This New Affordable Field Watch Is Almost Too Good-Looking

No one ever said basic watches have to be ugly.

Published January 23, 2025

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With a continuous stream of blockbuster watch releases dating back to the launch of the Bel Canto in 2022, you’d think that Christopher Ward would maybe rest on its laurels a bit heading into 2025.

But judging from the brand’s first big release of the new year, it’s quite clear that’s not going to happen.

CW has debuted a new generation of its popular and affordable C65 Dune field watch line, and it puts forth a pretty convincing case as the most beautiful field watch ever made.

a christopher ward field watch on a mans wrist — The field just got a lot hotter.

Dialing Up the Beauty

The new Dune is dubbed the Aeolian, and its standout feature is its gorgeous 3D-textured dial. The dial displays a rippling wave pattern inspired by the wind-created aeolian sand patterns of France’s Dune du Pilat sand dunes, which also inspired the collection’s name.

If the rippled design looks familiar, that’s because this isn’t the first time CW has used it on the dial of Dune field watch. Last year, the brand teamed up with Oracle Time to launch the limited-edition C65 Dune Shoreline. That watch featured a gray dial, blue lume plots, and the same three-dimensional windswept dial pattern.

The Shoreline was a big hit and quickly sold out, and now CW is bringing its attractive dial pattern to the masses with six non-limited references, plus two new Dune GMTs that do not feature the textured dials. The C65 Dune Aeolian replaces the outgoing C65 Dune in CW’s catalog.

a christopher ward field watch viewed from the side — The rippling dial is inspired by the windswept sand dunes of France.

Steel, Bronze or GMT?

The most basic and affordable version of the new Dune is the Dune Automatic. Like the now-discontinued original Dune field watch, it features a 38mm stainless steel case, a vintage-inspired boxed sapphire crystal and 150m of water resistance.

The new watches are also powered by the same reliable Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement, but they no longer have a date, resulting in a cleaner dial. As before, the movement is visible through a sapphire caseback.

The biggest changes, of course, are on the dial, where we not only have the beautiful rippled sand pattern and lack of a date window but also a simplified lollipop seconds hand, as the Trident counterweight — once a CW signature found on nearly all of its watches — has been deleted. Less controversially, we have some fetching new colors and lume treatments.

four christopher ward field watches in sand — The four colors available for the C65 Dune Aeolian Automatic.

The fan-favorite beige Sand color returns with Old Radium lume, while the new colors are Silica (gray) with white lume, Marram (forest green) with green lume, and Eve (blue) with blue lume. The use of different colored lume adds a lot of character to the colorways and shows some nice attention to detail. All lume used is high-grade Super-LumiNova X1, regardless of color, meaning every version should glow very bright in low-light conditions.

The Dune Aeolian Bronze is the more premium version of the new Dune Aeolian Automatic, and it follows the same principles for premiumization CW has laid out with its Twelve sports watch. Namely, the more premium version gets a pricier case material, an upgraded COSC-certified movement, and a gradient dial.

a christopher ward field watch in sand — Like the last generation of the Dune, the new bronze version is also a chronometer.

There are two bronze options, both of which have bronze cases — obviously — along with chronometer-certified Sellita SW200 automatic movements and dials with a subtle smoked effect that’s darker on the edges than in the center.

The rippled dials are available in two nature-inspired colors: Marram and Dusk Brown. The Marram here differs from the steel version in its use of lume, as both it and the Dusk Brown version use Old Radium Super-LumiNova X1 to better match the warm tones of the bronze. All other specs remain unchanged compared to the stainless steel version.

a christopher ward gmt watch — Curiously, the Dune Aeolian GMT does not feature the collection’s signature wave pattern on its dial

Finally, the popular Dune GMT has been updated with an Aeolian version, but it’s really an Aeolian in name only. The black sheep of the new collection, the updated GMT, curiously, does not feature the wave-textured dial of the non-GMT versions.

Instead, outside of some minor refinements to the dial, the only real change for the GMT is the colors available. There’s no return of the “Orca” colorway, sadly, but Sand has returned along with a new Eve blue version. Both are plenty attractive, but I would’ve liked to have seen textured dials here; the watches feel incomplete without them.

Pricing and Availability

There are three areas in which modern Christopher Ward really excels, in my opinion. First in in their designs. The brand’s catalog is full of watches that are simply gorgeous, and the Dune Aeolian is one of its best-looking yet.

a christopher ward field watch dial closeup — The Dune Aeolian brings a new level of beauty to the field watch genre.

Next is their quality. The brand’s watches are well-made and well-finished, which is a big reason why CW has seen such exponential growth over the course of its first two decades as a watch company.

Lastly is the brand’s affordable price point. This is one area where CW has lost a few fans in recent years as its prices have crept up with the brand pursuing higher-quality watchmaking with releases like the Bel Canto, Twelve X and Trident Lumière. But that trend has been reversed with the Dune Dune Aeolian. The new field watches are priced like the CW watches of old, with an entry point starting below a grand.

The stainless steel Dune Dune Aeolian Automatic starts at $895 on a very attractive stitched camel canvas webbing strap that’s been designed specifically for this release, while the GMT’s pricing begins at $1,165 on the same strap. Both are also available on bracelets for an upcharge. The bronze chronometer is only available on Orlando leather straps and is priced at $1,165.