A real moon at your wrist - Christopher Ward C1Moonglow

When you think of a moonphase watch the traditional layout comes to mind, 6 o clock aperture and date indicator at 9, and a leather strap, to be honest our brain is programmed to like it. So what to do get when you want to stand out from the crowd? Well if you don’t want an off the shelf look and also a special piece then I really believe that you should look at the C1 Moonglow from Christopher Ward, I really enjoy reviewing their watches, they are different, with great quality and at an incredible price point.

The first time I saw the C1 Moonglow was in their magazine, I really stared at the picture for a long time thinking that I've never seen a moonphase watch like that, it would take me hours and hours to explain all the features and small details that can be found in this piece, so I will try to limit the reading time and also hide my excitement from this elegant execution of the most romantic complication, let's begin.

The Specifications

Although I am still staring at that beautiful moon, we need to talk about numbers, the case of the C1 Moonglow is 40.5 mm with a lug to lug distance of 48.5mm, straight away you might think that these are sports watch dimensions but the reality is that the watch looks and feels better than a 38mm dress watch, let me explain, if the watch a simple 3 hander it would definitely look big with these proportions but, because of all the information that is displayed it just feels right, the moons are opposite to each other with a generous size allowing you to enjoy their three- dimensional depth, they really look like a mini picture of it.

Instead of opting for an aperture Christopher Ward decided leave the dial open with a smoked glass, you can see all the stars and the night sky on your wrist. The watch displays a date but, can you imagine if they decided to put an aperture on this beautiful dial? Well they really went all in and used a pointer date complication leaving the dial uncluttered and minimalist, there is a lot going on but you really don’t realized it until you really pay attention, it is magic. The watch is powered by a Sellitta SW200 but on top it add their in house module JJ04 which drives the precision of the moonphase for 128 years as long as the watch is fully wound, yes an in-house capability was needed to create this beauty, its special.

On the wrist:

Yes, you can really tell that I loved this watch, not only because is a complication for watch lovers but also because is so well executed that is hard to not fall for it. When I saw the watch for the first time (I was on a watch event) it was on a wooden stand with a torch so the lume of the dial could be appreciated, it was really captivating how elegant and how good it looked as an artifact and not as a watch, I kept on thinking if the watch showroom good or everyday good, it was the later, the watch hasn’t left my wrist since it arrived and it is getting really hard to say good bye, I don’t own a moonphase watch at the moment and if I had to add one to the collection It would definitely this one, easy to pull, elegant but casual when you need it to be. If you are buying a dress/casual watch please make sure to keep this on a short list, I am sure I will.gimmicky but is not common, is a perfect blend.

Conclusions:

Yes, you can really tell that I loved this watch, not only because is a complication for watch lovers but also because is so well executed that is hard to not fall for it. When I saw the watch for the first time (I was on a watch event) it was on a wooden stand with a torch so the lume of the dial could be appreciated, it was really captivating how elegant and how good it looked as an artifact and not as a watch, I kept on thinking if the watch showroom good or everyday good, it was the later, the watch hasn’t left my wrist since it arrived and it is getting really hard to say good bye, I don’t own a moonphase watch at the moment and if I had to add one to the collection It would definetely this one, easy to pull, elegant but casual when you need it to be. If you are buying a dress/casual watch please make sure to keep this on a short list, I am sure I will.