht Mariquita (which means ladybird in Spanish), another very rare example of a large Fife boat. Launched in 1911, she was salvaged in 1991 from a mud berth in Suffolk. She lay for 10 years before a client came forward and invested in her three-year restoration, which is the largest Fife project Fairlie has undertaken to date. Like collecting the finest classic cars or the rarest watches, restoring and running Fife yachts is a rich person’s pastime. “The restoration
“THE RESTORATION COSTS FOR A LARGER FIFE YACHT COULD BE ANYTHING FROM £1 MILLION TO UPWARDS OF £15M” costs for a larger Fife yacht could be anything from £1m to upwards of £15m,” suggests Houston. “Then you might have to deal with running costs of £1m a year if you have a yacht that requires a 20-strong crew. A smaller Fife boat might cost you £300,000 to buy and require annual running costs of £20,000.” Happily, it takes a smaller budget to buy one of Houston’s original watercolours, which range from around £1500 to £5000. His highquality limited-edition prints, printed on the same French paper as he uses for his paintings, are even more accessible at £145 and £225. It seems appropriate that these once-overlooked mistresses of the waves are being celebrated by a local Ayrshire artist. It is a testament to Fife’s genius and Houston’s skill that he only needs to show part of a Fife yacht for its awesome power and sublime grace to come through.
above; The sumptuous power of Moonbeam III the 1903 Gaff Cutter racing from Kames to Largs in the Fife Regatta 2008; left; Alastair Houston’s painting of the Mariquita which was built in 1911; bottom left; Houston’s view of the Hispania, built in 1909; below; The Ayrshire artist Alastair Houston
Alastair Houston, marine artist alastair@alastairhouston.com www.alastairhouston.com
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Swiss movement, English heart
T C9 JUMPING HOUR MK 2 – 18CT ROSE GOLD LIMITED EDITION £1850
Bespoke ETA 2824-2 Jumping Hour automatic modification by Master Watchmaker Johannes Jahnke / Each piece, of only 250, personally assembled by Johannes and his team at CW’s Swiss atelier / 43mm, surgical grade stainless steel and 18ct rose gold case with sapphire crystal and exhibition case back / Ethically sourced Louisiana alligator strap with Bader deployment E X C L U S I V E LY A V A I L A B L E AT
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CW WOMEN
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Classic designs, vintage inspiration and iconic jewellery styling have been the hallmarks of the Christopher Ward women’s collection since it was redesigned and extended in 2011. The latest updates of three best-sellers are stylish additions to this elegant legacy. The new prices, by the way, are as eyecatching as the designs.
BELISAMA W90 AUTOMATIC MK2, above The revised version of this popular automatic model presents a refined new dial within its Cartier Tank-inspired case. Restrained elegance is the apt description for the fresh approach, which sees raised nickel XII and VI Roman numerals flanked by simple raised indices in all versions. This is a neat, legible and rather cool model. The crown again is encrusted with an ornate blue cabouchon stone, and as with the original collection introduced in 2011, the Belisama’s are available with or without a vertical row of 15 twinkling 30 Top Wesselton diamonds on each side of the dial. Once more at the heart of the watch is the ever-reliable ETA 2671-001. On the reverse, an observation window reveals a spider web-decorated rotor with the CW Hallmark. With the introduction of a new soft leather strap, the Belisama collection of automatics is now at new lower prices, starting from £575. EMILY S21 MK2, right Responding to customer feedback, Christopher Ward is adding more seasonal colours to its women’s ranges. This strategy is particularly effective with the new Emily design, which is available in a subtle midnight blue and a more restrained neutral nude tone. Both colours have been selected for their versatility with many outfits and occasions. The Art Deco-inspired oblong dial has been restyled to make it even more elegantly restrained. Now only XII and VI numerals in raised nickel decorate the feminine pearlescent dial. Picking up the subtly opaque dial, the new straps have a sateen outer backed by a leather inner with eight holes to fit even the smallest wrist. With a case back curved for a comfortable fit, the new Emily S21 has the popular Ronda 751 at its centre. This lovely new entry-level watch costs £175.
AMELIA W11, right Always the youngest and sportiest sister of CW’s family of women’s watches, the W11 Amelia is a follower of fashion. In its new guise, it picks up the prevailing style trend for pale or nude shades with two new dial colours, almond and pale rose. Named after pioneering aviatrix Amelia Earhart and inspired by the C11 MSL aviation watches, the watch retains its clarity and strength through simplicity in these attractive new finishes. In keeping with its airborne roots, the new W11 glows with green luminosity in low light; the raised nickel numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9, the indices and the new skeletonised minute and hour hands, plus the slender second hand are all treated with SuperLuminovaTM. The proven Ronda 703.3 continues to power the watch. The new W11 Amelia costs £299. Orderline 0844 875 1515
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Monza,1971 The Italian Grand Prix. Final lap. In a five-car battle at the front, Peter Gethin's BRM surges from fourth place to lead with a breathtaking move. He holds off Ronnie Peterson to take the chequered flag just one hundredth of a second ahead of the Swede’s March-Ford, before François Cevert (Tyrrell-Ford), Mike Hailwood (Surtees-Ford) and Gethin’s BRM teammate, Howden Ganley, roar over the line.
Photo: Getty images
With Jackie Stewart already crowned World Champion, a race seen by many as a chance for new drivers to prove themselves has ended in what remains the closest finish in Formula 1 history. After 55 laps of racing at a blistering pace - it was the the last year the Italian Grand Prix was run at Monza without chicanes - five cars cross the finish line of the Autodromo Nazionale separated by just 0.61 seconds.
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hours to indicate the second time zone, celebrated watchmaker Johannes Jahnke has changed the gearing system of the ETA 2893 automatic movement so that the hour and minute hand also take 24 hours to complete a full cycle. After a very short while the brain becomes accustomed to reading the world’s first-ever truly 24-hour dual time-zone watch. “This will enhance the reputation of CW internationally and will have THE THIRD COMPLICATION DEVELOPED FOR the rest of the luxury market watching CHRISTOPHER WARD BY JOHANNES JAHNKE us even more closely than they do already. It is another huge step in our SETS A NEW STANDARD FOR THE ENTIRE strategy of bringing technically INDUSTRY – AND THERE WILL SOON BE A PATENT innovative and striking attractive TO PROVE IT. UNLIKE OTHER 24-TIME ZONE watches to the market at accessible WATCHES, THE C900 WORLDTIMER IS DESIGNED prices,” says co-founder Chris Ward. Worldtimers are notoriously TO BE EASY TO SET AND SIMPLE TO READ. difficult to read as most have printed PREPARE TO BE AMAZED. on the dial the full names of two hileas Fogg would have had a much less stressful time getting around the world in 80 days if he had been wearing the astounding new C900 Worldtimer from Christopher Ward. Unfortunately this highly accurate and highly legible global timekeeper was not available in 1872. Fogg’s anxiety was caused by his belief that he had arrived back in
The oceans are represented by an exquisitely criss-crossed “dimple” base on the dial. Overlaying this is the familiar silhouette of the world map, appearing as though it has been lifted from the curved surface of a globe. Across the map are raised the meridians of longitude and latitude. In another unique modification, the 24:00 hr position shows, in airport code form, a location in each time zone as indicated by the GMT hand. The geographic location of the airport is simultaneously indicated on the world map as a red dot in another patent- pending feature. Phileas Fogg used steamers, trains and even a wind-powered sledge to make his circumnavigation (he never used a balloon - that was an invention of the makers of the 1956 classic film starring David Niven as Fogg). These days we mostly fly around
Worldtimer C900
A SYNCHRONISED WORLD-BEATER London on Saturday 21 December, too late to hit his deadline of presenting himself at 20:45 at the Reform Club, where he had made his wager about circumnavigating the globe in just eleven weeks and three days. Happily, his manservant and travelling companion Passepartout discovered they had forgotten that they had crossed the International Date Line on their eastwards route and so had gained a day. Their arrival date was, in fact, Friday 20 December. Fogg was able, therefore, to stroll into his club on time on Saturday and collect his £20,000 prize money, which is reckoned to equate to about £1.4 million in today’s money. Jules Verne’s classic yarn certainly underlines the value of investing in a reliable watch. The C900 Worldtimer is exceptionally reliable and has been ingeniously modified to make it equally as easy to read across two different time zones. Instead of only the GMT hand rotating once every 24
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dozen locations around the globe. The desire for the C900 Worldtimer, says CW’s Swiss partner Jörg Bader, was “to create something simple and truthful for everyday use. We wanted it to be smarter visually and therefore easier to use”. For what is a very visually compelling watch, Christopher Ward's Maidenhead design team has
our globe and rather than having 24 difficult-to-read city names around the edge of the dial, the airport codes, which are explained in full on the C900's caseback, offer a suitably jetage alternative while improving readability immeasurably. This makes the location of the remote time spot much easier to read than if it were spelled out in full, as
“IT IS ANOTHER HUGE STEP IN OUR STRATEGY OF BRINGING TECHNICALLY INNOVATIVE AND STRIKING ATTRACTIVE WATCHES TO THE MARKET AT ACCESSIBLE PRICES” CO-FOUNDER CHRIS WARD.
created a hugely detailed, multilayered dial, and a very unusually informative backplate. The deep blue on the dial seemed an appropriate principal colour for the watch as this is a global timekeeper and more than 70% of the planet is covered by water.
usually happens on other worldtimers. Alphabetically running from AKL for Auckland to ZRH for Zurich, the airport abbreviation appears in a window at the top of the GMT 24hour ring, which sits raised from the dial’s surface. Once again, the ➸
BRITISH BY DESIGN 24 TIME ZONES | CW
WE BELIEVE IN THE C1000 WE HAVE A WATCH THAT NOT ONLY HONOURS THE AMAZING TYPHOON AIRCRAFT, BUT FURTHER CONFIRMS CHRISTOPHER WARD AS A WATCHMAKER THAT CONTINUES TO SEEK PERFECTION THROUGH INNOVATION
Phileas Fogg would have had a much less stressful time getting around the world in 80 days if he had been wearing the astounding new C900 Worldtimer from Christopher Ward. Unfortunately this highly accurate and highly legible global timekeeper was not available in 1872. Fogg’s anxiety was caused by his belief that he had arrived back in London on Saturday 21 December, too late to hit his deadline of presenting himself at 20:45 at the Reform Club, where he had made his wager about circumnavigating the globe in just eleven weeks and three days. Happily, his manservant and travelling companion Passepartout discovered they had forgotten that they had crossed the International Date Line on their eastwards route and so had gained a day. Their arrival date was, in fact, Friday 20 December. Fogg was able, therefore, to stroll into his club on time on Saturday and collect his £20,000 prize money, which is reckoned to equate to about £1.4 million in today’s money. Jules Verne’s classic adventure story certainly underlines the value of investing in a reliable watch. The C900 Worldtimer is exceptionally reliable and easy to read, having been designed to avoid the shortcomings of existing GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) watches that show the time in two time zones and the more complex worldtimers that allowing the tracking of 24 time zones. Johannes Jahnke, the celebrated German watchmaker who has already had two triumphs with Christopher Ward – the C900 Single Pusher and the C9 Harrison Jumping Hour – has made it a hattrick of achievements with his modification of the ETA 2893 movement that powers the watch. The new JJ03 calibre is truly a remarkable achievement and a patent is pending on Jahnkes’ modifications. By changing the gearing of the movement on the ETA 2893 Jahnke has made both the regular hands of the watch and the GMT hand that indicates the time in the remote location revolve around the dial at the same speed. This synchronisation, which seems so necessary and obvious, is rarely seen on regular GMT watches or other worldtimers.
“THE DESIRE FOR THE C900 WORLDTIMER, WAS TO CREATE SOMETHING SIMPLE AND TRUTHFUL FOR EVERYDAY USE.” CW’S SWISS PARTNER, JÖRG BADER,
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The back-plate lists, in time-zone sequence, the codes of the main airport in each of the designated cities. The locations are listed in time zone sequence. The modified ETA 2893 can be observed through the 25.6mm crystal window.
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designers at CW have aimed for clarity at a glance, so the night-time section of the ring, indicating from 18 hours to 06 hours is in blue, while the daylight section of 06 hours to 18 hours is in a brushed steel finish. The C900 is the latest in Christopher Ward’s top-of-the-line Harrison watches, so it uses the numeral font that also appears on the other C9s and C900s. The numerals appear in raised print form in white for the “night” hours and in black for the “day” hours. The minute indexes for the local time are located at the perimeter of the dial, where they are indicated by the elegant nickel second, minute and hour hands. The bold GMT hand, with its arrowhead point, is in bright red. The exceptionally detailed dial is completed by two raised plaques, one bearing the Chr. Ward London logo and the other stating Calibre JJ03 Worldtimer. As is to be expected, the dial is luminous, but in keeping with its aquatic theme, the white SuperLumiNova™ coatings on the hands and on the 24 hour markings emit a blue glow. Setting the local time and the remote time is controlled through the single crown on the 43mm 316L stainless steel case. On the backplate, a 25.6mm crystal window allows the smartly modified ETA 2893 to be observed. Engraved in a circle around the window is the full list of 24 locations, starting with London LHR at the top and moving eastwards and clockwise through Zurich ZRH, Cape Town CPJ and Kuwait City KHI to end with Buenos Aries EZE, Rio GIG and Praia RAI (this last one is the main city of the Cape Verde Islands, which are located in the Atlantic off the west coast of Africa). To complete the colour theme, the ethically sourced, luxuriously comfortable, Louisiana alligator strap is in midnight blue. It also carries another Christopher Ward innovation, the new, highly innovative and patent pending, Bader deployment buckle. Named after Jörg Bader, the head of CW’s Swiss operation who created it, this high-grade clasp is smaller, neater and much less complicated than the ubiquitous butterfly clasp. For more details of this excellent development, see the feature on pages 10-11. On a historical note, worldtimers were originally developed in the 1940s
FEATURES • Bespoke (patent pending) modification to an ETA 2893 automatic by Johannes Jahnke – Calibre JJ03 • 40 hour power reserve • Dual 24 hour time indication and continuous seconds operated through central crown function • Unique airport code time-zone indicator at 12 O’clock directly integrated with location indicators on the dial • Hand-finished, surgical grade, stainless steel case and crown • Anti-reflective sapphire crystal • Screw-down transparent case back with airport code and city indications. • Unique engraved serial number • Premium grade Louisiana alligator strap with Bader deployment • Luxury presentation case and owner's handbook TECHNICAL • Diameter: 43mm • Calibre: JJ03 (patent pending), automatic, highly modified from ETA 2893 • Vibrations: 28,800 vph • Case: 316L stainless steel • Water resistance: 5 atm/50 metres • Strap: CITES certified, Louisiana alligator strap with Bader deployment • Dial: Blue-Silver
TO COMPLETE THE COLOUR THEME, THE ETHICALLY SOURCED, LUXURIOUSLY COMFORTABLE, LOUISIANA ALLIGATOR STRAP IS IN MIDNIGHT BLUE. IT ALSO CARRIES ANOTHER CHRISTOPHER WARD INNOVATION, THE NEW, HIGHLY INNOVATIVE AND PATENT PENDING, BADER DEPLOYMENT BUCKLE. by Louis Cottier, a famous watchreceived and a very enthusiastic maker from Geneva. His designs for response is expected for the C900 Patek Philippe are best known but he Worldtimer. also worked for other brands, such as As the world gets ever smaller and Vacheron & Constantin and Rolex. we find ourselves travelling further IN THE C1000 WEdual HAVE A WATCH Cottier was also heavily involvedWE in BELIEVE afield more regularly, the C900's the creation of the archetypal GMT 24 hour function is an essential tool THAT NOT ONLY HONOURS THE AMAZING watch, the Rolex GMT-Master II, for world travellers everywhere. TYPHOON AIRCRAFT, FURTHER which was developed for Pan-Am Worldtimers have beenBUT enjoying a pilots in the 1950s. ChristopherCONFIRMS Ward renaissance in the luxury watch CHRISTOPHER WARD AS A was inspired by this classic for its own world for the past few years, but at WATCHMAKER THAT TO SEEK highly successful C60 Trident GMT just £1575, the C900CONTINUES Worldtimer is models, which it introduced three far below THROUGH the price of its competitors. PERFECTION INNOVATION years ago. The company’s other GMT, And it is far easier to read. Phileas the C9 Harrison, was also very well Fogg would approve. Orderline 0844 875 1515
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below: Grand National Day at the St Moritz Taboggonning Club. c.1925. right: Archie Orr-Ewing starting from the Top c.1907. Photo G.R. Ballance. main picture; Count LL Marenzi in Thoma. Racing in the Grand National.
THE BEAUTY OF
DANGER THERE IS A TINY SLICE OF SWITZERLAND THAT OWES ITS WORLDWIDE REPUTATION TO BRITISH ECCENTRICITY AND LOVE OF ADVENTURE. WELCOME TO THE CRESTA RUN, THREE-QUARTERS OF A MILE OF ICY EXHILARATION AND TERROR.
f hurtling at up to 80mph down a steeply banked ice track on a tiny metal platform sounds like fun, The Cresta Run is your sort of place. This manmade frozen gully in the chic resort of St Moritz in eastern Switzerland is only about 1320 yards (1.2 kilometres) long, but in that distance it drops 514 feet (about 400 metres) via gradients that vary from a steep 1 in 8.7 to a precipitous 1 in 2.8. One regular user described descending the track to be like “falling off the Empire State Building”. The record for completing this legendary Alpine chute is held by British financial adviser James Sunley, who took just 50.09 seconds to navigate the 10 testing corners in February 1999 at an average speed of 53mph (c 85kph)and an exit speed of around 80mph (c 130kph). And all this on a slight toboggan that lifted him just inches off the ice. Sunley is one of the 1300 members of the St Moritz Tobogganing Club, which was formed in 1888, just three years after the first Cresta Run had been created by a group of bored Brits in the Alps. One of the last high-profile bastions of amateur sportsmanship, the SMTC attracts spirited members from around the world, but it is dominated by sporty Swiss, German, Italian and,
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RETRO CRESTA RACING RUN | CW
Stirling Moss, wearing a crash helmet that was actually “IT SEEMS TO BE A designed for polo players, chats to the pit crew before the 1957 CHARACTERISTIC OF THE British Grand Prix at Aintree. Note BRITISH TO TAKE A PERFECTLY his lack of protective clothing and the neat shirts and ties of some of ORDINARY, EVEN JUVENILE the mechanics. It was, truly, a different time. AMUSEMENT AND CONVERT IT INTO A HIGHLY ORGANISED, COMPETITIVE SPORT OR RECREATION…”
Press Association St. Moritz Tobogganing Club Archive. Crestaphotos@me.com
THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH SUMS UP THE CRESTA RUN
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This page, below left; The photo was taken c. 1908. below; Before females were banned The Ladies Grand National, 1900 right; The Cresta Run at St. Moritz the most thrilling course for skeleton tobogganing, December 18, 1947.,
pastimes he offered his patrons and therefore the Kulm Hotel (kulm means summit in German) can claim to have started the trend for winter sports holidays. The idea of shooting across ice and snow on a toboggan as a leisure activity had become popular in north America in the 1870s. The word toboggan is derived from the Native American term for the birch work cart they pulled across the frozen ground. By the early 1880s visitors to Davos were holding races down the town’s streets, sitting upright and facing forward on toboggans that were called schlitten by the Swiss. As part of his strategy to raise St Moritz’s profile as a resort in the early 1880s, Peter Badrutt, son of Johannes, hit on the idea of having toboggan races in the town, but its streets were
not as suited to racing as those of Davos. Backed by the newly-formed outdoor amusement committee of the Kulm Hotel – comprising Messrs Robertson, Digby Jones, Metcalfe, Biddulp and Bulpett – he decided to build a run with the help of a local expert in geometrics, Peter Bonorand. The run was to include curves and banks to make it more exciting, more demanding and faster than the roads of Davos. The idea became even better when someone suggested that the man-made banks ought to be deliberately iced. In the winter of 1884-85, the first run was built and a challenge was extended to the men of Davos. Their race was called the International, so the new inter-resort contest was styled the Grand National, a title that remains to this day. The inaugural joust, on 18 February 1885, ended in a convincing defeat for the upstarts from St Moritz. One witness observed that the Davos riders won because “they were cautious and ran for safety”, while the team of 10 from St Moritz “confident in the knowledge of their own course, threw themselves out by the most terrific spills”. The spirit of the Cresta Run had been cast. In 1887 an American called Mr Cornish (even the SMTC seems not
Photo’s courtesty; St. Moritz Tobogganing Club Archive; Crestaphotos@me.com; AP/Press Association
especially, British types. It has traditionally been dominated by wellto-do members of the UK forces and it retains a strong male public school ethos. Since 1929 women have not been permitted to join the club, although there is now an annual invitation race for females. Keen women tobogganers have been known to sneak on in disguise. The spectacular Run is re-built every year by the SMTC and the town. Starting in St Moritz, it uses the natural contours of the valley and man-made earthbanks to pass by the tiny hamlet of Cresta and ends at the village of Celerina. The Run follows almost exactly the same route as the first banked toboggan course that was constructed in 1885 by English tourists staying at the Kulm Hotel in St Moritz who wanted to compete against rivals from nearby Davos. Despite a good degree of fitness being an advantage to conquer this frozen downhill slide these days, the earliest pioneers were often invalids, sent to Switzerland for the benefits of its dry, clean air. Johannes Badrutt, who opened the Kulm Hotel in 1856, worked hard to persuade his British summertime visitors to stay with him during the winter months. By the 1880s tobogganing was one of the
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to know his first name) astounded the riders at St Moritz by travelling down the icy slide head first instead of sitting up. In the next year another US citizen, Mr L P Child, introduced a further innovation with a new toboggan he called “America”. Long, low, and made in St Moritz of solid wood with steel runners fore and aft, this design was far too fast for the Swiss schlitten. Child won the Davos International race easily, but withdrew from the Grand National in St Moritz because he thought his machine would be too fast on the run. Despite this minor setback, Child’s model helped revolutionise tobogganing in Switzerland. Seeing the potential of the races as a magnet to St Moritz, the Badrutt family decided to underwrite the annual creation of the run. On 17 November 1887 the first committee of the newly-created St Moritz Tobogganing Club met. Its four members included Major W H Bulpett, one of the pioneering quintet, who is now remembered as “Father of the Cresta Run” for his devotion to seeing the slide crafted precisely every winter. British eccentricity and a quest for thrills have imbued the Cresta Run ever since these Victorian days. Launching themselves down an icy slide on a small wooden sledge with steel runners, these early adventurers were pioneers of modern winter sports. Before the days of sophisticated aeroplanes or automobiles, they also were among the fastest-moving humans on earth. In 1885 the winning rider hit about 26.5mph
(42.6kph); by 1890 the Americanstyle toboggan with head-first rider was reaching hit almost 35mph (56kph). The locals were suitably impressed by this slightly madcap behaviour by the Anglo-Saxon “invalids”. In his official 1976 history of the SMTC, The Cresta Run, Michael Seth-Smith reported Peter Badrutt as saying: “We Swiss looked on tobogganing as a fitting amusement for children until you Englishmen came among us and made it a sport for men. Now you have gone farther and made that sport an art.” The thrill of travelling fast in perilous conditions is still the major draw for the Cresta Run today. Depending on the weather, the Run is open from just before Christmas to late February to early March, when it is demolished. The nine-week season is dominated by a large number of keenly-fought races between SMTC members, but non-members can also try their luck and their nerves on the frozen gully. Seasoned SMTC riders begin at the course summit, known appropriately as Top. Nonmembers start at Junction, about two-thirds of the way down, but the effect is still exhilarating, terrifying and addictive, as our own Chris Ward can confirm (see overleaf).
“WE SWISS LOOKED ON TOBOGGANING AS A FITTING AMUSEMENT FOR CHILDREN UNTIL YOU ENGLISHMEN CAME AMONG US AND MADE IT A SPORT FOR MEN. NOW YOU HAVE GONE FARTHER AND MADE THAT SPORT AN ART.” PETER BADRUTT, ST MORITZ HOTELIER
This page, below left; Lord John Douglas Carnegie, 12th Earl of Northesk, about to go off on a run on January 5, 1935. below; Angus Ogilvy, with Count de la Falaise, around 1965. below right; St Moritz Tabogganing Club member in traditional dress on the last day of the season in 2008.
The initial package of five rides on the Run costs 600 Swiss francs (about £415). In the second and subsequent seasons these cost SFr 500 (about £300) and the guest rider joins the Supplementary List, a first step towards membership of the SMTC. Recommendation by an existing member is needed to make the grade. There is no steering gear or brake on a 30kg (66lb) Cresta Run toboggan. It is slowed down by heavy steel rakes fitted to the rider’s boots. Steering is achieved by re-distributing the weight of the body. Each of the 10 curves of the Run has a name. The Cresta has shallow saucer-like banks so riders need to work hard to steer round them or they are thrown out. The most notorious curve is Shuttlecock, which claims many a ➸
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C7 BLUEBIRD – LIMITED EDITION £499
In 1912 Malcolm Campbell christened his car “Blue Bird” and a legend was born. More than 100 years later this iconic name continues to challenge for world speed records using futuristic electric vehicles. Christopher Ward is proud to be Bluebird Speed Records Official Timing Partner and, in celebration, we have released this stunning timepiece in a limited edition of 1,912 pieces. E X C L U S I V E LY A V A I L A B L E AT
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L O N D O N OFFICIAL TIMING PARTNER BLUEBIRD SPEED RECORDS
CRESTA RUN
above left; Member of the Royal Air force Cresta team. Running start from the top, 2009. above; The St Moritz Tabogonning Club headquarters.
’S CHRIS
A CRCREASSHT top left; A faller at Shuttlecock. Grand National race day, 2007 above right; Running start. Spiked shoes are standard, 2009 above; Rider cutting it fine at Shuttlecock, January 2009.
“WHEN THE EXHILARATION IS WORTH THE FRIGHT, THEN YOU MUST RIDE THE CRESTA.”
Photo’s; Crestaphotos@me.com
LORD BRABAZON OF TARA
victim, usually due to it being taken at too high a speed (just ask Chris Ward). The record time for completing the course from Junction is 41.02 seconds, held by Johannes Badrutt since 1999, but novices are expected to get down in between 65 and 75 seconds, which may well be the most heart-pounding minute of their lives. Only four people have been killed on the Run, the last one being in 1974, but few riders escape without cuts and bruises (known as Cresta kisses), or broken limbs, not to mention injured pride. Here the pursuit of the thrill often ends in a spill. A legendary Cresta rider on both sides of World War II was Derek, Lord Brabazon of Tara, who observed: “When the exhilaration is worth the fright, then you must ride the Cresta, but when the exhilaration is not worth the fright, then you must give it up.” The Duke of Edinburgh, who has not done the Run, offered another view of this peculiarly British creation in his introduction to Seth-Smith’s The Cresta Run: “It seems to be a characteristic of the British to take a perfectly ordinary, even juvenile amusement and convert it into a highly organised, competitive sport or recreation…The beginnings of the Cresta followed the same pattern, but with the added twist that the conversion from pastime to sport was made by a collection of invalids. No wonder the Continentals are convinced that the British are raving mad!”
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IN JANUARY 1989, CHRIS WARD RODE THE CRESTA RUN AS PART OF A FUND-RAISING STUNT FOR CHARITY. HERE HE CONFIRMS THAT IT’S A CHALLENGING COURSE…
With three work colleagues, I had driven to St Moritz from the Midlands to make sponsored rides on the Cresta Run to raise money for the Special Olympics, the world's largest sports organisation for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. As luck would have it, the British bobsled team was training in the resort and we negotiated a couple of rides from them, with two of us sitting in the middle seats of the four-man bob. I was soon to learn that this ride was easier than sliding on what seemed to be a tea tray down the Cresta Run. There was no video in those days so our “training” comprised sitting at a desk listening to instructions from a retired colonel type. Then came the day for our attempts. “Ward to the box” announced the clipped military
“I HIT THE CURVE FAR TOO FAST AND FAR TOO HIGH. THE STRAW THOUGHTFULLY PROVIDED BY THE ST MORITZ TOBOGGANING CLUB SOFTENED MY LANDING, BUT NOT BY MUCH.” CHRIS WARD
voice over the Tannoy, summoning me for the first of my three descents from Junction, the starting point for Cresta Run novices. A main point in the training was to advise us to slow ourselves from the start by dragging the steel crampon-like rakes on the toe caps of our boots into the ice. Flushed with the folly of (near-) youth, I neglected to do this and soon discovered why that was a mistake. I exited the Run at one of the early curves. For the second run, I dug my toes in as ordered at the start, but the acceleration is so amazingly fast that this time I came off heavily at the notorious Shuttlecock. Like all the crashing riders now to be found on YouTube, I hit the curve far too fast and far too high. The straw thoughtfully provided by the St Moritz Tobogganing Club softened my landing, but not by much. I shot across the ground and came to rest against a rather hard Swiss tree. I was somewhat dazed, I didn’t know where I was and my hand hurt. I later discovered that I had broken my two middle fingers. Third time lucky, I completed my final ride. It is pretty exhilarating to exit the Cresta Run at about 80mph. I can recommend it. After nearly 25 years, maybe it’s time I did it again.
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| RICHES
IN THE WARDROBE
Still
life J
Portrait; Jo Paterson
NO LONGER LIMITED TO VICTORIAN CURIOSITIES, MUSEUM EXHIBITS OR HUNTERS’ TROPHIES, TAXIDERMY IS A THRIVING ART FORM. POLLY MORGAN IS A LEADING EXPONENT OF THE CONTEMPORARY APPROACH TO WHAT WAS A DYING TRADE.
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TAXIDERMY A S ART | CW
olly Morgan has made taxidermy cool. Over the past nine years, from her workshop in east London, she has helped to alter the public’s perception of taxidermy, the curious practice of mounting the skins of animals for display. Through Morgan’s astonishing pieces of work, taxidermy, once literally a dying art, has been given a new lease of life. Morgan, possibly against her wishes, is often classed together with other Young British Artists (YBAs), such as Tracey Emin, Sam TaylorWood, Gavin Turk and Damien Hirst. Hirst’s own works from the early 1990s such as a dissected shark and a bisected cow and calf in formaldehyde awakened interest in creativity based around dead animals.
P
below; Exitus, from 2010, involves leather, steel and the sort of multiple bird taxidermy that is seen as a Polly Morgan trademark.
Morgan’s incredibly complicated pieces sell on average for £10,000. A German art collector, Thomas Olbricht, paid a record £85,000 for Morgan’s interpretation of a Victorian fantastic flying machine in which about 40 assorted birds, including three huge vultures, wings outstretched, appear to carry a huge bronze cage beneath them. More modest pieces, including a chick in a broken lamp bulb, are on sale on www.pollymorgan.co.uk for £650. Limited-edition coffee mugs, showing examples of her work such as a skinned finch, have sold out at £25. The word taxidermy is derived from the Greek roots taxis, meaning arrangement, and derma, meaning skin. A good taxidermist is part naturalist, part sculptor and part artist.
Morgan stresses that she is not a taxidermist per se; rather she is an artist who uses taxidermy as one medium in her work. Sometimes there is a macabre or sinister aspect to her art. In For Sorrow, a piece from 2007, that harbinger of sadness, a single magpie, perches on the handle of a vintage Bakelite telephone. Morgan has a phobia for ’phones as they may deliver bad news. Here the alert-looking bird crouches on the handset to prevent a call being answered. In 2012, after a visit to the Serengeti in east Africa, Morgan staged an exhibition of works called Endless Plains (a translation of Serengeti), based on her observation of parasites on decaying carcasses, to examine how new life springs from deceased creatures. In one work of
“PEOPLE HAVE BECOME SO DISCONNECTED FROM NATURAL THINGS. I THINK IT’S ODD NOT TO BE INTERESTED IN WHERE THINGS COME FROM AND HOW THEY ARE CONSTRUCTED.” these works, Archipelago, a pig (which was cast in silicone) has mushrooms (which were fashioned in rubber) emerging from its split belly, while a taxidermy finch perches on its shoulder. In another celebrated piece, dozens of quail chicks, beaks wide open, protrude from the corners of a broken ancient wooden coffin. All the animals and birds Morgan uses are either road casualties or have died natural and unpreventable deaths. Veterinary practices and farms are regular sources for her “raw materials” and she is regularly contacted by people who have found a dead creature they think she may be interested in. She has said that the worst crime she is committing is depriving a crow of a road-kill meal. While acknowledging that her work has a dark side – she admits to a macabre sense of humour – the quietly-spoken Morgan has no time for those who find the idea of skinning a dead animal distasteful or upsetting, or believe taxidermy is disrespectful to animals. ➸ Orderline 0844 875 1515
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| TAXIDERMY
A S ART left; Blue Fever, from 2010, is a cluster of pigeon wings inspired by Eadweard Muybridge’s photographic images of motion.
“JUST AS PHOTOGRAPHY PUT AN END TO THE COMMISSIONING OF PAINTED PORTRAITS, SO ZOOS, HIGH-DEFINITION VIDEO AND CHEAP TRAVEL HAVE SEEN THE REDUNDANCY OF MANY TAXIDERMISTS” “I am quite intolerant of those sorts of attitudes,” she states firmly. “People have become so disconnected from natural things. I think it’s odd not to be interested in where things come from and how they are constructed. But so many people today have no interest where their supper comes from. They just associate meat with something in cellophane packaging in a supermarket. I am so disappointed with parents who shoo their children away from a dead animal or bird by the side of the road. “Let’s give respect to living animals by allowing them their freedom and to dead ones by doing our taxidermy as 32
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well as can be. This way we can enjoy them once they’ve finished with their bodies rather than cage them while they’re still inhabited.” Her own upbringing was far removed from the modern disconnected, sanitised and mainly urban life. Born in 1980, she is the youngest of three sisters raised in the Cotswolds on a farm where her father raised goats, llamas and ostriches. After studying English literature at university, she gradually drifted into life as an artist. Wishing to use taxidermy in her work, she decided it was better to learn how to do it rather rely on others. She had some initial training sessions with George Jamieson in Scotland, one of only four professionals who teach taxidermy in the UK. All trainers have noticed a huge rise in interest – mainly from women – for their courses in recent years. From the start she became fascinated with the opportunity to learn more about natural history. Not
to have continued with taxidermy, she says, would be like a car fanatic never wanting to open a car bonnet. Or, indeed, a watch collector having no desire to examine a movement. Her early attempts were noticed by Banksy, the influential graffiti artist, who in 2005 commissioned her to contribute some pieces to an exhibition he was arranging. One of Morgan’s first celebrity clients was Vanessa Branson, sister of Sir Richard, who bought Rest A Little on the Lap of Life, which shows a white rat curled inside a classic shallow champagne glass, a typically unexpected juxtaposition from Morgan. Morgan’s success and resulting high profile – a BBC 4 film on her was broadcast in spring this year – have also brought interest to a clutch of other artists who work with taxidermy. These include New Yorkbased Italian Maurizio Cattelan, and British-based David Shrigley, Chlöe Brown, and Emily Mayer. Morgan is a member of the UK Guild of Taxidermists, but modestly admits that she is not technically the finest practitioner. This esoteric art form dates back centuries. The earliest examples still in existence – mainly animals or birds that belonged to European royalty – date from the 1600s and 1700s. In the 18th and 19th century, preserving, stuffing and mounting animals became a valuable branch of science, allowing people to see the exotic specimens adventurers and explorers had discovered. The practice also developed into a branch of the decorative arts – think of all those stuffed birds under Victorian glass globes – while another direction saw hunters displaying their trophies, often in astonishing and slightly disturbing numbers. Today’s methods are little changed from those employed in Victorian times. The taxidermist needs a fresh carcass to start with, ideally with little or no damage to it. The modern freezer is a godsend to the taxidermist; in the past work had to be completed very quickly before the body decomposed. Although techniques can vary between practitioners and the animal subjects, the principle is to remove the skin of the creature, ideally in one piece. Usually an incision is made in
TAXIDERMY A S ART
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the chest area and then the skin is teased away from the flesh so that the body can be removed intact. Anything that would rot – muscle, flesh, fat, brain, and eyes – has to go. After a series of washes to clean and preserve the skin, the taxidermist recreates the body. Wire can be used to shape a replacement skeleton and body forms are fashioned out of any suitable material, which includes wood shavings, balsa wood, fibreglass, Styrofoam, clay or papier-mâché. Preformed body shapes and false eyes
“FOR TOO LONG TAXIDERMY HAS BEEN THE ‘GUILTY SECRET’ OF A FEW MISUNDERSTOOD PRACTITIONERS AND COLLECTORS.” made of resin are available from specialist suppliers. Birds, which Morgan often uses, require parts of the skeleton, such as the skull (emptied of all matter), the beak, the feet, the leg and wing bones, to be preserved. As can be imagined, the work requires diligence, patience and considerable manual dexterity. The effort that goes into tiny chicks, one of her favourite “models”, is amazing. Given the complexity of her creations, they often take many months to finish. Even though she acknowledges that the art world is “elitist” (her description), the amount of craft and skill required to make her pieces goes a long way to justifying their prices. Morgan uses assistants to help create her artworks, but still does a large part of the taxidermy work herself. In her foreword to The Art of Taxidermy (Pavilion Books, 2012) by Jane Eastoe, a superbly illustrated analysis of the practice from its earlier days to the contemporary art scene, Morgan admits that taxidermy, until recently, was seen as “a dying art”. She now sees it as “an evolving art”. “I hope the work I do, and of the other artists working in a similar vein, can ensure the survival of taxidermy by giving it a place in modern life,” she wrote. “Just as photography put an end to the commissioning of painted portraits, so zoos, high-definition video
and cheap travel have seen the redundancy of many taxidermists, originally employed to educate us in natural history. Painting has survived, developing from figuration to abstraction, and so taxidermy must make similar shifts if it is to be considered the art I believe it is… For too long taxidermy has been the ‘guilty secret’ of a few misunderstood practitioners and collectors.” above; In Habour, from 2012, Morgan has combined a taxidermy fox and birds with a silicone-cast octopus. right: Morgan used hand-painted crow femurs, cast from a resin called jesmonite, for this structure from 2013, Picking Progress To Pieces. below: 2012’s The Fall uses mixed media – fibreglass-cast tree, silicone-cast piglets and taxidermy birds.
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| TIME TO LOOK AGAIN
Swiss movement, English heart
C3 MALVERN CHRONOGRAPH MK II - ÂŁ250
Swiss made / Quartz chronograph movement / 1/10th second split timing function Hand finished 316L stainless steel case / Anti-reflective sapphire crystal / SuperLuminovaTM hands and indices / Matt finish optic white one-piece dial / Italian leather strap with easy opening butterfly clasp / Diameter: 39mm / Calibre: Ronda 5040.D E X C L U S I V E LY A V A I L A B L E AT
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TIME
SPAN
TIME TO LOOK AGAIN | CW
On the evening of July 7, 1954, a shy American singer sat nervously in a movie theatre. A song he had recorded two days earlier with guitarist Scotty Moore and bass player Bill Black during an otherwise unsuccessful session at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee was due to be played on the local WHBQ Radio. Pioneering DJ 'Daddio' Dewey Phillips had chosen the song, an uptempo version of an Arthur Crudup number, for his Red Hot and Blue Show, which attracted a large and diverse following, daring to promote the music of both black and white artists. When he cued the record for the first time he could hardly have foreseen the impact that 1 minute 57 seconds of this electrifying fusion of country and rhythm and blues music would have. Rooted as it was in the rich rural musical traditions of the people of Memphis, ‘That's FLICKING THROUGH ITS BACK CATALOGUE, all Right’ would be played 14 times in total that night and the singer was to CW NOTICED A FEW MODELS THATpersuaded PERHAPS go to the station for an on-air interview.
Photos: Getty images
DID NOT GET THE EXPOSURE THEY DESERVED A part-time truck driver named Elvis WHEN FIRST RELEASED. HERE IS A QUARTET Aaron Presley had introduced himself to THAT IS DEFINITELY WORTH A SECOND LOOK. the world. IT WILL BE TIME WELL SPENT…
1min
Christopher Ward could never be accused of flooding the watch market. Each year the company introduces only between five and 10 new models. The total selection of available styles after eight years is just 32 in various colour options. CW is very pleased to have had some outstanding successes, such as the Malvern Mk2 collection, the C60 Trident collection and quite a few sell-out limited editions, like the C70 dbr1 chronometer and the C9 Jumping Hour. Recently, however, the team in Maidenhead got to thinking that a few of their personal favourites did not get the attention they deserved when first introduced. It is time, therrefore, to reconsider these “hidden gems”. ➸
57sec
Orderline 0844 875 1515
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| DBR1 CWORLD
With the wire wheels a blur, Caroll Shelby steers the Aston Martin DBR1/2 during the 1959 Le Mans 24-hour endurance in which it beat the Ferraris and Porsches out of sight.
A PIECE OF THE
ACTION THE ASTON MARTIN DBR1 THAT WON LE MANS IN 1959 IS THE MOST CELEBRATED VEHICLE IN THE BRITISH MARQUE'S 100-YEAR HISTORY. NOW A PRECIOUS FRAGMENT FROM THIS BEAUTIFUL AND HISTORIC CAR IS BEING PLACED IN THE BACKPLATE OF A LIMITED-EDITION CHRONOMETER FROM CHRISTOPHER WARD. A PIECE OF TRUE BRITISH MOTOR RACING HISTORY NOW CAN BE WORN ON YOUR WRIST.
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n the summer of 2012 a green sports car of breathtaking beauty – Aston Martin DBR1/2, built in 1956 - was put up for sale for £20 million by Ascot-based Ferrari specialist dealer Talacrest. The most successful racing car ever produced in Aston Martin's 100-year history, DBR1/2 is now in the hands of an anonymous new owner and is undoubtedly the most valuable Aston Martin in the world.
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To celebrate the legendary British marque's centenary, Christopher Ward has produced a limited-edition chronometer inspired by this motor racing classic. But, to make the edition unique, it has embedded in its backplate a circular fragment of aluminium that came from the actual Le Mans winning car, DBR1/2, and carries the racing number 5 in the style of the Aston Martin's 1959 team numerals. The C70DBR1-COSC Special Edition, which is available in just 100 models, is a unique link to a legend of British motor racing history. The DBR1 sports racing cars were designed by Ted Cutting, who had previously worked for Allard, the British firm responsible for superb ➸
CWORLD DBR1 | CW
Photo: MPL picture library
“WE WERE LOOKING TO CREATE A SPECIAL LIMITEDEDITION TO MARK THE ASTON MARTIN CENTENARY THIS YEAR AND WHAT COULD BE BETTER THAN AN ACTUAL FRAGMENT OF THE MARQUE’S MOST FAMOUS AND SUCCESSFUL RACER?”
The British racing green dial is perfectly matched to the colour of the winning car above; Pashley’s and the image of the backappeal lies the in the plate shows location of unashamedly retrofrom the the piece of metal its “sit-upLestyling Mansofwinner. and-beg” bikes. It The Special Edition attracts fanatical Centenary watch is available devotion from its male toand pre-order now for female fans delivery in November, priced at £1950.
Orderline 0844 875 1515
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| DBR1
above; The aluminium strip from the winning car which has been used for the new C70 DBR1/2 watch was located at the rear of the car's cockpit,just behind the head of the driver. The car, minus this piece, was recently sold to a private buyer for a reported £20 million.
cars with rounded, sweeping lines. He excelled himself with the DBR1. Building started in 1956 and only five were ever made, being given the designations DBR1/1, DBR1/2 and so on. Fitted with a 3-litre engine, of these five, chassis number two, DBR1/2, was to prove the king of the quintet. It was driven to victory in the 1957 Spa Sports Car race by Tony Brooks and to top spots at both the 1958 and 1959 RAC Tourist Trophies at Goodwood by Stirling Moss. The second victory at the Sussex circuit was one of Moss's greatest triumphs and helped Aston Martin win the World Sports Car Championship. But the win at Le Mans in 1959, where Aston Martin had come second in 1955 and 1956, was the pinnacle of DBR1/2's achievements. On June 21-22 1959 it took three cars, six drivers and more than 2,700 miles for Aston Martin to defeat the works Ferraris and Porsches, its nearest rivals, to claim its first and only victory in the Le Mans 24-hour race. The chequered flag was waved as DBR1/2,
bearing black racing number 5s upon white circles, crossed the line with Texan Carroll Shelby at the wheel. Six miles behind it was DBR1/4, carrying racing number 6 and helmed by French veteran Maurice Trintignant. When DBR1/4 crossed the line it secured a marvellous 1-2 for David Brown, the charismatic owner of Aston Martin, whose initials have become ever associated with a series of legendary British cars, the initials DBR standing for David Brown Racing. Watching from the pits were Shelby's British co-driver Roy Salvadori, Trintignant's Belgian partner Paul Frère, and the British pair Stirling Moss and Jack Fairman, whose DBR1/3, racing as number 4,
“AS OUR FIRST-EVER WATCH, THE C3 MALVERN, WAS INSPIRED BY THE DIAL FROM A CLASSIC ASTON MARTIN, WE WERE FASCINATED BY CHRIS’ PROPOSITION,” had set a blistering pace in the early section of the 24-hour race that proved to be the ruin of the continental thoroughbreds from Italy and Germany. By the end of this classic endurance pursuit Salvadori and Shelby had covered 2,701.654 miles (4346.961km) at an average speed of 112.569mph (181.124kph). A legend had been confirmed.
The black, green and white dial of the C70DBR1-COSC reflects the livery of the victorious Aston Martin from the 1959 Le Mans race. The 100 numeral on the bezel is picked out in red to celebrate Aston Martin’s centenary this year.
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Earlier this year, Stirling Moss shared some of his memories with AM, the Aston Martin Magazine. “Le Mans was never a circuit I particularly liked as the cars weren't generally reliable enough in my day, so you had to nurse them round there rather than really go for it, which was my style. [In 1959] they fitted my car with a special more powerful engine and [I was told] to go out and drive very fast, which was music to my ears, to see if we could tempt Ferrari into a high-speed duel. I was driving with Jack Fairman and the plan worked perfectly as Ferrari did exactly what we hoped. They tried to chase us down and burnt themselves out in doing so. Three of their cars were forced to retire with engine problems, which allowed the
other two Aston Martins to finish first and second. The DBR1 was a great car to drive...as it handled beautifully you could really throw it around, which is how I wanted to drive. The brakes were great and the car had lovely balance. It also looked very classy and I always preferred to drive a British car if I could." After securing the World Championship in 1959, David Brown retired Aston Martin from racing. Over the past 50-plus years, however, DBR1/2 has not been a motionless cocooned museum piece. Owned by people that cared about it and knew how to look after it, this iconic wirewheeled gem has been raced regularly at vintage meetings and scrupulously maintained. A few years ago historian Christopher Bennett acquired from DBR1/2's previous long-term owner
DBR1
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left; Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks celebrate victory in the RAC Tourist Trophy at Goodwood of 1958, which they won as co-drivers of Aston Martin DBR1/2.
Photos: AP/Press Association
“THE DBR1 WAS A GREAT CAR TO DRIVE… AS IT HANDLED BEAUTIFULLY – YOU COULD REALLY THROW IT AROUND, WHICH IS HOW I WANTED TO DRIVE. THE BRAKES WERE GREAT AND THE CAR HAD LOVELY BALANCE.” STIRLING MOSS some fragile aluminium panel sections that had been removed from the car during restoration activities, one of these panels being a slender bulkhead section located behind the driver's head, this section a distinctive feature of the curvaceous lines of the Aston. Bennett's London-based business, TMB ArtMetal, scrupulously salvages original metals from very rare historic cars and aircraft and recycles it into unique collectible artefacts, such as cufflinks made from the remnants of a famous 1940 Battle of Britain Hurricane fighter. When he approached Christopher Ward Watches with an idea for a collaboration, the motor racing fanatics at CW's Maidenhead HQ took little persuading. "As our first-ever watch, the C3 Malvern, was inspired by the dial from a classic Aston Martin, we were fascinated by Chris's proposition," says CW co-founder Mike France. "We were looking to create a special limited-edition to mark the Aston Martin centenary this year and what could be better than an actual fragment of the marque's most famous and successful racer?" Bennett explains: "During a meticulous restoration in the early 1990s by renowned engineer Tim Samways a small number of damaged or age-distressed original body panel sections were removed from DBR1/2, and it is from one of these very panels that the pieces in the Christopher
Ward chronometer are derived. These venerable old panels display the correct and expected age patina appropriate to metal from the late 1950s, with a hard working life behind them." Celebrating 100 years this year, Aston Martin started life as Bamford & Martin, a company incorporated on 15 June 1913. Based at 12-16 Henniker Place, Chelsea, it was a partnership between Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin, who had met through an interest in cycling. Having started working as a motor repair business, they took on a dealership and concentrated on modifying Singer production cars to achieve improved
below; An official doffs his hat as he waves the chequered flag for Carroll Shelby, who crosses the finish line driving DBR1/2 to win the 24 hour race in Le Mans, France on June 21, 1959. Shelby and codriver Roy Salvadori averaged 122.569 miles per hour, including all stops in the 24 hours. Only 13 of 53 starters finished the race.
performances. The partnership was dissolved in 1920 when Bamford left. Martin added "Aston" after the Aston Hill climb near Aylesbury where he competed with Singers and by the early 1920s Aston Martin was a recognised designation for the cars he developed. In 1926 the company failed, Martin left and new investors revived it under the name of Aston Martin Motors. David Brown came on the scene in 1947 when he saw an advertisement for "a high-class motor business" in The Times. His family's Huddersfield based engineering business made gears and tractors and Aston Martin ➸
Orderline 0844 875 1515
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Swiss movement, English heart
C60 TRIDENT PRO - AUTOMATIC ÂŁ510
Made in Switzerland/ Sellita SW200-1, self-winding movement 38 hour power reserve/ 42mm marine-grade 316L stainless-steel case and deployment bracelet/ Water resistant to 300 metres/ 4mm antireflective sapphire crystal/ Deep-etched back-plate engraving E X C L U S I V E LY A V A I L A B L E AT
christopherward.co.uk
Photos: AP/Press Association
DBR1
was bought by the David Brown Corporation for £20,500 in 1947. In 1948, the British luxury car company Lagonda was added to the stable for £52,500 and Aston Martin Lagonda was created. As he did not own the company personally, during the 25 years or so he ran the business, Brown's wish to spend money on the cars often was thwarted by the finance department in Yorkshire. Born in 1904, Brown was physically a small man with something of a Napoleon complex. He was an adventurous soul who owned racehorses, held a pilot's licence, played polo and raced cars and motorcycles. A confirmed ladies' man, he was married three times, the last wife being 48 years his junior. Knighted in 1968, he died in tax exile in Monaco in 1993 aged 89. After Brown bought Aston
Martin he insisted that his initials should prefix the model designation of the cars. Although in 1931 an Aston Martin was the first British car to complete the Le Mans 24-hour race, the DB years, which lasted until the mid-1970s when the struggling business was sold, are recognised as the finest period for the marque. Ironically, even when he owned the company, Brown used a Jaguar XJ Series 1 as his own car. The success of the legendary DBR1s is all the more remarkable because, compared to their bitter rivals, the Ferraris, they were underpowered and had a very unreliable gearbox. It had a habit of either jamming or jumping out of gear, which must have been a disconcerting thought in the driver's mind at 160mph on the Mulsanne straight at Le Mans. In 1959 53 cars started the endurance
below; British racing driver Stirling Moss at the wheel the 3-litre Aston Martin DBR1/3 during the opening stages of the Le Mans 24 hour race in France on June 20, 1959.
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classic, including 11 works and privately-entered Ferraris, which were generally accepted to be better cars. The spectacular C70DBR1-COSC Special Edition of just 100 models, including the precious fragments sourced from the winning car, is a fitting salute to this exceptional and historic victory.
C70DBR1 - COSC SPECIAL EDITION The entrancing lines and unforgettable details of the Aston Martin DBR1/2 have inspired the design of the latest motor racing chronometer from Christopher Ward. The ETA 251.233 COSC is the engine within the 42mm polished steel case, its actions controlled by two pushers that flank the crown. The 36mm green, black and white face echoes the famous livery of the car itself, while the 3, 9 and 12 numerals are in white circles in the same font as the Aston Martin team numbers from 1959. The three chrono eyes take their design cues from the dashboard dials of the car. As usual with Christopher Ward’s motor sportinspired watches, the nickel hands are coated with SuperLuminova™ for luminosity. Red is used for the 60-minute counter and the tip of the 60-second counter. To mark the Aston Martin’s centenary, 100
on the bezel is picked out in red. The celebratory mood is continued on the backplate, on which the surnames of the winning drivers of the 1959 Le Mans, Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori, are engraved on the edge, along with the limited edition serial number. At the centre of the backplate is the precious 23.2mm aluminium disc that came from a panel of the DBR1/2 itself. Seated on an IPK base, the disc has the winning car’s 5 numeral cut out of it. For protection, it is covered with a sapphire crystal disc. This amazing timepiece, including a unique fragment of one of the world’s most famous and most impressive racing cars, is being produced in a worldwide limited edition of just 100 examples. It costs £1950. With this chronometer Christopher Ward takes its motor racing-inspired watches to a new level.
FEATURES • Swiss Made • Includes historic precious metal from the 1959 Le Mans winning Aston Martin DBR1/2 car in back-plate • Worldwide limited edition of only 100 pieces • Thermo-compensated ,27 jewel, Swiss quartz chronometer with COSC Certification • Chronograph with split minutes/seconds/ tenths seconds • Marine- grade stainless steel case • Internal tachymeter bezel with DBR1/2 markings • Screw-in crown • Museum-grade anti-reflective sapphire crystal
covering dial and DBR1/2 disc on back-plate • Water resistant to 10atm • Vintage Italian leather strap with Bader deployment • Individually engraved serial number • Deluxe presentation case and special edition owner’s handbook including certificate of authenticity CRYSTAL
TECHNICAL • Diameter: 42mm • Height: 10.3mm • Calibre: ETA 251.233 COSC • Strap:22mm Leather • Dial:Aston Martin Green
IPK BASE
METAL DISC
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| THE
COLLECTOR
Women & Hats
Tom Phillips comments on some of his personal favourite postcards from his huge collection.
MORE THAN 50,000 PICTURE POSTCARDS HAVE BEEN COLLECTED BY EMINENT ARTIST TOM PHILLIPS OVER THE PAST 30 YEARS. THE ANONYMOUS PEOPLE UPON THEM PRESENT A FASCINATING VIEW OF A TIME WHEN NOT EVERYONE HAD A MOBILE PHONE WITH A CAMERA IN IT.
T
om Phillips CBE is a collector of many things. The five-storey home of this 76-year-old artist in south London is packed with myriad found objects, antiquarian books, African wooden furniture, paperbacks, painter’s materials, old magazines and 50,000plus picture postcards, all carefully filed in ring-binders. He has divided his postcard collection into 120 groups, some of which have subcategories within them. The subjects are written in hand along the spines of the plastic folders: Babies; Flowers; Men At Work; Gardens/Gardener; New Arrival; Interior; Front Door; Horse; Rural; Seaside; Aspidistra... the list goes on. Those that cannot be easily categorised are placed in the binder designated Enigma. 42
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“I am chaotic and orderly to the same degree,” says the affable Phillips to explain this precise cataloguing system among the maelstrom of belongings in his house. Perpetually busy, he describes himself as “a slave to art”; His highly efficient assistant Alice Wood simply calls him “a workaholic”. The postcards have been collected over the past 30-plus years and some now are being presented in a series of books published by the Bodleian Library in Oxford, to which Phillips has bequeathed his archive. Six books, each carrying 200 images of just one subject, have been published so far (the topics range from Weddings to Menswear to Fantasy Travel). The next two in the series – Sport and Walls – are about ready to go to the publisher, while Dogs is almost finished. ➸
Women & Hats: Occasionally I fall in love with a woman on a postcard who is now either dead or at least a hundred years old. This mature, elegant and beautiful lady has had my heart for years. Lolita: When I was asked to design a cover for Lolita I remembered this touching picture of a man dancing with his girl pupil. No doubt theirs was a harmless coupling in more innocent days.
Lolita
THE COLLECTOR
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Fantasy Transport: When only the very rich could drive a car, and practical flight was still a dream away, you could indulge your fantasies and be a daredevil or a toff for a shilling.
Two Men: Though these men pictured in Aberdeen are anonymous a whole novel could be improvised from the picture, both actual (types of jersey can be identified) and imaginary.
Footballer: This proud icon of the sportsman is the real thing, not a cossetted millionaire celebrity. We do not know his name and black and white photography does not identify his team, so he stands for all the players of past times.
Portrait; Jo Paterson. Postcards coutesy of Tom Phillips
Wall: While these men merely have their backs to us we know the implications, and see the grave and simple humour: as well as appreciating one of the age-old functions of a well-made wall.
Shop: The modern butcher does his best to be reticent about the animals that are carved up for our consumption. The opposite is the case with a butcher of a hundred years ago when pride was taken in raw reality.
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| THE
COLLECTOR
My mother and father
Luckily (for me and my project) both my parents have a postcard existence and have found their way into books shortly to appear. My father pictured as a boxer before WWI takes up the appropriate stance, appropriately attired in Sport. He was a welterweight champion and also played in the Welsh rugby fifteen, as well as that of Llanelly. My mother could be in a volume on women’s fashion but since she is accompanied by a fine dog (an Airedale), she is included in the book called Dogs.
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He started collecting the postcards innocently enough as research tools for his painting (he is an Honorary Member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and a Royal Academician), but the collecting bug bit and an interest became an obsession. From finding them in junk shops, he progressed to postcard fairs and admits that he has been influential in increasing prices for these vintage ephemera. “I used to pay 20p for a card. Now sometimes I have to pay £20 for a particular one I want. It’s all my fault,” he says with a rueful smile. He reckons he has flicked through more than two million cards to collect his 50,000 or so. Phillips’ most exhaustive work on the subject is The Postcard Century (Thames & Hudson, 2000). In it he presented 2000 cards from 1900 to 1999 and reproduced them along with at least part of the message that each carried, backed by a short comment from himself. It took three years of work. “…what had been escapade turned into quest, leading me into a nether territory that I had scarcely imagined”, he writes in his introduction. One of the curiosities of this fabulous book is that Phillips included a postcard of Piccadilly Circus and one of the Manhattan skyline from each of the 100 years under review. To get the 1999 one of New York in time for the book’s deadline, he flew across the Atlantic on Concorde. He certainly has a sense of fun. In 2004, more than 1000 of Phillip’s postcards were displayed at The National Portrait Gallery under the title We Are The People. The 336page catalogue of the same name is highly recommended. As good with words as he is with images, Phillips explains that from 1902 the British Post Office allowed messages as well as addresses to appear on the backs of the regulation-sized cards (5½ x 3½ inches) which cost only a halfpenny to post. “You could now go to one of the studios springing up all over the country, pose for your picture, examine the result after a short interval and, approving it, have it replicated for not much more than a
penny a card,” he has written. The picture postcard format was developed in the USA but evolved rapidly in Britain from the mid-1890s. The postcard size was standardised in 1899. The postcard portrait flourished in the UK from about 1900 to 1935, two years before Phillips was born. As well as providing studio shots, photographers swarmed over holiday resorts and even suburban high streets, snapping away and encouraging their subjects to drop into the studio to buy the result. Phillips recalls that he and his parents were shot by a roving photographer at the Festival of Britain on a windswept day in 1951: “My father (who had been a postcard subject in 1906, see left) failed to buy the result. It seemed to mark the end of the affair.” The prevalence of inexpensive cameras helped kill off the postcard portrait industry but the thousands and thousands of cards that survive from before the Second World War in particular are a reminder of an age when, for the first time in history, the images of ordinary people could be recorded easily and cheaply for posterity. Exchanging such cards became a social ritual. They are superb sources of information of how real people looked, dressed, wore their hair, and presented themselves to the world (or at least for the short time they were in front of the camera). Readers of this magazine would look in vain for wristwatches among Phillips’ subjects. While a few women are pictured with a timepiece on their lower arm, he reckons that a wristwatch can be seen only once in every 600 cards for ordinary men and most of these are servicemen. For his collection, he has concentrated on British postcards. Missing from the carefully organised binders are images of celebrities and royalty. His fascination lies with ordinary citizens, unknown persons, whose images were captured on sepia postcards decades ago, many of which have no identifying mark to give us the date or place where the photograph was made, let alone any detail of the subject. “I like anonymous people, anonymously taken,” Phillips says.
Portrait;coutesy Jo Paterson. Picture of Bently Priory, Eileen Younghusband and AP Photo
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“I LIKE ANONYMOUS PEOPLE, ANONYMOUSLY TAKEN” www.christopherward.co.uk
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| SPIRIT
OF ADVENTURE
DAY 2 – July 5 Got up at 4am today and drove
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WE’VE GOT A MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB
DAY 1 – July 4
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The fearless five’s schedule in July and August required them to drive 6000 miles from the north of Scotland to Tajikistan and then drive back again. In between was sandwiched three weeks devoted to scaling as many of the unknown Pamir peaks as energy, weather and good luck would allow. left; Most of the team hail from Inverness, Scotland, and have been adventuring as a group since schooldays. Calum Nicoll 22, Struan Chisholm 21, Max Jamilly 21, Theo Scott 21, Leonhard Horstmeyer 25,
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London to France, through Belgium and into Germany. Motor is running well and we're now camped near the Black Forest.
Stopping off at Christopher Ward (London) HQ for a final meet yesterday (wonderful to see into the workshops!)
“WE ARE DOING THIS FOR THE FUN AND THE ADVENTURE. WE ARE ALL VERY EXCITED. THE WORST PART HAS BEEN ORGANISING THE MASS OF PAPERWORK FOR THE VISAS.”
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CW BACKED FIVE YOUNG MOUNTAINEERS ON EXPEDITION TO THE UNKNOWN THIS SUMMER. FINGERS CROSSED, THERE IS A PEAK IN FARAWAY TAJIKISTAN THAT WILL BE FOREVER MOUNT CHRISTOPHER WARD. y the time this magazine is published, a previously unclimbed peak in the Pamir range in the remote Rog valley of Tajikistan should have been conquered and named Mount Christopher Ward. The company agreed to be lead sponsor for an amazing two-month expedition to Central Asia by a five-man team of adventuring British university students, who are only between 21 and 25 years old. Before setting off, team leader Struan Chisholm , 21, whose idea of a good time is to spend a climbing season in the Alps living in a cave, said: “We are doing this for the fun and the adventure. We are all very excited. The worst part has been organising the mass of paperwork for the visas.”
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DAY 3 – July 6 Entering Ukraine at the border: "You go to Russia?" "Yes." "You have narcotics?" "No." "No? Why you go to Russia with no narcotics?"
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SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE | CW
DAY 6 – July 9 Made it to Kazakhstan! Just north of the Caspian Sea. There's far too much road in these potholes, and we just narrowly missed a camel. Last night we had to put up with swarms of mosquitoes in 'bed' (Russian sand) and the repellent melted Max's sleeping bag!
DAY 9 – July 12 Despite being fast-tracked by the very friendly border guards as 'international athletes' (and Calum specifically as 'very handsome'...), crossing to Uzbek took 7 hours. Guards binned our customs forms, instead insisting on swapping facebook details. Slept under magical starlit sky; now racing through desert to Bukhara and beyond.
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Day 13 – July 16 The last couple of days in Uzbekistan we've been waving more and shaking hands more than HRH on parade - very welcoming people here. Stopped in the ancient Silk Road cities of Bukhara and Samarkand. Camped last night on the porch of a mechanic from Samarkand - ate well, repaired the trailer and played rugby with his 16 children!
DAY 17 – July 20 Both mountain roads blocked forded a river and avoided a military base. Two day walk-in planned. Boots on!
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above; The inaccessibility of this area makes it a clean slate for climbing activity. The group will attempt new routes, challenging traverses, and make several first ascents of the larger peaks over a period of several weeks. The broader aim of the expedition is to explore Tajikistan's Rog Valley and broadcastexperiences to other adventurers, as this area has so far been given far too little attention by mountaineers.
“THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS IN UZBEKISTAN WE'VE BEEN WAVING MORE AND SHAKING HANDS MORE THAN HRH ON PARADE VERY WELCOMING PEOPLE HERE. ”
These untouched mountains are a climber’s dream, soaring more than 5000 metres (over 16400 feet), which is the same height as Mont Blanc, the tallest of the Alps, and about four times as high as Ben Nevis, the loftiest UK peak. There has only been one previous climbing expedition to this mysterious region. It is a sobering and yet uplifting thought to reflect that more men have stood on the moon than on the tops of these Tajik peaks. For timekeeping, Chisholm & Co were relying on the C11 Makaira Pro 500s they received from Christopher Ward, which was mightily impressed by their spirit of adventure. In return for the company’s support, the team promised to name the first peak they conquered Mount Christopher Ward, a designation that will be officially recognised by Tajikistan and international bodies. Satellite phone signals permitting, the story of their adventure was regularly logged on www.christopherward.co.uk. For the full story, see www.tajik2013.com Orderline 0844 875 1515
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| PSYCHOLOGY
OF TIME
THE MENTAL
CHRONOGRAPH IN OUR LATEST ESSAY ON THE PSYCHOLOGY OF TIME, PROFESSOR JOHN WEARDEN EXAMINES THE BRAIN’S ABILITY TO MEASURE, STORE, AND EVEN MANIPULATE, TIME. THE MENTAL CHRONOGRAPH IS SURPRISINGLY ACCURATE AND CAN EVEN DO SPLIT TIME.
ow do people judge how long things last? One idea is that they have some sort of internal clock that they can use to judge time, a clock that they can start and stop at will, and one which reflects, on average, the passage of time accurately. This proposal dates back to the 1920s, but recent research has breathed new life into it. If you do have such a clock, how does it work? In the 1960s it was suggested that the clock operates like a tap and a jug. When it starts timing, the water begins to flow from the tap, and the flow stops when the clock’s timer stops, leaving the amount of water in the jug as a measure of the time that’s passed. More technically, this is described as a pacemaker-accumulator clock, with a pacemaker that produces “ticks” (the rate of flow from the tap), an accumulator which stores them (the jug), and a switch which connects the two. It’s easy to see how such a clock can do timing tasks. Suppose you hear two musical notes, and have to say which lasted longer. The number of ticks accumulated for each note can be stored and compared, and if they’re sufficiently different you’ll be able to make the judgement correctly, even if the notes are ones you’ve never heard before. In fact, people can reliably distinguish times differing only by 10 or 15 per cent, sometimes less. But the internal clock can do other things too, some of which are much more remarkable. I gave students a “standard” 10-second interval a few times, under conditions in which they couldn’t count. Then, I gave them different times, from 1 to 10 seconds, and they had to say what percentage each one was of the 10-second standard. This task seems very hard, and the students had little
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confidence in their judgements. But, in fact, the average estimate they made was almost completely correct, as if they could subdivide the standard time very accurately. How did they do this? Let’s go back to the tap and jug analogy. If we ignore the time taken to start and stop the flow, the amount of water in the jug increases in a very orderly way with time: if you double the time, you double the amount of water, if you halve the time, the amount of water is halved, and so on. So, if you have a pacemaker-accumulator clock like a tap and jug, subdividing intervals accurately should be easy, and it is. In another study, people estimated the time of tones with gaps in them, and were asked to either ignore the gap or take it into account.
mysterious. Something discovered in the 19th century is that auditory stimuli seem to last longer than visual ones. So, if a musical note and a square of colour on a screen are presented for the same length of time, people judge the note to be around 20% longer. Why? There’s no definite answer. Does the internal clock change with age, or with a person’s psychological state? It’s hard to say for sure. If you compare different sorts of people, such as children, young adults, or the elderly, any differences that you observe in their timing might be due to many things, such as differences in attention or memory, so you can’t be certain that the internal clock itself is responsible. However, there is evidence that
DOES THE INTERNAL CLOCK CHANGE WITH AGE, OR WITH A PERSON’S PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE? They could also do this fairly easily, as if they could start, stop, and restart their clock at will, just like a stopwatch. If there is an internal clock, can we speed it up or slow it down? It’s been suggested that the pacemaker is sensitive to a person’s arousal level, going faster when they’re aroused and slowing down when arousal levels fall. This idea has spawned many experiments, some using drugs, some using emotion-provoking stimuli like angry faces, even one where arousal levels were lowered by making the experiment especially boring. Generally, things that increase arousal make people judge events as lasting longer, consistent with a speededup pacemaker, and boring them has the opposite effect. But some results are more
the pacemaker of the clock slows down as people age, as you might expect. So, although the internal clock is a psychological model, with as yet no single identifiable mechanism in the brain, we certainly behave as if we have such an internal stopwatch, and can use it to make judgements of time in many situations.
John Wearden is a world-renowned author of around 100 scholarly articles on the stopwatch-like abilities of the human brain. Since 2005 he has been professor of psychology at Keele University. Before that he was professor and head of the psychology department at the University of Manchester. He is married with three children and a double bass.
SPECIAL EDITIONS | CW CW FORUM | CW
Swiss movement, English heart
A GROWING SIDE OF CHRISTOPHER WARD’S BUSINESS PUTS SPECIAL-EDITION WATCHES ON THE WRISTS OF MILITARY PERSONNEL AND OTHER ADVENTURERS THE WORLD OVER
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egimental insignia. Campaign medals. Old-school ties. Blazer badges. College scarves. Cricketing caps. Men, in particular, have many ways of letting others know that they are part of a defined and select group. There is great satisfaction to be had in celebrating the feeling of fellowship and comradeship that is derived from belonging to a group of like-minded individuals. It’s no surprise that one often hears a team, a club or a troop described as a “body of men”; such groups are often more than the sum of their parts. Added to these familiar badges of honour now are special-edition watches from Christopher Ward, which has been producing often small numbers of pieces for a surprisingly large number of specialinterest clubs and personnel (male and female) from all three services. The company is now a fully approved supplier to the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and the Army. The military side of this corporate specials work began by chance when an order for a C4 Chronograph was sent to Canada. The customer turned out to be a senior officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force, in charge of a squadron of supersonic F-18 Tomcat fighters. So pleased was he with the watch that he contacted the CW's HQ (in C11 TITANIUM ELITE CHRONOMETER – LIMITED EDITION Cookham£750 at the time) and asked if a special-edition version could be him and his airborne colleagues. Swiss made / Worldwide limited edition of 500 pieces / ETA supplied 2824-1 for self-
winding certified chronometer / 38 hour power reserve / Satin finish THE HELICOPTERS SALUTING titanium case / Water resistant to 500 metres / Internal countdown / delivery had Oncebezel this first beengrade made, British flyers on a Helium release valve by FIMM / AR08 anti-reflective, museum training course with the sapphire crystal / Deep-etched back plate engraving / SuperLuminova™ Canadians saw the watch and hands and indexes / High-density rubber dive strap decided that this was an E X C L U S I V E LY A V A I L A B L E AT
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Source Code
If undelivered please return to: Christopher Ward (London) Limited,1 Park Street, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 1SL, UK
Swiss movement, English heart
C1000 TYPHOON FGR4 - ÂŁ1575
Made in Switzerland / Self-winding, 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 / RAF lowvisibility roundel at 6 0’clock counter / Deep-etched case-back engraving / Military style, high density webbing and leather strap with Bader deployment E X C L U S I V E LY A V A I L A B L E AT
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Customer Number
If undelivered please return to: Christopher Ward (London) Limited,1 Park Street, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 1SL, UK
Swiss movement, English heart
C1000 TYPHOON FGR4 - ÂŁ1575
Made in Switzerland / Self-winding, 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 / RAF lowvisibility roundel at 6 0’clock counter / Deep-etched case-back engraving / Military style, high density webbing and leather strap with Bader deployment E X C L U S I V E LY A V A I L A B L E AT
christopherward.co.uk