Christopher Ward C70 VW4 Limited edition User guide
C70 VW4 CHRONOMETER – Limited Edition
O W N e r ’ s H a N d b O O K
1
Your Christopher Ward watch has been designed
and engineered by highly talented craftspeople
to ensure not only accurate and precise
timekeeping but also to bring a real pride of
ownership that only luxury items of the highest
quality can ever hope to deliver.
You have made an investment, a good one,
and the aim of this handbook is to help you
make the most of that investment during what
I hope will be a lifetime of ownership.
Christopher Ward
TIME ON YOUR SIDE...
INTRODUCTION
CONTENTS
THE VW4 STORY 2–3
C70 VW4 CHRONOMETER 4–5
THE COSC CERTIFIED
CHRONOMETER 6–7
TECHNICAL INFORMATION 8–9
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS 10–25
THE CW360 WATCH CARE
PROGRAMME 26–27
GENERAL INFORMATION 28
2
THE VW4 STORY
A GREAT BRITISH SUCCESS
The 1957 victory at Aintree of the Vanwall
VW4 racing car started with Tony Brooks
behind the wheel and took the chequered
ag with Stirling Moss in the driver’s seat.
This was the rst time a World Championship
Grand Prix race had been won in Britain
by a British car, driven by British drivers.
Vanwall was the brainchild of Tony Vandervell,
a former racing driver and a wealthy industrialist
whose main product was the “Thin Wall” bearing
that was used extensively in the international car
and aircraft industries from the 1930s onwards.
Part of his name and his product’s name were
combined to form Vanwall.
Vandervell wanted to create a successful British
racing car that, he said, would be able “to
beat those bloody red cars”, a reference to the
striking livery of Enzo Ferrari’s vehicles. In fact, his
early efforts at developing a winning machine
involved him buying a racing car from Ferrari
in early 1949 and again in 1951 and modifying
them. There followed several years in which the
Vanwall team steadily improved their cars and
caught the motor racing world’s attention with
strong outings on international circuits.
Although the early Vanwalls were notorious for
mechanical unreliability, the Vanwall VW4 was
Above; Moss punches the air as he takes the chequered flag,
ahead of three chasing Ferraris.
3
A GREAT BRITISH SUCCESS
Left; Tony Brooks and
Stirling Moss share the
laurels after switching
their Vanwall cars on
lap 27.
viewed as a masterpiece of engine design in a
sturdy yet light chassis.
What made the achievement of Moss and
Brooks all the more laudable was that, despite its
speed and power on the straight, it was difcult
to steer. “A very heavy, ponderous, car to drive”
is Moss’s assessment. In the rest of the 1957
season after Aintree, a Vanwall helmed by
Moss also triumphed at a Grand Prix in Pescara,
Italy and then, for a hugely satisfying hat-trick,
at the Italians’ sacred circuit at Monza.
“IT WAS SOMETHING I HAD DREAMED ABOUT FOR YEARS;
WINNING A GRAND PRIX IN A BRITISH CAR. THEN, TO DO IT
AT HOME INTO THE BARGAIN... A FANTASTIC EXPERIENCE.”
STIRLING MOSS ON THE 1957 VICTORY,
4
C70 VW4 CHRONOMETER – LIMITED EDITION
C70 VW4 CHRONOMETER
As the Vanwall cars were constructed in
Maidenhead, the home of Christopher
Ward, the astonishing story of how this
British team fought off and beat the then
all-conquering Ferrari’s is particularly close
to us, and we felt an overwhelming need
to create a watch of equal style and
panache to celebrate the achievement.
Inspired by the VW4’s success in the1957 British
Grand Prix at Aintree, this design blends retro
elements with the nest modern specications
of accurate timekeeping. Encompassing
the renowned ETA 251.233 COSC movement,
the C70 VW4 Chronometer comes with
certication from the Contrôle Ofciel Suisse
des Chronomètres (COSC).
COSC is the Ofcial Swiss Chronometer Testing
Institute responsible for certifying both accuracy
and precision of wristwatches in Switzerland.
The C70 VW4 Chronometer is, therefore, one of
the most accurate quality watches in the world.
The Number 20 of the winning car occupies
the 12 position on the face, while the 18 of the
second machine is highlighted in Vanwall’s
trim colour of yellow on the bezel. Moss’s
astonishing 90.61mph best average lap speed
is picked out in red on the tachymeter.
The reverse of the watch
enshrines the British
achievement with a
deep-etched engraving.
5
6
THE COSC CERTIFIED CHRONOMETER
COSC CERTIFICATION
To gain chronometer status, watchmakers
submit their Swiss movements to COSC,
an independent, non-prot making watch
accuracy verication organisation based
in Geneva, to be tested against the
international standards of ISO and DIN.
Certication follows exhaustive testing. In
achieving the coveted status of Certied
Chronometer, a movement must not only be
made from the highest quality components,
but also be the object of special care on
part of the nest horologists and technicians
as it is painstakingly assembled.
Only movements which meet the precision
criteria are granted an ofcial certicate.
Each uncased movement is individually
tested for fteen days, in ve positions,
at three different temperatures. Movements
are tted with a second hand for tests
and measurements are made daily with
the aid of cameras. Based on all of these
measurements, seven eliminatory criteria
are calculated, each of which must be met.
The exacting and rigorous nature of the
COSC certication process means that the
achievement of Certied Chronometer status
is extremely rare. In fact, of all the watches
produced in Switzerland each year, just 3%
bear the coveted COSC ‘bulletin de marche’
or certicate of watch performance. Which
is why, when you read the words ’Certied
Chronometer’ on a Swiss watch you can be
sure that the movement behind the elegant
dial is a rare example of ne Swiss watchmaking
which is accurate, precise... and extremely rare.
7
8
C70 VW4 CHRONOMETER
FEATURES
– Worldwide limited edition of only 1957 pieces
– Swiss made
– 27 jewel Swiss quartz movement and
COSC Certication
– Thermocompensated
– Convex sapphire crystal with
anti-reective coating
– Adjustable quick-release buttery clasp
– Screw-in crown and backplate
– Chronographic dials with split minutes /
seconds / tenths seconds
– Tachymeter bezel
– Water resistance – 10 ATM
– Spanish ‘Toro Bravo’ Italian leather strap
– Unique engraved individual serial number
TEchnicAl inFoRMATion
Diameter: 42mm
Height: 10.7mm
Weight: 80g
Calibre: ETA 251.233 COSC
Case: 316L stainless steel
Water Resistance: 10 ATM (100 metres)
Strap: 22mm Leather
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
9
Table of contents
Other Christopher Ward Watch manuals
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward C1 Grand Malvern Power Reserve User guide
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward C63 Colchester User guide
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto User guide
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward C8 UTC Worldtimer User guide
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward D8 Encore User manual
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward C8 Birkin's Blower TMB User guide
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward C5 Malvern Automatic Mk III User guide
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward C65 Cranwell 1 Series User guide
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward C65 trident CLASSIC User guide
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward C8 'Al Deere' TMB User guide
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward C5 Malvern Quartz mk II User manual
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward C60 Anthropocene GMT User manual
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward R9 User guide
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward C7 Rapide Chronometer Limited Edition User guide
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward C40 SpeedHawk User guide
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward C9 MOONPHASE User guide
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward C7 Rapide Chronometer Limited Edition User guide
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward C60 Atoll 300 User guide
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward C7 Rapide Automatic Guide
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward C65 Black Gold Limited Edition User guide
