Feature: Tissot PRX 35mm vs Christopher Ward Twelve 36mm
If you’re in the running for an entry-level watch and you’re wondering if you should save some money and buy a £320 Tissot PRX, or splash out on something more expensive like the £850 Christopher Ward Twelve, I’m here to answer that question. Let’s have a definitive look at the two hottest entry-level integrated watches.
Case
When you don’t have a bottomless bank balance, choosing a watch, especially ones you can only get online, can be really tough. There are a lot of different factors that impact the price, and some, all or none of those may affect you personally. So let’s take a look at these two titans of the hugely popular budget integrated class and see where those differences lie so you can best make that decision.
We’ll start with the case, which here are within a millimetre of each other between the 35mm Tissot PRX and the 36mm Christopher Ward Twelve. Both brands offer a 40mm version as well, with the Tissot’s wearing larger thanks to the rigid first links that effectively become extensions of the case.
A rule of thumb for me would be if the Moonwatch—or MoonSwatch—wears comfortably on your wrist, go for the large size from the two, and if it doesn’t the midsize is probably more suitable for you.
That’s how they wear, but how do they feel? The Tissot is simple, blocky, but well-formed. It’s the most pared-back iteration of the integrated case we’ve seen. That certainly doesn’t make it worse, particularly if you prefer your watches utilitarian and unfussy. A flat case and simple, round bezel, both with a hint of a bevel to stop them looking like a low-poly render, is all you’re getting in a predominantly brushed finish.
By comparison, the Christopher Ward is a catalogue of detail. In essence, the principle is identical, but where the PRX is happy with a sofa and TV in the middle of a room with eggshell painted walls, the Christopher Ward brings in a few potted plants and hangs up a picture or two.
Most noticeable is the bezel, which evolves in its form from top to bottom. It starts as a brushed circle, blends into a polished dodecahedron, drops down with vertical bead-blasted sides and spreads back out into a circle again. Markedly different, and perhaps to some, too fussy—although many would consider it entirely appropriate for a genre built on its excessive looks.
The remainder of the case isn’t too dissimilar aside from the addition of crown guards on the Christopher Ward, brushed, bevelled and polished, and held in place with hex screws. The case back on the quartz PRX is unadorned and transparent on the automatic, where again the Twelve ups the ante with a replication of the bezel treatment.
Bracelet
When it comes to securing either watch to the wrist, the bracelet is always going to be the more popular, more durable option, and with the PRX, it comes as standard. The way it mates to the case is par for the course for an integrated watch, with two blended lugs on the outside clinging to the first inner link. To bring down cost, each link is one stepped piece rather than three.
Like the case, it retains that blocky, minimalist simplicity, with brushed front faces and the hint of a polished edge on the inner link. It’s quick release and there are a number of third-party options to switch it out for, too.
For £850, the Twelve comes on rubber, which is very comfortable and nicely detailed, with a bevelled outer edge and inner recess on the outer face, and a raised texture on the inner to maximise breathability. This time it actually joins at the outer edges of the case—again, quick release—an unusual detail that, unless I’m mistaken, is unique to the Christopher Ward.
There is a bracelet available, but it pushes the price up another £200 to £1,050, and it follows a similar principle to the PRX’s: single, staggard links with a polished top lip. Here, though, the polished lip runs the full width of the link and in general the edges between them are much more crisp. Clasps on both bracelets behave in the same way as a double deployant, with the Twelve’s rubber strap shipped on a buckle. There’s no micro adjust for either, half links doing sizing duty as you’d expect for these kinds of clasps.
Dial
But what you’re looking at most with these watches is the dial, and that’s where the difference in spend is probably most noticeable. On the quartz PRX the dial is brushed, and on the automatic it’s got a waffle texture, both executed to a reasonable degree of fidelity but nothing you’d want to apply too much magnification to.
The hands and markers tell a similar story, simple, functional and nicely designed, just don’t look too close. It is, after all, a £310 watch, and to be generous, the quality gives it a feeling of being new old stock vintage, which has its own charm. But so long as you don’t have Superman-level vision, you’ll find it to be a perfectly nice dial.
As is probably expected, the same up-step between the cases is also true of the dials. The Twelve has a consistent texture across all the dials, a repeating pattern formed of a prismoidal representation of the brand’s logo. The hands and markers are substantial, finished with precision and much more of a feature than on the PRX. Where the PRX dial can feel a little two-dimensional, the Twelve’s is very much built in layers, with a substantial parallax effect occurring as the watch moves around.
Movement
The cheapest PRX gets a quartz movement, but double the price and you’ll get a mechanical, and this is perhaps where the two watches meet in the middle. The automatic PRX gets the Powermatic 80, an automatic movement with a substantial 80 hours of power reserve. By comparison, the steel Christopher Ward is home to a Sellita SW200, which can only muster 38 hours of power reserve. That means you can’t leave the watch for a weekend and expect it to still be running come Monday morning.
In terms of precision, the Twelve’s Sellita is within spec up to 20 seconds out either way, and the Powermatic 80 doesn’t have an accuracy figure quoted but is likely to be around the same. One point to mention that may impact your decision is that Tissot have been known for using plastic escapement components in the Powermatic 80. It doesn’t reduce performance—in fact they’re technically better—but it may not sit in line with your expectations for a mechanical watch.
Which should you buy?
Choosing between the two certainly isn’t a case of asking how much money you have and buying the most expensive you can afford. The Tissot PRX, especially in quartz form, offers a discreet and affordable option for people who want something to wear in the office or in the city and not get clocked, whilst still enjoying something a bit special.
The Christopher Ward on the other hand is a very flashy, very noticeable watch that catches the light at any angle with its mirror-polished surfaces and razor-sharp angles. You may end up upsetting people who think it costs way more than it actually does. They both have their place in the world and, in some cases, in a single collection. But if you’re only after one, hopefully this in-depth guide will help you make that decision.
What’s your take on the Tissot PRX versus the Christopher Ward Twelve? Think the extra spend is worth it or does the design peak at Tissot?
