Christopher Ward C7 Rapide Chronograph

Christopher Ward are a brand of Swiss-made watches that are turning heads with great quality and attractive designs. What’s more, they are designed right here in the UK. We spent a week wearing the Christopher Ward C7 Rapide Chronograph to see what the fuss is all about.

Christopher Ward C7 Rapide Chronograph
Buy a Christopher Ward chronograph watch from eBay

A Week on the Wrist – Christopher Ward C7 Rapide Chronograph

We picked up this discontinued model at a discount. The “Chr. Ward” designation proved rather unpopular and the new range of Christopher Ward watches has a redesigned, more modern logo. The watch itself unashamedly takes its design cues from the TAG Heuer Carrera. It certainly is a looker, but we wish Christopher Ward would take a bolder step and introduce a more unique range instead of making homages to existing watches. It is powered by a quartz movement to keep costs down and certainly feels just as well built as the equivalent TAG Heuer watch.

What we liked

  • The design is striking, and from wrist distance, it looks like a £3,500 watch and not a £350 one.
  • Light hands on a white dial can be hard to read, but this one is just fine
  • We always prefer quartz chronographs to mechanical ones as they are more reliable and service costs are far lower
  • We love the “6, 9, 12” layout which is uncommon in quartz watches

What we didn’t like

  • The bracelet, like the TAG it is inspired by, has an annoying pin and collar adjustment that is a pain to do at home.
  • The lume on the hands is almost non-existent. Don’t even think about trying to read it in the dark.
  • Although it would have cluttered the dial, we’d have liked more numbers in the sub-dials to make them more useful

Christopher Ward C7 Rapide Chronograph – The WRUK verdict

We like this watch a lot. It really does exude quality and – objectively – there is nothing to dislike. On the other hand, however well made it may be, the average “man on the street” is not aware of the Christopher Ward brand and so it does not carry the same gravitas as other Swiss watches.

Buy a Christopher Ward C7 Rapide

Christopher Ward regularly offers discount codes to those who sign up to their mailing list, so we recommend doing so. Their free printed magazine is really high quality, too. You can buy a cheap Christopher Ward watch on eBay – there is a thriving used market for these watches.

By Mike Richmond

Mike spends what little spare time he has writing for WRUK; and what little money he makes building up his collection of timepieces.

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