Christopher Ward wowed friends and foes with his C1 bel canto in November 2022. It perfectly symbolized the brand’s talent for democratizing luxury watches. Today, one day before the model’s second anniversary, The CW is unveiling a new version. I had a chance to try out the new Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto Classic. This is how we did it.
The new Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto Classic is available in four dial colors: gold, green, silver, and blue. Choose from Oyster style bracelets and several leather straps. My review unit is the silver bracelet model. The watch costs 4,550 euros in leather and 4,885 euros in steel.
Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto
Today’s update is purely aesthetic, so the Bel Canto Classic is a “classic” bel canto under the hood. The titanium case is 41mm wide, 48mm long, and 13mm thick. With its size and 22mm lug spacing, this watch definitely makes a statement on your wrist. The crystal is sapphire and the case back is solid titanium as part of the sound system.
And that sound system is, of course, a party item. Christopher Ward’s Frank Stelzer modified the brand’s Jump Hour Caliber JJ01 to chime every hour. The pusher at 4 o’clock allows you to turn the system on and off. When activated, a large hammer strikes a titanium gong every hour. For musicians, the gong is tuned to D. Many of the 60+ new components needed to make this all work appear above the dial. A subdial at position 12 displays the time.
For the avoidance of doubt, it is important to understand that this is not a minute repeater, nor does it keep time like a cuckoo clock. Instead, a discreet chime sounds every hour. Another thing I want to clarify is that the base caliber is the Sellita SW200-1. The adapted Jump Hour module FS01 is on top. The resulting caliber therefore shares most of its specs with the SW200-1, including a 38-hour power reserve and 28,800 vph. Christopher Ward regulates it to operate within ±20 seconds per day.
New Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto Classic
The new Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto Classic takes that recipe and covers it with a more classic sauce. A guilloché dial replaces the original sunray dial. CW uses laser etching to create this dial. No traditional Rhodes engine is used here. This makes sense not only from a price perspective, but also from a capacity perspective (more on this later).
Classic black painted Roman numerals then appear along concentric brushed rings. These replace the latest applied index in the regular model. The more complex luminous handset of the regular model is replaced by a simple blue handset. However, there is one technical change to the previous model. This is because the thicker the dial, the more domed the crystal is needed.
In the press release, George Daniels, Roger Smith, He explains this by citing Garrick. I’m glad that CW itself has dropped the Breguet name. Because… well… look. The guilloché, Roman numerals and mechanism on the dial express Breguet tradition.
Increased capacity
The first Bel Canto was limited to 300 pieces and sold out in eight hours. The second one was for another 300 units and took only 2 hours. The problem was that the watches could not be produced in such large quantities due to some manufacturing bottlenecks. The brand is transparent about its initial production capacity of 50 bel cantos per month and how it has increased this to 500 bel cantos per month by September 2024.
Christopher Ward found new suppliers, trained his staff, optimized efficiency, and even took an equity stake in one of his suppliers. After all, bringing luxury watches to a wider audience is no easy task. CW has a reputation for offering incredible value for money, and the Bel Canto incident shows that for this to work, every part of the business needs it.
Another good example is the aforementioned laser etching on the dial. Rose Engine craftsmen can produce about five dials a week, while one laser can churn out 84 dials. You can’t expect the same sharpness and rich light play, but you can get close enough for this segment. Still, there is quite a bit of handiwork on display. For example, notice the chamfering on some of the dial side plates. APJ, CW’s finishing partner, had to hire new staff and send three people to a four-month training course to master the manual chamfers found on some of the dial-side components. did.
So what is the Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto Classic actually like?
I have mixed feelings about the Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto Classic. On the other hand, it’s very impressive in terms of “How do they do it?” A kind of method. Prices below 5,000 euros can seem just crazy, especially to someone who has some knowledge of watchmaking. As is often the case with the CW, you get a lot of watches for your money.
So where do my mixed feelings come from? I think it has to do with identity. Christopher Ward’s designs cleverly reference the shapes and watches we all know and love. Usually they aren’t direct homages, but close enough to feel familiar and safe. Add to that a focus on specs and price and you have a winning recipe. There are some recipes that tend to get a little cold. Granted, 5,000 euros is a very steep price for this watch, but it’s still a huge amount. If you’re going to spend that much money, you don’t want something that constantly reminds you of Breguet heritage.
The Oyster style bracelet confirms my sentiment. It’s a CW bracelet, so it comes with tool-less micro-adjustments and quick-release pins. Sure, it’s another ode to the familiar, but it’s also a complete stylistic mismatch for this watch. The thick case and three-row bracelet look like it could hold a diver’s watch. It’s jarring to see them culminate in a dial that hints at classically complicated watchmaking. I much prefer the regular C1 Bel Canto (with strap) as it looks more like Christopher Ward. Just accept yourself as you are.
lastly
It’s easy to see why Christopher Ward is so beloved by the online watch community. Brands tend to have an advantage when they tick all the spec boxes and keep prices down. C1 Bel Canto is a great example. I was also very impressed when I saw the first model in November 2022.
However, this new C1 Bel Canto Classic doesn’t seem like a step forward to me. Stylistically, it feels strange and feels too much like an homage watch. I know this is a pretty harsh criticism, but I think The CW is okay with taking it on the chin. If you have to scale up one of your most expensive models to 500 units a month, you’re obviously hitting the right nerves with your audience. Quite simply, it’s very impressive. In my case, I admire it, but I don’t aspire to it.
What do you think about the new Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto Classic? Let us know in the comments section below.
