[F]Christopher Ward 12 660 vs 12 Nivada Grenchen F77

It’s Sunday morning, so it’s time for another showdown while the room is filled with the smell of newly made coffee. This week’s fight is about affordable sports watches with integrated bracelets. Jorg chose his new manual roll Cristo Pearl Ward 12 660, which debuted last week. Mike will take over him along with the Nibada Glenchen F77, which was first introduced in 2023. Which one would you choose?

When Christopher Ward unveiled the 12 manual winding versions, quite a few of us raised eyebrows. It is not common for letter supervision clocks to be displayed in this category. However, the 12 660 helps maintain an ultra-thin profile and boasts an ultra-clean look for 1,805 euros. Today it will face Nivada’s F77. This was updated earlier this year with the F77 Mark II. However, instead of replacing the original version, it expands the collection that debuted in 2023. The F77 collection was expanded last year with several spectacular stone dial models and titanium versions. The price of the F77 starts at around 1,420 euros for the standard steel version, and 1,865 euros for the titanium 1 with a stone dial. When it comes to pricing and features, today’s watches are a direct competitor. The big question is whether they prefer automatic over manual winding versions. Find it!

Last week, Sunday morning showdown…

Before we do, let’s take a quick look at last week’s results. In the battle of Neo-Vintage Dive Watches, the Omega Seamaster 2254.50 defeated the Rolex Submariner 16610. Seamaster finished with 56% of the votes, and Submariner reached 44%. Weeding in the comments gave a variety of opinions. From comments about the Rolex Cyclops, where sailors are outdated and highly recommended, to the overall perception and cultural influence of both watches, you could say a lot about it. In the end, the Seamaster won because the numbers don’t lie. Find out which of the two picks wins today. Even Mike and Jorg!

Jorg: Christopher Ward 12 660

It was easy for me when it came to picking my favorites from today’s candidates. These days, it’s difficult to stand out for watches in categories with plenty of affordable options. And for those of you who have checked out Christopher Ward’s 12 people, I understand why it’s one of the best. When it comes to value for money, it is difficult, if not impossible, to beat the English brand. As some of you know, I own one of my favorite watches in my collection: the Christopher Ward C65 Dune GMT. Although most of it is due to its aesthetics, the feel of the quality of its watch, and other watches from the brand are unbeatable at prices.

But even if price isn’t the factor, Christopher Ward’s watches are impressively well built. The cases are always well thought out, wonderfully detailed and well finished. Additionally, the bracelet feels very solid, and the brand always chooses a version with different caliber of the chronometer certified version. Every time I see the Christopher Word Watch, I am moved. So, as long as I like the aesthetics, I don’t hesitate to pick a brand in a watch contest that costs under 2,500 euros.

12 is Christopher Ward

I’m not a secret that I don’t always like Christopher Ward’s design choices. The struggle with the brand’s logo is well documented and I am not the biggest fan of a phone with frequent, well-arranged arrow-shaped time hands and seconds of trident counterweights.

In the past, I’ve always draped these details reasonably when explaining why I liked branded watches but didn’t love them. You can see that everything changed when you first wore the C65 Dune GMT. Despite reasonable objections, if you love a watch, you have to have something special about it, and my love for it has grown day by day.

The 12 Series addressed my issues with brand design. With a different hand set and outstanding overall design, the series quickly caught the eye of watch fans around the world. In genres that suffer from overcrowding, it is a very accomplishment.

And until last week, I would have been looking for a watch fan looking for an affordable modern sports watch with a bracelet integrated into the Tissot PRX for less than 1,000 euros, or 12 of the 12 Christopher Wards if you had more to use it. But when I saw the new Twelve 660 images, you should have seen my excitement. This was the original 12 clearly recognizable siblings, but it was toned down, slimmer and more elegant.

12 660 fully redesigned cases

As Dave explained in the intro article, the design team didn’t do anything obvious and simply housed a sellita SW210-1 that was manually caught down the original case. No, the designer took the extra miles and designed a new case from scratch. The length, which is 38mm in diameter and 43.3mm in length, is aligned with the original case. However, the thickness of 6.6mm is the 12 super slim version. But it’s more than just Sberte’s profile. The designer also made the bezel a little wider and removed the crown guard to add a character. The finish also adds a clever but crucial visual glow that pops the watch. A mixture of linear brushing, polished bevels and sandblast accents gives the 12 660 a difficult presence to ignore.

In the next step, the team completely redesigned the dial. The magic trick was to tone it down again. Replace the original 12 textured dials with clear lacquer dials with soft, grainy textures. The applied indexes and hands look simple without losing their glow, although they are similar in style to the original hand and marker.

If anything, removing Rume brings out more of both characters. The simple micro truck comes with hand and markers, branded logos and “Made in Switzerland” text on the bottom half of the dial. that’s it. There is no unnecessary dressing. With intentional steps, there’s no hand of seconds, and I love it. It fully emphasizes the stylistic purpose of this new dial.

Manual and Automatic Windings – Character Issues

As a result of this design exercise, I prefer to honestly prefer the new 12 660 over the original series. And how about the manual winding movement? I love practicality just like anyone else, so I love automatic watches that are easy to pick up every day. But I definitely don’t care about the caliber of the manual scroll. If anything, it adds a level of interaction with the watch that I enjoy a lot. It’s the moment when I sink my watch and remember why I have it in the first place. I regularly witness it with VPC type 37HW. I wear it a lot with the Christopher Ward C65 Dune GMT and bent it is always a joy. It enhances the fun of wearing a watch that I love.

That’s also why the practical issues people bring are not for me. I’m happy to wrap it around a manual winding Sellita SW210-1 that runs the new Twelve 660. The brand has confirmed that it is not just a boring regular version of the caliber. The movement adds skeletonized train bridges, rhodium plating, and brush and diamond finishing finishes.

It’s a joy to come back through the display case. In terms of performance, the movement operates at 4Hz frequencies, has a power reserve of 45 hours, and maintains time within an acceptable range of ±20 seconds per day. Overall, Christopher Ward 12 660 is a whole new release. I’m excited by the potential practical reviews, but I’ve never felt any excitement about the Nivada Grenchen F77 even if I had it in the office. But please tell me why you like the F77 better, Mike.

Microphone: Nivada Glenchen F77

Again, Jorg brought participants and heat. The Christopher Ward Twelve 660 is an attractive watch, and as a fan of thin manual find works, I find it difficult to beat! However, the Nivada Grenchen F77 still needs words. One thing I like about Nivada is that I can trace its roots back to 1977, when the model with the original name debuted. So, instead of being a fast follower like many other modern integrated bracelet watches, Nivada has a story. But what’s better if the clock is not big?

Thankfully, Nivada Grenchen did a commendable job with the F77. And most of all, the brand continues to release impressive variations. One of my favorites is last year’s titanium version with a Lapis Lazuli dial. This was announced along with the metstone and aventurine versions. Of course, there are patterned dials, shiny and even ceramic variants.

Another direction of the F77

Unlike the Christopher Ward Twelve 660, the F77 uses the historically correct automatic movement within a 37mm x 45mm case. This contributes to a thickness of 12.65mm. That’s almost twice as much as today’s competitors. However, I sampled these watches and can be said to be very comfortable on the wrist. Furthermore, the F77 is more than three times water resistant at a 100m rating.

Soprod Automatic

Nivada Grenchen has selected the Soprod P024 auto under the solid screw-in case of the F77. This movement is a relatively standard unit with a frequency of 28,800Vph and a power reserve of 38 hours. Frankly, Christopher Ward did an incredible job of finishing up the Serrata, but Nivda made the right choice by choosing a deliberate and well-adored case.

A wonderful everyday watch with no regrets

It’s difficult to sell the F77 in thickness or movement, so we’ll do our best to simplify our selling points. Christopher Ward 12 660 is a flatter and more delicate piece, but Nivda is a nonsense everyday watch. It is also a robust runner with a real historical connection. I love the new Christopher Ward, but I wonder if that handles the occasional blockage of doors and subway doors. Additionally, for now, at least for now, the F77 has a wide selection of dial and case materials. Prices are very friendly as the watch starts at 1,420 euros.

Time to choose

As always, you can only choose one of today’s watches in this theoretical battle. If thinness and manual windings suit your taste, Christopher Ward is your choice. Consider Nivada’s grenchen for diversity and general robustness. It’s hard to go wrong either way, but please tell me what you chose and why.