Undone Vintage Killy vs. CW C3 Malvern Mk III
The Christopher Ward (CW) C3 Malvern Chronograph MK III has been in my collection since 2017, while I picked up an Undone Vintage Killy in a 2019 Black Friday sale. Both are dress-style chronographs and the Undone was acquired to challenge the CW since it gets little wrist time amongst other watches. This is an unboxing and mini review of the Undone Vintage Killy along with a head-to-head competition to determine which watch will earn a place in the box for the foreseeable future.
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https://youtu.be/YrGmUO1jZGY
The Comparison
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The Undone Unboxing
The box is simple, looks great, has nice vintage touches along with noting the specs on the exterior cardstock, and keeps waste at a minimum.
https://youtu.be/GEsfrHqlPyo
The Watches
Although the two watches have some significant differences, at the end of the day they are both dress-style chronographs with subdials at 12 and 6. I should really only keep one. But which??? When it comes to the case and crystal CW has the edge. Still, the Undone is half the cost.
The movements are both quartz but have striking differences. The CW is a Swiss Ronda, includes a date, and the chronograph can time up to 12 hours. The Undone is a Japanese Seiko, a mechanical-quartz regarding the chronograph, and sports flyback capability for quick timing of sorter durations.
Casebacks
Both watches have an advantage when it comes to the casebacks. The Undone offers an exhibition caseback, which is uncommon for quartz, but appreciated in this instance. Alternatively, a solid caseback provides more weight and thus more presence on the wrist. Both approaches result in the same depth rating of 30 meters.
The Wins
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The Straps
The Undone straps are one of the wins: the custom dress style perfect for suit-wear and a remarkably soft vintage grey leather. The pro for the CW is that I happen to have mine on one of their Bader clasps, which makes wearing and removing a cinch. Both brands sport quick release straps.
On the Wrist
Both watches are comfortable, but the CW specs lend an advantage in terms of a slimmer profile, weight, and modern presence. I like Art Deco as a design, but for a dress watch I think the Vario Silver Empire captures it more cleanly and at the end of the day I find myself not liking the artificial vintage look as much as I thought I would.
Final Thought
Truth be told I am still mildly thinking about which will stay and which will go…I thought I would know fairly quickly. However, I was no closer to certain after wearing the Undone Killy for several days and no closer to certain after doing the video recording. Still, I started to develop a clearer preference during the video editing and blog writing. Though a close call, the CW C3 Malvern Chronograph has the winning hand for this enthusiast, and it mostly comes down to the case design. So what to do with the Undone? Perhaps flip? Perhaps a Giveaway? Time will tell…but I think I’ll hang on to one or both of the straps!
