2023 Fears Christopher Ward Alliance 01 Jump Hour Red Dial
Ref: BS240.500
Specification
Lugs : 20mm
Condition : Unworn / Stickered
Box & Papers : Box & Papers
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : Manufacturer Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold with its original Fears bespoke wooden presentation box and paperwork. It comes paired with its original 20mm Fears Belgium handmade Burgundy Red, British calf leather, tanned in the UK, lined in Alcantara, and a signed pin buckle. The watch is from January 2023 and is sold in unworn, stickered condition, as you can see from the photographs. The watch comes with its Manufacturer's Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1pBU7jYK7tAdVpb79OAQ88wQYA7sApTgW?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 5:06 - https://youtu.be/7CqNkBAnkEg
The Watch
Here we have an Unworn 2023 Fears Christopher Ward Alliance 01 Jump Hour, a unique collaboration between two British Watch & Clock Makers Alliance powerhouses. The Alliance was set up in November 2020 as a Trade body representing 75 Brands across the British Isles, including the Republic of Ireland, such brands as Bamford London, Christopher Ward, Fears, Farer, Elliot Brown, Isotope, Marloe Watch Company, MHD Watches, Pinion, Schofield, Studio Underdog and many others. This special watch was only available to Alliance club members in very limited numbers of just 50 watches. Engraved under the four lugs are the logos of Fears, Christopher Ward, and the Alliance, and on the fourth, we have the number of watches ranging from 01 to 50. The elegant polished 40.5mm 316L stainless steel Brunswick case takes its inspiration for the case from a Fears watch originally made in 1924, and manufactured in Germany; it is wonderfully curvaceous, with not a flat surface to be found. The finish and depth of polishing are quite exquisite and showcase the German manufacturers' skill and attention to detail. The watch features a traditional “onion” shaped crown to facilitate daily winding, signed with the Fears Pipette. The smooth polished bezel holds a domed sapphire crystal AR coated inside and out above a stunning Burgundy Red matte lacquered dial. This distinctive dial is made up of an outer sunburst ring; at 12 o’clock, we have the hour window in white lacquer with black ink Fears “Edwin” typeface, intersecting a frosted minute chapter ring in silver ink numerals and a polished ring surrounds the deeply engraved concentric guilloche centre with the Fears shaped” minute hand that is Rhodium plated, half mirror diamond polished and half frosted. At 12 o’clock, we have the Fears motif, and at 6 o’clock, “England” in silver ink, completing this mesmerising dial. The light magically plays with the different surfaces as you rotate your wrist. Inside an automatic Modified Sellita SW200, this JJ01 movement has a module developed in-house by Johannes Jahnke, a former master watchmaker of Christopher Ward. It is decorated with the Christopher Ward Twin Flags logo and is plated with rhodium. The watch comes paired with its 20mm Fears Belgium handmade Burgundy Red, British calf leather, tanned in the UK, lined in Alcantara and a signed pin buckle, and the watch comes with its original Fears bespoke English Ash wooden presentation box stained in Fears Blue and lined in cream suede and Fears paperwork.
Personal Note
The future of watchmaking for the UK is bright and full of potential and this Fears & Christopher Ward Alliance 01 Jump Hour is the perfect example of that! As a lover of vintage jump hours, this release was one that peaked my attention immediately, if circumstances were different this would be staying on my wrist... So take this opportunity to add this watch to your collection before someone else does, and remember only 50 were made in total and now Fears have released the Jump Hour in a few colours in their core lineup, I think it'll only add to the longterm interest in this edition!
The Brand
The year was 1846, and a young watchmaker named Edwin Fear established a workshop and showroom in his own name at 33-35 Redcliff Street in Bristol. The company Edwin Fear that he created became more and more successful and eventually, in 1866, needed to expand to their second premises, on Bristol Bridge, which served as Fears headquarters until the 1940s. During this period, the company had three different Managing Directors. Following the passing of Edwin in 1877, the business was handed down to his son, Amos Daniel Fear, who in 1908 saw the company become a limited company whilst also changing its operating name from ‘Edwin Fear’ to ’Fears Limited’. Amos also safely navigated the company through the First World War,1914-1918, after which he established an export department called ‘Fears (Export) Limited’ at No. 14 Brunswick Square in Bristol. In late 1945, following the War, Fears moved to new premises in Clifton, Bristol, just in time to celebrate the company’s centenary in 1946 with a new watch collection. Fears continued to thrive through the post-war years until it sadly closed its doors in 1976. It was not until 40 years later, in 2016, when an aspiring young apprentice watchmaker at Rolex in London, Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, who is the great-great-great-grandson of Edwin Fear, re-launched his family’s company at the SalonQP watch show on 3rd November 2016. Keeping the name ‘Fears’ he released their first wristwatch in the twenty-first century, the Redcliff. Rolling with the success of the Redcliff in 2017, they released their second wristwatch, The Brunswick, named after Brunswick Square in Bristol.