Christopher Ward C1 Grand Malvern Jumping Hour Watch Review

The Jumping Hour range is yet another watch to get the Grand Malvern treatment – Christopher Ward’s premium line of dress watches. This refresh introduces the lovely new case, plus the latest CW logo and also a refined dial. However, it still houses the same movement with with JJ01 module under the hood. £1395 isn’t cheap, so let’s take a look to see if this watch deserves the price tag.

The specs

• Dimensions: 40.5mm diameter x 12.65mm height x 48.55mm lug to lug
• Weight: 62g
• Water resistance rating: 30m / 3ATM
• Movement: Sellita SW200-1 with JJ01 module
• Accuracy: +30 sec/day
• Lug width: 20mm
• Warranty: 5 years
• Price: £1395
• Available from: https://www.christopherward.co.uk/c1-jumping-hour-1

The dial

The dial is available in sunray blue, or opalin white (this one). The opalin white is a matte, silvery finish with microscopic flecks to provide a striking appearance.

The real star of the show, however, is the unusual nature of there being no hour or seconds hand and the addition of the hour indicator aperture at 12.

The aperture has a very wide and gentle bevelling, which steadily slopes into the large custom wheel. The numerals on the wheel are in a pleasant and stylish font, that are also readable.

The long, elegant, hour hand is blued, providing a splash of colour in what otherwise is an achromic dial. It isa very slender dauphine shape, which is classy and works well with the dial.

Moving on to the applied hour markers – I still don’t know why every odd hour is missing and is replaced with a printed line. It’s obviously a design feature, as it’s the same on all Grand Malvern watches, but to me just looks strange. Where they are used, the markers are constructed flawlessly, with a polished finish that catches the light. THere’s a double baton at 12.

The dial has minimal printing; the left-aligned logo is located at 9, model details in the bottom half and Swiss Made at foot of the dial. The new(ish) left aligned logo looks at home on this timepiece and especially at this location too.

The case

The case for the new premium range has been a complete success. It’s such a work of art and is a sight to behold.

It features “light catcher lines”, which create a beautiful elegant profile, much like that of a sports car – think Aston Martin.

The push-pull crown has the CW twin flags motif engraved deeply in a very good way, and also has suitable grip for changing the time and winding the watch.

The double domed sapphire crystal keeps visibility distortion free at all angles, whilst maintaining a pleasant variety of reflections of the dial. The anti-reflective coating is excellent – you can see a clear view of the dial at all times.

The exhibition caseback presents the movement and custom rotor admirably. There’s a highly bevelled steel surround to the movement which is a clever addition – it maximises the viewport even though the movement is not large enough to fill the void.

The strap

As is always the case with Christopher Ward, the leather strap is excellent. It’s made of Italian cordovan leather, and is thick and luxurious.

It’s a deep and classy blue hue with matching stitching. It has a flat and plain matte finish; I much prefer this to patent or alligator stamp.
Quick release pins are always a practical addition to any strap, it allows quick and easy switching without damage to the case.

The strap comes loaded with a Bader depoyant clasp. I personally find it a little strange that there’s no signing or engraving on the top bar – to me, it looks a bit bare and I believe it should have the twin flag motif engraved on it. The Christopher Ward logo is engraved on the inside of the clasp which is a nice touch, but it’s not easily seen.

The movement

The movement within the Christopher Ward C1 Grand Malvern Jumping Hour is the Sellita SW200-1, which is a solid, dependable movement in itself. But that’s not all, it has been tinkered with by Johannes Jahnke by means of an additional module named the JJ01. This module alters the way the hours are displayed; it is the brains behind the aperture at 12 which flicks straight over to the next hour right on the dot.

I’ve measured the movement’s accuracy using my Lepsi Watch Scope, and the tolerance out of CW HQ is supposed to be +/- 15 sec/day. However, the accuracy is coming in at +30 sec/day so it’s a fair bit out. My assumption is that this watch in particular is a demo unit which hasn’t been regulated as good as it should be.

The custom rotor has an exquisite twin-flag engraving over a “Colimaçoné” finish. It’s flanked by a blue bar with “Christopher Ward” engraved on it.

The specs of the SW200-1 are a 38 hour power reserve, and runs at 28.8k bph (8 ticks per second).

Final comments

I have really enjoyed my time with the Christopher Ward C1 Grand Malvern Jumping Hour. The design is classy, the construction is solid and it looks great on the wrist.

The JJ01 module transforms the SW200-1 movement into something unique and special, which is sure to be an interesting talking point to whoever will inevitably notice this timepiece.

The only things to be aware of are the lack of applied hour markers at every odd hour, and the lack of engraving on the top bar of the Bader clasp.

Apart from that, it truly is a beautifully crafted timepiece that looks and feels the part, and that you would not be disappointed with.