CW Aficionados Solaris Limited Edition

[Frank W]

This is information about a limited edition bespoke watch for the CWA (Christopher Ward Aficionados group. We want to share this information with others that are not on Facebook and are not a member of the CWA group. This thread will have information and pictures that were shared in the group.

I am so excited to present the first images and information provided by CW! Shaun and I carefully considered and took note of all suggestions that many of you shared with the group. We are very grateful so many of you are sharing thoughts and giving feedback.

Design highlights:
- matte sunray dial
- black swish logo
- SOLARIS name in blue accent color on the dial
- black lollipop seconds hand with tip in light blue accent color
- sun image in the center of the closed caseback
- CW AFICIONADOS and 2023 LIMITED EDITION on case back

The image of the sun image is still open for discussion as per the previous thread. I think this does look very nice and cheery and fits the circular case back.

Other design details are still to be finalized as we want to make sure we incorporate as many of your suggestions as possible. But we also want to move forward with this soon so need to compromise on some details.

Below is Shaun's message from the previous thread with all the current information.

Hello everyone

Grab a cuppa and a comfy seat. This'll take some time.

Apologies for not updating last night as I said I would. I've had another chance to speak with CW Bespoke and the images of Solaris look great.

There were a couple of issues which needed correcting before they could send them through to me, but I hope to have them later today and shall pop them in here for all to enjoy as soon as I can.

I do have some fresh information for you, and probably some you're already aware of, but here goes anyway.

The price for Solaris (GBP)

£705 on the Hybrid strap.
£850 on the wonderfully tapered bracelet.
£905 if you want both strap and bracelet.

We can swap the new arrow second hand for the lollipop hand, as this carries the lumed circle (continuing the solar theme) and CW have said there will be no extra charge for this alteration😉

Our model is going to be in the 42mm Light-Catcher case but there will also be the option of a 40mm case but the second hand can't be swapped on this model (too long or something) Once again there must be a minimum order quantity of 25 to make the run and there will sadly be a considerable delay in delivery dates, as the cases will need to be made. It's good to know the opportunity is there nonetheless.

A wonderful bonus I hadn't even considered is that the owner's manual ( Cover and Contents) that will come with Solaris is CWA Solaris specific, and the outer sleeve of the watch box will also be adorned with CWA Solaris related text and image (depending on the embossing image we ultimately decide on)

As Solaris is very much a Limited Edition piece each watch will have a unique serial number and if you wish, there's the opportunity to select the number you want (This will be on a 1st come/ 1st served basis and we will provide a 'Go Live' date and time allowing for global timezones where possible)

This pretty much wraps up the front aspect of Solaris, and we can now focus our attention onto our case back.
Thank you for the great start made with back plate suggestions so far. Once I have the CW images we will all be able to see a generic example of a finished piece. We can then deliberate on which changes we might want.

I'm really keen to get these images to you, and to hear your feedback, so watch this space and I'll get it to you as soon as I can.

Thank you all for your enthusiastic participation and energy. More later👌

[Frank W]

Reposting Shaun's post from the other thread. Just want to make sure it won't get lost with this important information. It's go time! 

To reserve a spot for this bespoke CWA Solaris 42mm and your intent to buy, please send an email with the following information:

Email address: cwaficionados (at) gmail.com

Your choice of strap (hybrid / leather), bracelet or both 1 strap and bracelet

Your personalized engraving if desired

Your choice of limited edition number if desired. We or CW will assign a random number after sign-up is closed.

We are hoping to get at least 50 buyers wanting to commit. But the previous post already has a 100+ likes so who knows. You may want to provide a choice of LE numbers in case your preferred one is not available anymore or falls outside the range.

Prices are the same as the regular C60 300. Please check the CW website for pricing in your local currency.

£705 on hybrid or leather strap strap.
£850 on bracelet.
£905 if you want both strap and bracelet.

You can find a view-only spreadsheet with the numbers that have been reserved here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1j-LIi9TXPzIeZ9Lfk3ChwGng74XPwHkSpFrNRvDAZvA/edit#gid=0

Make sure to read all info below and check out the previous post for all relevant info for the CWA Solaris 2023.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/CWAficionados/posts/1127521397835899

Shaun's post:
I hope your weekend was relaxing and that you are all set for the coming week because we have reached the exciting closing stages of our glorious bespoke Solaris.

CW will make the minor changes to the issues of darkening the accent colour, and extending that very colour further up our replacement lollipop second hand.

We have taken on board the positive response to the member-suggested case back design, and how, as a diver, Solaris should have a water reference. As such CW will alter the case back design we revealed earlier.

These last points mean we now simply need to determine an accurate number of people wishing to go ahead with purchasing their very own limited edition Solaris.

What we need you to do is to tell us of your interest to grasp one of these lovely pieces.

Using ONLY the following email address:

cwaficionados (at) gmail.com

You need to tell us the strap/bracelet choice.

Your personalized engraving.

Your choice of limited edition number.

Once we have an accurate number for the production run we will be able to allow people to modify there choice of LE number so it falls within that maximum number.

I would like to thank you again for the extent of your participation in this project. Your collective willingness to offer all the positive and negative feedback getting us to this point has been invaluable, and this same engagement is what will see us to the finish line. We look forward to receiving your emails.

Ciao for now.

[Frank W]

Post by Shaun:

Here is the latest and final images from CW. As you can see, we are still at the mercy of our particular viewing screens as to what our colour can look like. We have the crisp Orange, the gorgeous Gold and that glorious Yellow.

Any preferences?

[Frank W]

New design caseback based on suggestions and input by group members.

[Frank W]

We had some questions about pricing for other countries as we shared prices in GBP only so far. Pricing in other currencies are the same as the regular C60 300 on the website. Prices for the UK/EU include all sales taxes. For other countries, you can find more details about taxes and duties on this page: https://www.christopherward.com/int/duties-and-taxes.html

It is common knowledge in groups and forums about ordering in GBP that may provide savings for other countries. CW allows paying in GBP but these orders will have to be processed manually instead of through their website. Should be pretty easy so not really a big deal.

When they ship to non UK/EU destinations, the 20% VAT will be removed. Any import duties and local sales taxes still apply of course.

Pricing ex 20% VAT:

On hybrid or leather strap: £587.50
On bracelet: £708.33
Both strap and bracelet: £754.17

Please note that international credit card and Paypal charges may apply depending on your credit card and if you charge in GBP or local currency through Paypal. It is up to the buyer to research if it is better for them to pay in GBP as stated above or their local currency as posted on the website.

[Frank W]

Here are the final designs for the front and back. Sign up and chose a LE numbers is closed now but there still is time to get in on this with the next available LE number assigned.