Editor’s Note: Watches & Wonders (formerly SIHH) and Baselworld 2020 are canceled but that hasn’t stopped watch brands large and small from debuting their new wares. To stay on top of this year’s best new watch releases, visit our tag page.
Some things are apparent right away when looking at Christopher Ward’s newest C60 Elite GMT 1000 dive watch: it’s serious and technical-looking, and you’re sure to notice its GMT hand for tracking a second time zone. However, it’s the premium specs and materials that you might not acknowledge at first, but which make a case for its just-sub-$2,000 price tag as being pretty reasonable.
This is a serious dive watch first and foremost, with a rotating count-up bezel meant for dive use, rather than a 24-hour bezel like that of most GMT watches (an inner 24-hour scale is present for use with the GMT hand). How serious of a dive watch? It’s one of those 1,000m water-resistant ones with a helium escape valve that you’ll never use but which conveys the sense that the watch can survive just about anything.
It’s further impressive that Christopher Ward maintained that water resistance and yet was able to offer a sapphire crystal caseback to dislpay the automatic movement inside. The movement is the popular Swiss automatic Sellita SW330, but to give it that extra little boost, it’s been COSC chronometer-certified.
At 42mm wide and 16mm thick, you might assume the C60 would be on the heavy side. A fully titanium case, however, keeps its weight down to 77g (the version on a titanium bracelet will add a couple hundred bucks to its price). Also lightweight and scratch-resistant is the brushed ceramic bezel which, together with a sapphire crystal, render the entire front of the watch essentially scratch-proof.
At launch, the Christopher Ward C60 Elite GMT 1000 comes in two colorways: black and sporty red, or a more vibrant version in blue and orange. Available directly from the brand, prices start at $1,705 on a strap and go up to $1,960 on a titanium bracelet.
