Most manufacturers of highly complex watches, such as minute repeaters or other chiming timepieces, make them fixed-quantity limited editions or use phrases like, “limited in production because of the hundreds of hours that go into making them”.
But Christopher Ward is not like other watchmakers.
It has been on a mission to bring fine mechanical watches to the masses for 20 years by cutting out middlemen and relentlessly stripping out waste and bloat from its manufacturing and supply chains.
When its first chiming watch, the C1 Bel Canto, launched in November 2022 with a first drop of just 600 pieces in two colors, it sold out in hours because, in part, its $3,000+ price was unfathomable for a timepiece of such sophistication.
Most watchmakers would have doubled-down on this success by creating rounds of limited editions with tweaks to colors, straps and perhaps a collaboration or two.
But Christopher Ward was frustrated. It wanted every customer who wanted a Bel Canto to have one.
That became considerably more difficult after the watch won the 2023 Petite Aiguille prize (for watches priced at less than CHF 8,000) at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève; the first British brand to pick up a gong at the prestigious event.
Suddenly the whole world was beating a path to Christopher Ward’s door, and keeping up with demand for the Bel Canto became impossible.
Mike France, the company’s co-founder and managing director, says the success of Bel Canto helped Christopher Ward double revenue to over £30.5 million for the year to March 31, 2024, and a huge jump in annual profit from £222,000 to £3.9m.
Mr France wants to maintain momentum and continue to build sales, not only for the Bel Canto, but for all lines that are basking in the light of the halo from CW’s chiming timepiece.
He says production has already been increased from 50 units per month to 500 per month ahead of the launch today of a new Bel Canto Classic collection, which has a laser-etched guilloché pattern palatine and a new glass box crystal that visually opens up the dial.
Christopher Ward has also expanded the range of strap and bracelet options for the watches.
Christopher Ward owns its own factory in the watchmaking city of Biel (home to Swatch Group and Rolex manufactures), which gives it far more options for precision manufacturing partners that contribute components for its watches such as APJ, which made the guilloché laser etching possible, and Paoluzzo, a specialist in high-level CNC machining, mainly for the aerospace and medical industries.
The new Classic Bel Canto collection uses CW’s Calibre FS01 movement in 41mm grade 5 titanium cases, which are said to help with the clarity of the pitch-perfect D chime.
It launches today in four new colors for $4,225 on a Seta leather strap or $4,545 on a Grade 2 titanium bracelet.
Pre-orders are being taken online at Christopher Ward now for delivery in December.
