In regard to your comment on the CW Bel Canto and the regular MB&F line, I agree. However, imo a more equal comparison can be made in terms of price point, quality, & innovation with MB&F's special M.A.D. editions compared to the Bel Canto.
I have the bel canto blue low number, and when I first got it, I thought, "Mmm but you start to appreciate the light weight and that look the more you have it .
I have a Bel Canto, lovely watch, value for money. Downsides being the company was not ready for the success of this watch and between delayed deliveries and poor messaging/follow up from management it feels like a one and done with the brand for me. Bonus point, the feeling you get when winding it is very pedestrian. On to Moser, I completely agree. I added a Heritage Dual Time to my collection, a well conceived and executed on piece. Now my favorite watch owned. Their management is beyond top tier. They have all the skills and are not afraid to create. My only concern is they may be moving too quickly into focusing on the six figure product. I would prefer they build their customer base with $15K to $25K offerings.
I'm starting to really come around to Moser. I didn't really understand what made them so special but as I learn more, they're as cool as MBandF, as beautiful as any high end handmade watch, and their messaging is subversive and very much self-aware. What other watch brand tag line would be "Very rare."? Cheeky. When and if funds ever become free enough to go there, they will be very high on the list.
the Bel Canto is the one CW that caught my attention and is a very nice watch. The likes of MB&F, Moser, Hautlence, Czapek, Arnold & Son, Laurent Ferrier, Lange are the big daddies at the top.
Actually Fed, the Bel Canto does share some things with MB&F and the question is a legitimate one: The dial of the Bel Canto is made by Positive Coating and the entire chiming mechanism on it is finished by Chronode. And yes, they are the same companies that supply and work on the MB&F Legacy machines. I think Andrew, when he was at Watchfinder made a video on this and I think Christopher Ward told him not to make that public. But he did.😅
@@justingalore123 not surprised, but we have to remember the MAD series is a side project of Max's, so they're not equivalent to the MB&Fs of course. But yeah, for similar price, the Bel Canto is far superior.
Ahh Moser. Gorgeous. The VantaBlack! Seriously considered a pre-owned fumé green Pioneer and ultimately acknowledged it was just too big on my wrist. But the quality and finish and color was superior.
Christopher Ward makes a decent watch for a good price. But, only decent. I have a CW 300 Trident Pro. It is gorgeous and the fit and finish is nice. But, the SW200 movement doesn't hold a candle to the SW200 movement in my Tudor 1926. The Tudor winds so much smoother, keeps better time, the reserve lasts longer even though they are rated the same. I like my CW and don't regret the purchase, but I won't purchase another one.
Your tutor 1926 has an eta movement with a 38 hour power reserve? Eer the selita is an exact same as the the eta EXACTLY. If you wined them both to the max and put them down they should have the more or less same power in them. And the cw can be regulated if you want better running watch, cost you fifty quid
Fully agree on your comments about AL&S and Moser. Also think Saxonia (especially moon phase) is underrated amongst AL&S collection, similar fit and finish to their higher ranked pieces with beautiful, reliable movement as well as overall proportions.
A quirky mechanical arrangement display does not make automatically high end horology. Otherwise the overcomplicated chinese watches should be on top of the list. Take the Sugess Tourbillon for example. Much much complex than any other watch in that price range. It does make a bigger step in high horology than any Bel Canto. Bare with me, I love the Bel Canto and sooner or later it'll be in my collection, but it has to be clear the difference between real high end watchmaking and making the purchaser feel to have bought one but it's just an off the shelf modified movement. The Bel Canto is on the red line ready to jump on the other side, but not yet. A gorgeous watch for the price, but it's more high end a chinese tourbillon. IMHO.
I have around 100k in my watch collection. Christopher Ward has spent the most time on my wrist in the last two years. If you removed price and went in blind, it’s going to be your favorite.
Still could not be bothered with CW. Most of their watches and mind numbingly boring. If I want something in the same price range but mad and unique I will look at Corum for example
Comparing Corum with Christopher Ward is such an odd comparison. Christopher Ward makes high value-per-dollar modern sportswatches and look a lot less boring (lightcatcher case looks great, lots of fun models like the c60 sapphire, c65 worldtimer, or aquatine) than many of their competitors in the same price range (e.g. Mido, Tissot, Hamilton). Corum is a more expensive brand that doesn't serve the same niche, and they produce a lot of heinously ugly models alongside their very few hits
Corum should sets above all those crappy entry level Swiss even omega. Read well as corum is fantastic value for now. Unique and very niche. There movements they use f. Piaget
I bought a cw watch: it felt like it was filled with sand, I returned it. And their lack of cooperation in returning it was so bad I'll never buy a cw ever again.
Filled with sand could mean rough sloppy mechanical feel winding and setting the watch. I have some high-end watches, and while you can see the finishing in pictures, there is no sense of how the watch feels mechanically, which I only found out by actually buying high-end watches. Looks like reviews don't talk about that. To me the mechanical feel greatly enhances or detracts from a watch.
Hey Fed, what quality would you say the Tag Heuer time-only Carrera is coming in at? I like the look of that watch, but years ago the quality was not there. I have an Aqua Terra (previous gen). Is the Carrera equally to that in polish/brushing? Also, what is the best luxury Quartz watch out there right now for men? I am keen on Quartz right now, but I want to maintain quality. Is Grand Seiko it (for me)?
I am under the impression that Rolex’s latest rev movement was breaking down in about two and a half years. I also was told that the Rolex factory has a 18 month backlog for servicing. Am I misunderstanding the situation?
A comparison between Christopher Ward and MB&F is a nonsense. CW is a wonderful mass product. MB&F is a product of art and science at completely different level.
@@dblh84 yes, they are, there's no doubt about that. But does it not intrigue you to know that the dials are made by the same companies? And the intricate chiming parts are also finished by the same companies. Yet one costs 100 times less?
CW bel canto v MB&F what Toyota's 2000GT was to Ferrari. Nobody compared them at the time. Now the 200gt is a million dollar icon. Bel canto will highly priced in years to come once it becomes scarcer. The aesthetic design of the exposed movement module is insane moment of accidental genius.
@bosco1603 agreed. Should have been limited... although against their horology democratisation values I guess. Of course watches aren't investments lol.
So they put an extra wheel in the mechanism to chime once an hour and i’m going to pay 4 grand for it? Not. I do think the twelve is nice but i want steel with the sw300 cosc, i don’t like the grey metal of titanium, so it’s still a no.
Your argument is convoluted. You say a watch is super reliable but not as reliable as a watch with fewer complications . To me the simpler more reliable watch is the more reliable watch
So, if it were Christopher & Ward, much like VC once was Vacheron and Constantin or Patek AND Philippe, CW would pass the “name” test? Like what you like, but hearing your objection sounds silly to my ears.
This kind of product is a great example of why the Swiss Made label is a scam. This watch and this brands collection doesn't deserve the “Swissness” designation with so many components made in China. Such practices harm reputable Swiss brands that go above and beyond the minimum requirements for the Swiss Made label. I wonder why so many brands still stick to that mention. What amazes me even more is that the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry doesn’t seem to care to protect truly Swiss made watches from this kind of brands…
"Swiss made" for watches is the same myth as Swiss chocolate - there are no cocoa trees in Switzerland. Most brands source from China anyways, including high-end.