Christopher Ward C60 Concept

Christopher Ward is getting serious. As we teased here, the brand has just released its most ambitious watch yet, the C60 Concept, a fully functional dive watch showing of a hand-finished skeletonized version of its in-house SH21 movement. Limited to 210 pieces (and already sold out), the watch serves as a demonstration of what the brand is capable of, as opposed to a commitment to a certain direction for the brand. While anyone who’s tried a watch from Christopher Ward knows full well the quality the brand can deliver, the C60 Concept ups the ante.

Well, the movement certainly stands out, doesn’t it? That and the big orange triangle. It’s hard to notice much else off the bat, but the blue ceramic bezel does a commendable job making itself known as well.

The Christopher Ward C60 Concept features the brand’s Light Catcher case. It’s one of my favorites on the market. The chamfers and curves, undercuts, and polishing and brushing all come together perfectly to do just what it promises: catch the light. The crown is perfectly sized and nestled nicely in the guards. It’s a cinch to unwind and use. I did notice the seconds hand jump when the crown is unwound, likely a sign that the hand is too tight on the cannon pinion (according to a watchmaker friend), but not a functional issue.

Light Catcher case or not, the watch is quite the presence on the wrist. You see, the SH21 was originally a manual movement and was later modified to create an automatic version–as opposed to being built from the ground up as an automatic. The result when paired with a dive case is quite tall. The slope of the lugs and relatively shorter lug-to-lug means the watch wears well, but just for its size. The ceramic bezel insert is highly legible and very modern in its execution. It operates perfectly with great tension, a satisfying click, and only the slightest about of backplay. Coin-edged bezels can limit grip, but when the tension accounts for this–as it does here–there are no problems. As you can also see from this angle, the AR coating on the flat sapphire makes the watch legible from just about any angle.

This dial is all about the movement, as is the case with any properly skeletonized watch. Christopher Ward went to Armin Strom to skeletonize its in-house SH21 movement. Gladly, the movement seems to lend itself to such a process, with bridges and jewels along the 6-12 arc and the winding mechanism on the 3 o’clock side. It’s a beautiful display with a stunning level of depth. The only thing to suffer is legibility. Brands simply don’t seem to understand that the contrast needs to extend to the hands as well.

Six hours of additional finishing for each movement is completed at Chronade, a collective of artisans in Le Locle, Switzerland, that reportedly works with brands like MB&F and Czapek. The C60 Concept simply isn’t finished at the level of those watches, which have components that require 6-hours for a single part, but the C60 Concept is not trying to be those watches. It’s a show of what Christopher Ward is capable of offering: a watch with a movement finished by some of the finest artisans in the world (at a reasonable price). It’s on display every time you look at the watch, with the sandblasted and brushed movement parts and hand-polished bevels and jewel cups.

The hands feature great contrasting finishes with a brushed top and polished beveled sides. I’m on the record as not loving the brand’s use of disparate hand shapes, and that remains so with the C60 Concept, but I feel my position softening. I do love how Christopher Ward managed to include its logo on the bridge that hovers over the keyless works. The white logo really stands out against the brushing and shows off the contrasting plating of the movement components: silver rhodium for moving parts, darker grey ruthenium for stationary parts. Less effortful skeletonized movements seem to omit this contrast, with a single finish across every component, which makes those watches less legible and less enjoyable.

The dial does have tiny hour markers, if you can find them; the blue and white chapter ring features small, raised sections at each hour. Trouble is, they’re all but invisible most of the time, only occasionally catching enough light to make themselves known. I wouldn’t waste your time on them, since if you’re buying this watch you can probably tell the time without hour markers. What you may spend time doing is watching the dual mainsprings contract in their barrels when you manually wind the watch. It’s one of the treats of the skeletonized movement, and as an added bonus, a quick glance at the barrels will tell you if your power reserve is running low.

Next to the impressive skeletonized movement, the lume is undoubtedly the best part of this new model (I can’t help being reminded of Ming watches with their sparing, clean lume design). While CW opted for top-grade X1 Super-LumiNova for the hands, bezel, and inner ring (as well as the wonderful logo at 3), it got creative for the 12 o’clock triangle. Formed of solid luminous material, the triangle is manufactured by Xenoprint AG, which also does work for MB&F and Sinn. The lume is bright and even throughout the watch.

There it is. If you didn’t see it clearly already, this is the Christopher Ward SH21, an automatic, in-house, COSC movement with 31 jewels and a 5-day power reserve. The frosted and embossed rotor is very haute horlogerie of Christopher Ward. This is only the second watch the automatic SH21 has been put in, and the other is a murdered out black on black on black.

The Christopher Ward C60 Concept comes on either a hybrid Cordura/rubber strap or CW’s excellent bracelet. I always recommend one buys a watch on a bracelet. Here, I strongly recommend it: the hybrid strap hurt my wrist. The rubber backing is too rigid in places, and for my bonier wrist, that meant rubbing to the point of soreness. If you wear your watches above or below the bone (or as I call it, the “wrist knuckle”), you may not have this problem. (In the caseback photo above, on the left side, you can see the logo on the rubber strap–that’s the culprit for my pain.) Having experienced the bracelet on some of their other models, I can endorse it without hesitation, though the pin-and-collar system may make sizing frustrating. Both strap options feature quick-release pins, so if you hate either one, you can take it off without issue.

If you’re worried about any specific thing about this watch, you may be missing the point. This is a concept piece, a showpiece. It’s right there in the name, the Christopher Ward C60 Concept. It needn’t be perfectly legible or easy on the wrist (it’s neither of those things), because it’s meant to show off the awesome things Christopher Ward can do. And in that regard, it delivers. Sure, it’s already sold out, but there may be some returns that will show up in one of the online sales. So, in the meantime, check the CW site out for more info (and my pull quote on the product page).