Christopher Ward C8 M2.04 Limited Edition User guide

C8 M2.04
Limited Edition
Owner’s handbook

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Time on your side...
Introduction
Contents
Concorde 2–3
Captain Mike Bannister 4–5
C8 M2.04 Limited Edition 6–7
Technical information 8–9
How to operate your C8 M2.04
Limited Edition 10–14
Our watch care programme 15
Keeping in touch 16
Your Christopher Ward watch has been designed
and engineered by experts to ensure not only precise
timekeeping, but also to give you a sense of pride
whenever you wear it.
You’ve made an investment, a good one, and the
aim of this handbook is to help you make the most of
it during what I hope will be a lifetime of ownership.
Christopher Ward

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C8 M2.04 Limited Edition
Concorde
One of the crowning technological achievements
of the 20th century, Concorde did what very few
planes could: she stamped her mark on popular
culture. While in one regard, expensive ticket prices
perpetuated an aura of prestige – she was one-part
supersonic airliner, another-part exclusive cocktail
bar for the rich and famous at 60,000ft – she became
more than that. Concorde displayed the power of the
Anglo-French partnership that saw 20 planes built,
and the ambition of the British project that proved
such a feat of engineering wasn’t just possible,
but feasible. She became a unifying symbol: for her
last ight into London Heathrow, the roads around
the airport drew to a standstill with people desperate
to admire her airborne one nal time.
“Concorde was born from dreams, built with vision
and we operated her with pride.” CAPTAIN MIKE BANNISTER
Concorde’s legacy becomes increasingly impressive
with each passing day you consider a replacement
commercial supersonic airliner hasn’t been attempted
since her retirement in 2003. Concorde was certainly a
plane ahead of the curve; capable of travelling at over
twice the speed of sound at Mach 2.04 (1,354 miles
per hour), it could transport over 100 passengers from
London to New York in just 3 hours and 20 minutes –
all whilst oering a ve star service to those on board.
It’s this pioneering spirit – as well as its top speed –
that is celebrated in Christopher Ward’s new watch,
the C8 M2.04 Limited Edition.

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C8 M2.04 Limited Edition
Captain Mike Bannister
Mike Bannister had wanted to become a pilot since he
was 7 years old. Sitting with him at Christopher Ward’s
Maidenhead HQ years later, it’s clear that Bannister fully
realised those childhood dreams and more, becoming
Chief Pilot of the BA Concorde Fleet and spending 22
years commandeering this famous aeroplane. “Flying
Concorde really was the highlight of my career,” he says.
“If you want to see the world, you y a 747. But if you
love ying aeroplanes, Concorde was the one for you.
You could y her with your ngertips: all the way through
take-o, climb, acceleration, and supersonic cruise;
descent and landing, she was like a sportscar”.
Not every pilot could y Concorde, of course. “Concorde
was aerodynamically dierent to other aircraft, so she
was dierent to y. Not more dicult; more complex.
There were lots of dierent systems – Concorde was
essentially four aeroplanes in one: a low aeroplane, a
high one, a fast aeroplane and a slow one.” The result,
Bannister says, is that the training course for Concorde
took six months – triple that of the one required for the
Boeing 747.
As somebody who ew Concorde for 22 years,
captained her nal ight and ew G-BOAB over
Buckingham Palace to mark Her Majesty’s Golden
Jubilee, surely Bannister must receive quite a few
invitations to be involved in many Concorde tributes?
“I’ve been approached to be involved in a whole
number of various projects, including watches,
reecting the aeroplane – and generally I decline! But
I came to the CW HQ in Maidenhead to look at some
very early sketches to see what the designers had in
mind, and immediately thought this was something
dierent and actually rather special. This was not
just an ordinary watch with Concorde on it; this is
enigmatic and brings back to mind what it was like
to sit on the ight deck of Concorde and operate
this wonderful aeroplane. It’s a beautiful watch
and I’m so pleased that the initial phone calls and
conversations took place, and that I’m very proud of
my involvement.”

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A piece of rudder metal retrieved from Concorde
G-BOAB was melted down and formed into discs.
The discs were then cut into rings and frame the
hand-wound version of Calibre SH21 visible through
its exhibition window. The disc is engraved with the
message ‘Rudder metal VW23 from Concorde 102,
G-BOAB, 1969-2019, 50 years’.
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C8 M2.04 Limited Edition
C8 M2.04 Limited Edition
It’s not every day you get the opportunity to
design a Concorde-themed watch with the
assistance of a pilot who ew her for 22 years.
Yet this proved to be the case for C8 M2.04 Limited
Edition, a 50-piece limited edition released to mark
50 years of Concorde. Designed with input from the
captain of Concorde’s nal ight, Mike Bannister,
the C8 is a watch engrained with the same spirit of
the plane that inspired it. Its dial faithfully depicts
elements of the cockpit’s airspeed indicator and
Machmeter panels – the latter of which skillfully
doubles as a power reserve indicator to display the
remainder of Calibre SH21’s 120-hour power reserve
– while chequerboard and needle-style hands are
unmistakable inclusions (they too carry a special
signicance, as their alignment mid-ight indicated
Concorde’s fastest and most ecient speed).
A grey diamond-like carbon (DLC) case is a rst
in a Christopher Ward release, but it’s the reverse
of the watch that carries most signicance.
A piece of metal from a rudder bearing serial number
VW23 – this particular model saw service on three
separate Concordes, accruing 10,861 ight hours
and 3,724 landings before ending its service life
on Concorde G-BOAB – has been melted down,
cut into rings and engraved to commemorate the
half century anniversary.
From the prestige of the material in its backplate
through to our Swiss-made chronometer, Calibre
SH21, complete with small second and power reserve
complications, there will never be a watch like the
C8 M2.04 Limited Edition again. And that’s a very
special thought.

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C8 M2.04 Limited Edition
Features
–Swiss made
–Special limited edition of 50 pieces
–Ring of Concorde G-BOAB precious metal with
“Rudder metal VW23 from Concorde 102, G-BOAB,
1969-2019, 50 years” engraving embedded below
museum-grade sapphire
–27 jewel in-house Calibre SH21 hand-wound
movement with small second and power reserve
complications
–5 day (120 hour) power reserve
–Decorated twin barrels of SH21 visible through
exhibition caseback
–Bridge engraved and finished in black PVD
–Marine-grade grey diamond-like carbon (DLC)
sandblasted stainless steel case
–Original Concorde instrument panel inspired dial
and hands with TC-1 SuperLumiNova®markings
Technical information –Museum grade anti-reflective sapphire crystal
–Instrument-themed small second subdial at
6 o’clock
–Premium quality soft touch black leather strap with
yellow underside with black DLC sandblasted clasp
–Unique engraved individual serial number
Technical
Diameter: 44mm
Height: 11.9mm
Weight: 87g
Calibre: SH21 hand-wound
Chronometer (COSC)
Case: 316L stainless steel
Water Resistance: 5 ATM (50 metres)
Vibrations: , per hour (Hz)
Timing tolerance: –/ secs per day
Lug to lug: 53.2mm
Strap: 22mm

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