CWC (Cabot Watch Company) http://cwcwatch.com/

Cabot Watch Company was founded in 1972 by Ray Mellor but is now owned by Silverman’s see http://www.silvermans.co.uk/ which is a military surplus, camping gear and military equipment dealer based in London, UK. CWC watches are of good sound quality and are supplied to the British Forces. In summary they are fine although rather dated in many ways due to the conservative requirements laid down by the British MOD. This conservatism shows in the fact that the UK still use Perspex in most of their G10 models where other countries have moved to glass for improved durability. In addition the UK forces have not opted for Self Luminous technology which employs vials of active tritium gas. Interestingly CWC claim on their site that Perspex is a requirement in the G10 Specification which is baffling when the Pulsar G10 General Service wristwatch issued to British forces following the 2001 request for tenders used glass just like the current MWC. CWC seem totally fixated with British contracts and can’t seem to see beyond the MOD so I think this is a bit of a minus. Having said that the watches a solid and traditional in the same way as many other manufacturers so its really a question of personal preference.

If you are interested in the UK Ministry of Defence Specification for Military Watches it can be found at http://www.dstan.mod.uk/data/66/004/04000400.pdf

We have reviewed 5 CWC watches one review is below but all were fine. The SBS watch we tested seemed very solid and had a very good bezel action.

TEST OF THE CWC MECHANICAL CHRONOGRAPH

I last tested one of these in July last year. I sold that watch in December but wished I hadn't so I got another one and this test was carried out in January 2008 is of the mechanical non dated CWC chronograph. Silverman’s product code is 64080 see http://www.silvermans.co.uk/cwc/shop/watches.htm the watch was originally produced as a pilot's chronograph for the British Royal Air Force.

General Description:  The case is stainless steel, screw back and has a matt finish with an acrylic crystal, usual time functions, 30 min counter at 12, continuous sec at 9, standard start/stop pushers with flyback function when the pusher at 4 is activated. The winder is nicely finished and recessed.  

Dimensions: Width 40mm, Thickness 13mm, Lug to Lug 46mm

Movement: Valjoux 7765

Accuracy during test:  Excellent during the 3 week test period at a consistent +3 sec/day

Strap/options: Mine came with a grey NATO strap which is the most historically accurate but the US pattern strap in Khaki or Black looks good but is slightly small (three quarter inch) which is around 19mm although the lug size is 20mm

Conclusion:  This watch is a nice piece of kit. I can’t say I am overly enthused by Silverman's who are the owners of CWC but the watches are often a good buy. This watch is not badly priced in my opinion at GBP399, Silverman’s make a dated version too for GBP26 more but my feeling is this model looks much purer. I bought this one for GBP325 and it was a few months old. I probably overpaid a bit but I liked it and after testing it thoroughly I recommend this watch for anyone whose into military timepieces or just wants a nice chronograph that does the job.

Conclusion: Built like a tank and very robust. In some ways it fees less solid than the models we have seen from the 1980s and 1990’s some of which still surface in unissued condition and even more bizarrely you can get one via their arch competitor MWC! It has to be said that with thousands issued it is a tried and tested bit of kit. The new 2000 model however does not seem as substantial as the older battery hatch model.

Where to get one:

CWC Watches: New from the manufacturer at £79.99

CWC G10: Brand New CWC's are often available at a discount from a rather odd source, namely MWC who apparently source them from their British Army Contacts. Although cheaper than buying from CWC direct MWC will not ship them to some countries unfortuna tely the UK is among them although this sometimes changes because they were selling them last year on their site.

Anchor Supplies Used but serviced a good buy at £49.95 probably seen action!

CWC Alternatives:

Pulsar G10

The Pulsar G10 was made for the British army fairly recently and is an interesting alternative to the CWC although it was alleged to have quality control issues with poor mineral crystals and crowns prone to falling off.  Its life was therefore fairly limited, with the CWC winning back favour. We have tested the Pulsar and found it to be fine. In fact I own one and regularly use it without any sign of problems it has a pleasing streamlined case design. In our opinion if you can find one it is probably going to be fine. Expect to pay €75 / £50 / US$90 or more for a clean issued example.

MWC G10 BH

The MWC is similar to the CWC but often has a unique bezel design although they are sometimes made with a plain bezel as well. The MWC is heavier than the CWC model. It uses glass as opposed to Perspex and seems to have been extensively redesigned in 2005 (could MWC be tendering for the next MOD contract?). We tested the MWC and found that in reality it is very similar to the CWC although all of the Stainless Steel MWC G10s retain the battery hatch. In addition MWC offer a range of case finishes and face designs plus a self luminous model. As far as price goes you could compare a standard MWC G10 Battery Hatch to the CWC 2000 at £99.99 (€140 or US$180) so it is just over £30 cheaper at £69.95 (€98 or US$125) although for around £20 more than the CWC you could have an MWC Self Luminous G10. Hard Choice but I think I would swing toward the MWC as I prefer glass to Perspex and the battery hatch saves hassle not only that but the Self Luminous option is very tempting.

For an independant assessment of the MWC G10BH models see this link to a report commissioned by Telford Services who are a large authorised MWC dealer in the UK see Discount Chronographs

MWC Independant G10 Report from a member of the British Horological Institute

Secondhand: Some MWC watches float around which are surplus or contract overruns. Expect to pay €55 or £39 or US$68 for a tidy used MWC.

Where to get a new one:

Direct from the manufacturers MWC is the factory site or two leading UK Resellers Antenbach Tactico or Telford Services / Discount Chronographs

If you have any used or new CWC or other military watches I can recommend a number of dealers who are keen to buy them. Contact me at ian.crowley@military-watches.net and I will but you in touch.

If you suspect a CWC is fake contact CWC via Silverman’s on 020 7790 0900 or from outside the UK on +44 2077 900 900

I am aware from what I have been told that CWC can often mislead people when they call. An exmple is on their website where it says “Counterfeit brands make claims that the acrylic glass that CWC watches use is inferior, but this remains a government requirement for issue watches. Watches with other types of glass are not genuine and are not superior.” This is at best confusing when your consider that the Pulsar G10 used by the British Forces used glass!

CWC at the moment seem to be in a position of desperately trying to protect their declining market share. This is what is says on the CWC website. Doesn't it have an air of desperation? They also agreed with MWR to post a section which on the basis of the contents should be called " [BEWARE OF CWC] There is something VERY sinister going on in the milwatch world..." this posting contains loads of highly confusing information. You will find if you phone CWC and make references to Nite or Pulsar MOD contracts or Seiko chronograph contracts they will deny Seiko have any! Try phoning them with a few awkward questions and see how they will confuse the issues.

These are the facts regardless of what CWC might tell you. The general story we are told is that if asked they will say that the MOD only bought a small quantity of Seiko's. To be certain of the true position it was confirmed with Seiko that the first RAF-issued Seiko chronograph ( Gen. 1 ) was procured from Seiko UK and issued primarily to Royal Air Force pilots and navigators beginning in the mid 1980's. According Seiko, 11,307 pieces of this Gen. 1 model were supplied by Seiko to the British Armed Forces.The NSN for this watch is 6645-99-768-3056 The Seiko reference number is: Seiko ref # SPR047. The MoD standard which was allocated for this contract awarded to Seiko was Def Stan 66-4(part4)/Issue 4. These MKI Seiko's are now among the most sought after military watches made in the last 25 years and regularly make GBP500 / USD1000 or more when they are offered for sale and are in mint condition. The MKII version, the NATO Stock number or NSN number for this watch is 6645-99-814-9181, the MKII is much less sought after and significantly cheaper if you find one for sale. See Pictures

Where all this becomes interesting is that it is not disputed that Seiko Corporation began supplying the British Forces with wristwatches in the mid 1980’s and they continue to do so today. As far as I know there have been three (there might be a fourth based on recent insider info) issued Seiko chronographs, this excludes the matter of the rare Yellow Face Vulcan Bomber Chronograph ($3000 if you can find one) and the Pulsar G10 general service wristwatch which is also becoming highly sought after. The story behind the Pulsar is that in 2001/2002, the MOD invited tenders to replace the CWC as the general service timepiece used by the MOD, the reason for this is not clear and I don't expect CWC will be keen to enlighten us! The crucial thing is that Pulsar was successful in beating CWC and securing the contract and supplied a quartz wristwatch with the standard UK/MOD requisite fixed bars and a Seiko 7N32C calibre movement, Luminova was used on black dial and a date window appeared at 15.00. We are informed that the Pulsar G10's were recently issued in Iraq so it suggests many are still current  MOD  issue.