English ticker companies Fears and Christopher Ward person partnered connected a cushion-shaped stainless alloy piece, with a burgundy dial, burgundy leather strap, and Ward's jumping hr caliber. This is their archetypal collaboration. The ticker is principally Fears-designed, with a Christopher Ward movement.

This watch, the Fears Christopher Ward Alliance 01, has been made successful relation with the Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers, who, since its founding successful 2020,  has been moving to forge partnerships betwixt its commercialized members crossed the British Isles. In fact, this ticker is lone disposable to members of that association; but joining is conscionable £55 and comes with each sorts of breathtaking perks and a publication. In bid to acquisition this watch, you indispensable beryllium a subordinate by midnight connected Thursday, January 26th. On the greeting of Friday, January 27th, nine members volition person a codification to entree the merchandise leafage connected the Fears website.

Christopher Ward is an Anglo-Swiss company, founded successful 2004, that designs its watches successful England and engineers and assembles them successful Switzerland. Fears is simply a caller English institution with a agelong English history. In 1846, a antheral named Edwin Fears founded Fears Watches successful Bristol, successful southwest England. In their heyday Fears Watches had implicit 100 employees and shipped watches to 95 countries. They unopen down successful 1976 but were granted caller beingness respective years agone by Fears’ great-great-great grandson, Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, who wanted to besides marque good-looking well-designed watches that weren't excessively fussy and, though not cheap, weren't excessively terribly expensive.

Fears' tiny but respectable postulation includes the circular Redcliff, the ticker they launched with successful 2016, present nary longer being manufactured, but coming backmost to beingness soon;  the cushion-shaped Brunswick, which includes a precise fashionable pinkish model, and the rectangular Archival (so-called due to the fact that it pays closest homage to a ticker from the precocious Fears Watches). Fears is growing: In its archetypal year, 2016, it made little than 100 watches, successful 2021, it made astir 300, and successful 2022, it made 480.

The Fears Brunswick successful pink

In summation to its regular line-up, Fears has antecedently done 2 collaborations. The archetypal was with the Bay Area jewelry store Topper. This was a limited variation 40mm version of a Brunswick that came with either a achromatic oregon achromatic dial with Roman numerals connected the northbound broadside with Arabic numerals connected the southbound side, known arsenic the "California dial."

The 2nd was a collaboration with English watchmaker Garrick and checks much horological nerd boxes — Garrick movement, powerfulness reserve display, moving seconds, and a show astatine six o'clock wherever you tin spot the movement's equilibrium — which is reflected successful its $25,000 (once you've added taxes and VAT) terms tag.

The cushion signifier connected this 3rd Fears collaboration is reminiscent of Fear's signature Brunswick line, but was made precisely for this watch, with antithetic proportions, adjacent astatine 40.5mm it is little sporty, and with a much classical silhouette, than their Brunswick 40mm. The Sellita SW 200 question has a 38-hour powerfulness reserve with a module built connected apical of it, created by Christopher Ward, to let for the jumping hr successful Fears' "Edwin" font, astatine 12 o'clock. 

There are 3 chiseled areas connected the dial: the outer area, the interior area, and past the disc with the hour. The 2 main areas are separated with a hand-polished applied ringing connected the dial and besides a hand-polished metallic borderline applied astir the hr window. The interior ringing is done successful a concentric guilloche finish, and the outer is sunburst. The printed numbers are not wholly white, they person a metallic finish, arsenic does the FEARS written successful superior letters crossed the apical and the tiny ENGLAND written on the bottom.

An absorbing item astir the movement: When the hr switches over, it makes a whooshing sound, similar a camera shutter.

This latest collaboration takes america backmost into affordable territory, with a terms tag of £3,950, including VAT.

When I talked to Bowman-Scargill a fewer weeks ago, we concisely discussed this caller piece. He described the collaboration ticker similar this:  "It has an Edwardian decadence, but with a integer accent astatine the hr window, and besides a modern air. The decorator has brought each 3 unneurotic perfectly."

I don't usually let watchmakers to springiness their ain descriptions successful my editorial comments, but honestly, I couldn't supply an archetypal appraisal of this ticker that was that good, and liked his wording truthful overmuch that I wished I had written it. That said, helium has done his occupation by making the watch, truthful I volition spell connected with my occupation of discussing it.

I similar the information that this ticker has an absorbing plan but it's not excessively interesting. It's innovative but you don't person to enactment hard to look astatine it oregon unit yourself to judge immoderate benignant of caller reality. New world is great, Max Busser likes it, but that's not what's going connected here.

I admit however chiseled the elements are. There is the hr window. There are the 2 antithetic textures connected the dial, and the 1 manus connected the full ticker is simply a infinitesimal hand, and it takes an instant to wrapper the aged encephalon astir however we are telling clip here. But it's besides cleanable and unfussy. 

As a semi-newbie, I person not fixed a batch of thought to jumping hr watches until astir an hr ago. I work Nicholas Manousos' coverage of an Akrivia that came retired a fewer years ago, with a tourbillon. There's the 1930s Mido Direct Time Jump Hour from the 1930s. You tin spot immoderate of the Mido successful the Alliance 01, though the Mido is busier. I discovered determination are tons of jumping hr pouch watches, and you tin spot the power of those successful this ticker arsenic well. Pocket watches bring trains to mind, and this seems like nary accident, due to the fact that Bowman-Scargill loves trains. In fact, if helium didn't marque watches, helium told me, helium would beryllium driving a train.

Speaking of trains, the colour of this ticker is precise adjacent to the colour of the other seat, the 1 without a headrest, connected Metro-North cars. It besides brings to caput the  upholstery utilized successful immoderate of the New Jersey Transit cars. Now, I don't deliberation photographs of these seats needfully made it onto the Fears temper board. But I bash cognize that erstwhile helium was readying the caller Fears, Bowman-Scargill thought agelong and hard astir aged Fears, whose mission, arsenic helium saw it, was to marque "this old-fashioned class that was astir for hundreds of years, which was conscionable a watch." With the caller Fears, Bowman-Scargill wanted to marque watches with a akin spirit, watches from a clip erstwhile watches were needed to archer the time.

The Fears Brunswick successful blue

What's a truly important crushed to cognize the time? To get astatine enactment successful specified a mode arsenic you volition not get fired, but first, to drawback the bid determination successful specified a mode that you volition not miss it.

This burgundy colour is subtly iconic. I don't cognize however galore radical would look astatine it and person the explicit remark that "wait a minute, I cognize that colour from Metro North oregon Jersey Transit," but billions of travelers person astatine slightest an unconscious consciousness of this being a colour progressive with question (business oregon pleasure), with being connected time, with getting to work, with question successful general. Some of those associations mightiness beryllium fun, immoderate of them mightiness beryllium a spot dull.  For maine anyway, the watch, successful this burgundy color, uses the mundane arsenic a base, and past adds beauteous details and finishing to marque the mundane not lone endurable, but miraculous.

Fears Watches person a increasing pursuing due to the fact that they deed a saccharine spot. They are somewhat utilitarian, somewhat plain — but with an astir concealed glint of enchantment astir them. They evoke however sometimes, particularly if you person thing you person to do, oregon deliberation about, oregon if you person had an particularly bully day, oregon are headed determination special, the astir mean thrust connected a commuter bid oregon adjacent a autobus tin consciousness arsenic glamorous arsenic being connected an water liner.

Some whitethorn accidental that this is simply a batch of wealth for a ticker with a Sellita movement, albeit an enhanced one, oregon this is simply a batch of wealth for printed indices, adjacent if the printing has metallic successful it. But what you're paying for, I think, different than prime that is determination contempt immoderate indispensable corner-cutting, is that unsocial Fears feeling: enjoying luxury portion besides trusting that you person made a wholly sensible purchase. This caller collaboration articulates that feeling perfectly, and it's not an casual feeling to propulsion off, so, portion it is comparatively affordable, it doesn't rather travel cheap.

Brand: Fears
Model: Fears Christopher Ward Alliance 01
Reference Number: BS240.500

Diameter: 40.5 mm
Case Material: Stainless Steel
Dial Color: Burgundy Red. Sunburst outer decorativeness with concentric ringing center. Polished, beveled, rhodium-plated section ring.
Indexes: Silver printing
Hands: Fears' infinitesimal hand, beveled, diamond-polished and rhodium-plated
Water Resistance: 100m
Strap/Bracelet: Oxblood Red, British calf leather, lined successful Alcantara®, handmade

Caliber: Swiss made Sellita SW200 25 Jewel Auto Mod. JJ01
Functions: Time (jumping hr connected disc astatine 12 o'clock)
Power Reserve: 38 hours
Winding: Automatic
Jewels: 25

Price: £3,950 inc. VAT (£3,291.67 ex. VAT)
Availability: This ticker is disposable connected January 27 to members of Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers, membership £55, motion up by January 26.
Limited Edition: 50 pieces. Engraved with a unsocial fig connected underside of lug from 1-50