CWC SBS Diver Issue MKII Watch Review
Diving watch history is inextricably intertwined with military diving. Timepieces designed for the underwater frontiers of warfare have, since the 1960s, driven innovation among Swiss watchmakers, and led to iconic designs now popular among collectors. Few better embody the form-follows-function ideal than CWC's Royal Navy Diver series, which has, for decades, been standard issue for the hard-charging specialized diving units of Great Britain's Ministry of Defense (MOD).Great Britain's Special Boat Service, a shadowy (and I'd like to think mustachioed) force of tea-drinking aquatic operators, has their own subdued version of the CWC Royal Navy diver, designed with direct input from the unit itself. Here, in a Wrist Time Review, we'll dive deep with the recently updated CWC SBS Diver Issue, a currently issued tactical tool diver. While not as high-speed as the operators for which the watch was designed, I am a commercial diver and can at least put the watch through its underwater paces.
Christopher Ward C50 Malvern Chronometer Watch
One of the great things about brands like Christopher Ward is the rarity factor. Independent watchmakers can change, adapt, and invent new designs faster than the big brands, whose production is locked into creating large quantities of best-selling collections. Limited editions are the stock in trade of independents, and Christopher Ward's C50 Malvern Chronometer is a case in point: it is a limited edition, and also the end of a line. The 50-piece series marks the last time the Mk II Malvern design, one of the brand's most well-known dress watch designs, will be used in a new timepiece.The C50 Malvern is a great value package that includes the materials and hallmarks of a high-end watch, including a sapphire crystal caseback, a 316L stainless steel case, 50m water resistance and a 25-jewel chronometer movement. It contains the COSC-certified ETA 2836, with a 38-hour power reserve and a -4/+6 accuracy rating, which puts it within the top 6% of Swiss made watches. The rotor is finished w