Lighting Up Your Wrist – Shine Bright With The New Christopher Ward C1 Worldglow
Editor’s Note: This is a short preview of the new Christopher Ward C1 Worldglow. Our detailed review should come soon once we go hands-on with the watch.
What Is It
Following on the successful footsteps of the rather unique — and one of my personal favourites that you can read me raving about here — moonphase complication watch the C1 Moonglow, Christopher Ward introduces that same stunning lume filled aesthetic to the worldtimer compilation. The new Christopher Ward C1 Worldglow in the brand’s own words is a “luminescent dress watch that brings the world to your wrist”
Why
Because one day we will travel again, and that’s when a sexy worldtimer watch might be the perfect companion. Because the combination of near-total luminosity with the world timer functionality is not only rather unique but also beautifully executed
When & Where
You can buy it online via the website here, available for £1,750 ($2’695 AUD) on a leather strap, or £1,800 ($2’775 AUD) on a mesh bracelet from 28 January 2021 at 11am GMT
Who Is It For
It’s for both, the busy globetrotter who would like to sport a timepiece that’s practical and cool, and for the watch enthusiast or collector — like myself — who would simply like to add a fun, lume filled piece to his collection
Missing
An aspect I find misplaced for someone with smaller wrists is the increased 43.5mm diameter compared to the C1 Moonglow that came in at 40.5mm. Since I have spent some time with the Moonglow, I know that on my 16 and a bit cm wrist the Moonglow sat fabulously and the smaller diameter formed a major part of its charm.
I guess a hands-on review would reveal how big or small the new C1 Worldglow really is, but given the 51.9mm lug to lug, I am a bit apprehensive. Even the Omega Aqua Terra Worldtimer is smaller lug to lug coming in at ~50mm despite being the same diameter as the Worldglow. I have included a photo of the Omega version below on my wrist for you to get a better idea.
Though the specification where the Worldglow beats both the Moonglow and the Aqua Terra is the thickness of the case. The Worldglow is only 11.55mm thick, while Moonglow sits at 12.35mm thickness and the Aqua Terra at a whopping 15.5mm.
Basic Specs
The new Christopher Ward C1 Moonglow features the somewhat in-house calibre JJ03. Somewhat because this movement is a part of the family developed by Johannes Jahnke for CW (hence JJ).
Jahnke is Christopher Ward’s master watchmaker — who now also works as director of development at Sellita, hence the movement in the Worldglow is a combination of in-house module on top of a Sellita base SW330 that is essentially a clone of the ETA 2893-2 and measures 26.20mm in diameter and 4.10mm in thickness — and there are currently four JJ Calibres in this family: JJ01, a jumping-hour module; JJ02, a single-pusher chronograph; JJ03, a worldtimer; and JJ04, the moonphase.
The automatic calibre JJ03 with in-house Worldtimer module comprises of 25 jewels, beats at the frequency of 4Hz (28’000 A/h), provides with an okay power-reserve of 42-hours, and a timing tolerance of +/- 20 seconds per day.
The movement is encased inside the previously mentioned 43.5mm x 11.55mm brushed and polished marine-grade (316L) stainless steel case that weighs a relatively light 66g and features an interhorn spacing of 22mm. The case allows for a basic 30m (3 ATM) water-resistance and through the display case-back you can marvel at the diamond-like carbon (DLC) finished rotor with twin flag engraving finish.
How Does It Do
I loved the C1 Moonglow on my wrist, so I am sure the Worldglow won’t disappoint either. But price-wise, compare it to 2020’s Christopher Ward C65 GMT Worldtimer and for someone looking for maximum bang for their buck, the Worldglow falls a bit short.
With the C65 GMT Worldtimer, for £995, one got the combination of GMT function and worldtimer on an only 42mm diameter watch that was thankfully 150m water resistant as well. Personally, if the C1 Worldglow came with a COSC-certified rating for the price it’s listed for, I would see the definite edge here.
On the whole, essentially, CW has combined the two specific timepieces in their current catalogue to spawn this new release: the C1 Worldtimer ref. C01-43AWT2-S00W0-CB with the C1 Moonglow reference C01-40AMP1-S00K0-CK.
C1 Worldtimer ref. C01-43AWT2-S00W0-CB 
C1 Moonglow reference C01-40AMP1-S00K0-CK
The only problem is that the C1 Worldtimer retails for £1’395/$2’150 AUD, so £355/$545 AUD cheaper. Everything else is terms of specs reads the exact same as the C1 Worldtimer. Is the lume on the new Christopher Ward C1 Worldglow worth this premium? I will leave that decision with you.
At the end of the day, both the C1 Worldtime and C1 Moonglow retail for the same price of $2’695 AUD (£1’750). They are both impressive and unique compared to what’s out there especially under the 3k AUD range and you couldn’t go wrong with either.
Personally, it is the bright, shining, Super-LumiNova® Grade X1 BL C1 in-filled dial that paints not just the hands but also the dial’s intricate world map that ends up being a show stealer. I wouldn’t know yet but if this feels anything like the C1 Moonglow on the wrist, I would say it’s an exceptional timepiece.
Long story short, the combination of the following shows why Christopher Ward’s first 2021 offering is a stellar proof of what the brand is capable of offering and how it is a strong competitor within the industry: the dial’s multiple layers that showcase a contoured, three-dimensional sapphire world map with luminous “sea”; the use of colour in the form of the red ‘city-selector’ wedge to pinpoint a specific time zone; the comfortable black cordovan leather strap with Bader deployant clasp (that I have used before); the signature Light-catcher™ case that I have come to love and admire; the domed brass outer bezel; and the generous use of Super-LumiNova® Grade X1 BL C1.
To find out more about the new Christopher Ward C1 Worldglow and other CW watches, please head to their website here. All images unless stated otherwise are © 2016 Christopher Ward (London) Ltd.
