Tough, Bronze Field Watch: Christopher Ward C65 Sandhurst Review

Field watches, by definition, need to be durable, reliable, and easy to read. That’s the baseline. And to serve up a challenge to the Christopher Ward C65 Sandhurst, I brought it to the mountains, storms, and dirt for 2 weeks, wrapped on my wrist while I hunted high-altitude elk in Colorado.

While I didn’t find success with my arrow, I did learn to love Christopher Ward’s bronze field watch. Beyond an easy-to-appreciate, rugged beauty, the bronze will wear a patina over time. And for a field watch, nothing helps preserve memories like a few knicks, scratches, and oxidation that comes with time well spent.

In short: The Christopher Ward C65 Sandhurst shares many traits with the best field watches. It’s very easy to read with a simple face, has a good, long-lasting lume, and sits low and small on the wrist. It runs on a well-regarded COSC-certified Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement. Where it stands out, though, is with its gorgeous bronze case and choreographer-level accuracy.

Shopping around? Check out our guide to the best field watches.

Christopher Ward C65 Sandhurst Review

When I opened up the nicely packaged Christopher Ward C65 Sandhurst, the first thing I noticed was the gorgeous bronze case. It just glitters something different than stainless steel. The color, the luster — it’s intoxicating to the eye. And while functionality is critical to a watch, it must also speak to the wearer.

And the C65 Sandhurst did, whispering quietly, “Put me on and get outside.”

So I did.

I loaded my truck and headed to the high Rocky Mountains. The Sandhurst glinted next to my steering wheel. Then it jostled against gear as I set up a camp.

It glowed in the night as I checked how few hours I had to sleep before my 4:15 a.m. alarm. And it told the time as I twisted my bow hand in the dark to see if it was, indeed, legal hunting hours.

My point is that I did not baby this watch. It took all the abuse of 2 weeks of very hard elk hunting, and today, as I look at my wrist, it still looks brand new — no scratches on the domed sapphire crystal, no nicks on the bronze case.

The only point of any wear is the canvas strap, which has begun to break in a little.

The Sandhurst speaks to me. It is so easy to read, with a simple face and good lume that allows me to tell the time in an instant, even in low light. The 38mm watch disappears under shirt cuffs. And the movement gives the red-tipped second hand a smooth motion around the face.

There’s a lot of history behind the Sandhurst, I’ll get to that in a second. And while I appreciate it and it makes for a nice story, the fact is that I love this watch as a tool. It just works, comfortably. It’s light on the wrist and seems to be tough as heck. For a field watch, this is the core of its existence. And here, Christopher Ward really accomplished its goal.

C65 Sandhurst: Bronze Watch With Details That Matter

So now a little history. The C65 Sandhurst is a Ministry of Defense-approved field watch that pays tribute to the iconic 1969 Smiths W10. It’s a watch that was issued to the British army in 1969, and the watch held up as a benchmark field watch.

While not a replica in any way, the C65 Sandhurst follows many design queues, from simple white numerals to a gold triangle at the 12:00 position. These all pop against a textured black dial emblazoned with the “twin-flags” Christopher Ward emblem.

It looks quite similar to the historical watch, but with a modern twist. And it’s the only CW timepiece to carry the badge of the British Army on the case back.

The watch’s arrowed hands are deep-filled with Super-LumiNova Old Radium BL Grade X1. I noticed that these hands glowed well even 7 hours after dark. It allowed for easy-reading when waking up in the middle of the night.

The hands, meanwhile, are coated in gold. While this gives them a nice shine in daylight, it might be my only, very minor gripe with the watch. The hands look, for no better phrase, fragile. They’re certainly not narrow, but something about the thin gold edges makes them seems paper-like, as if they could bend or flop inside the case.

Of course, they don’t. The timekeeping is solid and accurate, even when I rattled this watch up and down mountains. I drove over miles of rough mountain roads, hands firmly on the wheel, wrist bouncing wildly. And the watch looks perfect.

But still, something about the hands seems a little thin in comparison with the otherwise rugged appearance. It’s a small ding, but something I can’t ignore.

It’s now about 3 weeks after I set the time on the COSC-certified Sellita SW200-1 movement. And after 3 weeks, I’ve lost 3 minutes. That averages out to about 8 seconds per day lost. For a mechanical watch in the $1,000 range, that is excellent.

This chronometer also has a “hacking seconds” function, which allows wearers to synchronize watches. Pull out the crown and the second hand stops. Push it in again, and it will begin ticking once more.

Any field watch needs to be water-resistant. A couple of heavy rain storms that soaked me in the field proved the Sandhurst’s 150m rating is more than capable for the real world.

Bronze Field Watch Stands Out (Subtly)

You can probably tell I like this watch. There is a lot to like about it. It hits a competitive space around $1,000, where it will stack up against watches like the iconic Hamilton Khaki Automatic.

But while Hamilton arguably leads this space, the Christopher Ward is a little more unique. Though it is also available in a stainless steel case, the bronze case strikes an eye-catching yet subtle appearance. It’s eminently functional, but has a very handsome profile that will wear as well under a dress shirt as a camouflage jacket.

If you’re in the market for a unique field watch, or are a watch enthusiast hunting for a bronze watch for a collection, snap one up. This durable, capable field watch is bound to become a classic.