Christopher Ward is a British watch brand that sells only direct, online and through a few showrooms. It designs in Maidenhead, west of London, and makes the watches in its own workshop in Biel, Switzerland. It started as the cheap way into a Swiss-made mechanical watch. 20 years on, it still sells divers and field watches from about €1,000, but it also makes chiming watches and in-house movements that get nominated in Geneva.
Key facts
| Founded | 2004, by Mike France, Peter Ellis and Chris Ward |
| First watches | 2nd June 2005: the C5 Malvern Automatic and the C3 Malvern Chronograph |
| Headquarters | Maidenhead, Berkshire, UK |
| Manufacture | Biel, Switzerland, ex Synergies Horlogères, merged in 2014 |
| CEO | Mike France, co-founder |
| Sales model | Direct only: website, phone and 7 showrooms (3 UK, 4 US) |
| Volume | About 20,000 watches a year (FY 2020) |
| Turnover | £30.5 million in FY 2024, up from £16.8 million in FY 2023 |
| Guarantee | "60/60": 60 days of free returns, 60 months on the movement |
| Price range | €985 to about €5,900 in Germany (October 2026) |
History
3 men in a boat
The idea came on a boat trip down the Thames in May 2004. Mike France and Peter Ellis had just sold the Early Learning Centre toy chain. Chris Ward was bored with importing T-shirts. A friend in the watch trade told them that most Swiss brands bought the same components from the same suppliers, then marked them up many times. Mike France quotes 1 famous brand at 34 times the manufacturing cost.
They named the company after Chris Ward, as "the most quintessentially English name of the 3", and wrote a 3-part plan:
- Sell direct, only through their own website.
- Mark up at most 3 times the manufacturing cost.
- Pay no celebrities.
The slogan was "the cheapest most expensive watches in the world". On 2nd June 2005, from a converted chicken shed on a farm in Berkshire, they launched what they call the first online-only watch brand.
Sales were slow until Dave Malone, a watch enthusiast from Tasmania, bought a C5 Malvern to write a scathing review on the Timezone forum. He found a genuine ETA 2824-2 and a build far above the price, and called it the "best value mechanical watch in the world". That post put the brand on the map of the forums, and a Dutch fan started the independent Christopher Ward Forum, which still runs.
From assembler to manufacture
- 2008: the start of the partnership with Synergies Horlogères in Biel, run by Jörg Bader. Its master watchmaker Johannes Jahnke made the "JJ" calibres: modified movements for the C9 Jumping Hour and the C900 Single Pusher.
- 2014: the 2 companies merge into Christopher Ward London Holdings. On 2nd July the brand reveals Calibre SH21, its own movement, with 5 days of power reserve. The brand calls it the first commercially viable mechanical movement from a British watch brand in over 50 years.
- 2016: a rebrand brings the full-name wordmark and the twin-flags emblem, and moves the logo from 9 to 12 o'clock. Newer models carry the emblem alone.
- 2019: the Military Collection, under licence from the UK Ministry of Defence.
- 2020: the C63 Sealander and the C65 Super Compressor. Chris Ward leaves the company in January.
The ambitious years
- November 2022: the C1 Bel Canto, a chiming watch for about £3,195. The 1st series of 300 sells out in 8 hours, the 2nd in 2 hours.
- 2023: The Twelve, an integrated-bracelet watch, and the C65 Dune. In November the Bel Canto wins the Petite Aiguille prize at the GPHG in Geneva, a first for a British brand.
- 2024: the Twelve X, a skeleton titanium Twelve with the SH21, for the brand's 20th year. Turnover nearly doubles to £30.5 million.
- April 2025: the C12 Loco, with the new in-house CW-003: hand-wound, 6 days of power reserve. GPHG nomination.
- August 2025: The Twelve 660, the 6.6 mm dress version of The Twelve.
- 2025: WatchPro names Christopher Ward British Watch Brand of the Year.
- October 2026: the C1 Loco Classic, a dress take on the Loco, nominated at the GPHG 2026.
How it makes watches
Most of the range runs on Swiss Sellita movements, the standard choice at this price. The brand adds its own modules and bridges on top for its complications, and keeps 2 true in-house calibres for the top of the range.
| Movement | Type | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Sellita SW200 | Automatic, 3 hands, date | Trident, Sealander, Dune, The Twelve |
| Sellita SW330 | Automatic GMT | Sealander GMT |
| Sellita SW210 | Hand-wound, slim, modified with a custom train bridge | The Twelve 660 |
| JJ01 | Jump hour module on a Sellita base | C1 Jump Hour |
| FS01 | Chiming module, 60+ parts, on a SW200-1, 38 h | C1 Bel Canto |
| SH21 | In-house automatic, twin barrels, 120 h, COSC | Twelve X, earlier C1 and C9 models |
| CW-003 | In-house hand-wound, 2 stacked barrels, 144 h, 4 Hz | C12 Loco, C1 Loco Classic |
The FS01 is the work of technical director Frank Stelzer. It adapts the jump hour movement so that a hammer strikes a gong once every hour, as the hour changes.
The lineup in October 2026
Prices are what the website shows to a visitor in Germany, from the cheapest strap to the most expensive bracelet.
| Collection | What it is | Sizes | Prices (DE) |
|---|---|---|---|
| C60 Trident | Divers: Pro 300, GMT, Bronze, Biscay, Atoll, Lumière | 39 to 44 mm | €1,260 to €2,705 |
| C63 Sealander | Everyday sports watch: automatic, GMT, Extreme GMT, chrono | 36 to 42 mm | €1,125 to €2,605 |
| C65 Dune Aeolian | Field watch, steel or bronze | 38 mm | €1,050 to €1,365 |
| Military | MoD-licensed: Sandhurst, Cranwell, Lympstone, Valour | 38 to 42 mm | €985 to €1,520 |
| The Twelve | Integrated bracelet, automatic, steel or titanium | 36 to 40 mm | €1,555 to €2,195 |
| The Twelve 660 | Integrated bracelet, 6.6 mm, hand-wound, hours and minutes | 38 mm | €1,925 (bracelet) |
| Twelve X | Skeleton SH21 in a titanium Twelve | 41 mm | €5,625 to €5,895 |
| C1 Jump Hour Mk V | Jumping hour, 5th generation | 39 mm | €2,925 to €3,115 |
| C1 Moonphase 40 | Moonphase | 40.5 mm | €2,725 |
| C1 Bel Canto | Hourly chime, classic and Lumière | 41 mm | €4,795 to €5,215 |
| C12 Loco | Sports watch with the CW-003 and the balance on the dial | 41 mm | €5,195 to €5,395 |
| C1 Loco Classic | Dress watch with the CW-003 and a white ceramic sub-dial | 41 mm | €5,595 to €5,855 |
The Atelier line groups the top 5: Twelve X, Bel Canto, Moonphase, C12 Loco and C1 Loco Classic. The Twelve family alone runs from €1,555 to €5,895.
Focus: The Twelve 660
The blue 660 is the design that drew me to Christopher Ward. Full specs, variants and reviews are in its own note, see Christopher Ward The Twelve 660. This section covers why it stands out in the range.
It misses 2 things I want: a seconds hand and a date. The automatic Twelve has both, in 3 sizes. 22 Oct 2026 I pre-ordered the 40 mm in Nordic Blue, see Christopher Ward The Twelve 40.
The Twelve family
Christopher Ward launched The Twelve in 2023 as its answer to the 1970s integrated sports watch. The name comes from the 12-sided bezel, which repeats in the case and the bracelet links. The first one was 40 mm and 9.95 mm, on a SW200-1, with 100 m of water resistance. It cost €1,350 on the bracelet. Today the same watch costs €1,555, and the family covers 36 mm, 38 mm, titanium, the skeleton Twelve X and the C12 Loco.
What makes the 660 different
| Case | 38 mm, 6.6 mm thick, 43.3 mm lug to lug, steel |
| Movement | Sellita SW210-1 b, hand-wound, custom train bridge, 42 to 45 h |
| Functions | Hours and minutes only, no seconds, no date |
| Water resistance | 30 m, push-in crown |
| Bracelet | Integrated, 2.9 mm links, 4.2 mm clasp, 85 g in total |
| Price | €1,805 at launch (August 2025), €1,925 now |
The name is the height: 6.6 mm, against 9.95 mm for the automatic Twelve. To get there, Christopher Ward did 3 things:
- Changed the movement: the hand-wound SW210 is only 3.35 mm high. The brand designed its own train bridge for it, with the same suppliers as the Bel Canto.
- Took out the extras: no seconds hand and no date. The dial keeps applied indices and the applied logo, which cost height.
- Redrew the case and the bracelet: thinner links and a slimmer clasp, so the whole watch sits flat on the wrist.
Why it stands out
- It does something the rest of the range doesn't. Most Christopher Wards are sports and tool watches. The 660 is a real dress watch: the thinnest Twelve, and the brand's 2nd thinnest watch after the C5 Malvern.
- It is the opposite of what I already wear. My Sinn 856 UTC (see Sinn 856 S UTC) is a tool watch for travel and knocks. The 660 would cover dinners and client meetings.
- The finishing is above the price: brushed and polished facets, applied indices, a decorated movement behind a display back.
- The reviews agree. Time+Tide called it the best version of The Twelve yet. WatchGecko called it their favourite Christopher Ward.
What holds it back
- 30 m and a push-in crown: not for swimming.
- Hand-wound with no seconds hand: you wind it every 2 days, and you can't see at a glance if it runs.
- No half links on the bracelet, so the fit depends on the link count. Time+Tide found it tight in the heat.
- The price keeps moving: €1,805 to €1,925 in 14 months, for a Sellita base.
The 660 against its siblings
| Watch | Size | Movement | Water resistance | Price (DE) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Twelve 38 | 38 mm | SW200-2 Power+, date | 100 m | €1,555 |
| The Twelve 660 | 38 mm, 6.6 mm | Hand-wound SW210, 2 hands | 30 m | €1,925 |
| C12 Loco | 41 mm | In-house CW-003, 144 h | 30 m | €5,195 |
The automatic Twelve 38 is the practical choice: €370 less, with seconds, a date and 100 m. The 660 costs more for less function. What it buys is the profile, and that is the whole point.
The brand: strengths and weaknesses
Strengths:
- Value at the entry level: Swiss-made, sapphire, good bracelets and decent finishing from about €1,000.
- Real ambition at the top: a GPHG prize, 2 in-house calibres and chiming and jump hour modules, at a fraction of Swiss prices.
- Low risk to buy: 60 days of free returns, 5 years on the movement and a 4.6 rating from over 30,000 Trustpilot reviews.
Weaknesses:
- Prices have climbed: The Twelve went from €1,350 to €1,555 on the bracelet in 3 years. The "3 times mark-up" brand of 2005 now sells watches at almost €6,000.
- Sellita inside most models: fine movements, but the same as in many cheaper watches.
- A lot of releases: limited editions and colour variants come out all year. The catalogue is hard to follow.
- No dealer network: you can't try most models in Germany before you buy. The returns policy makes up for part of that.
Buying
- Where: only from christopherward.com, with free worldwide delivery. Showrooms are in London, Maidenhead and Liverpool in the UK, and in New York, Chicago, Frisco and Falls Church in the US. There is none in continental Europe.
- Prices: the site shows prices by country. Check them from Germany, not from a UK or US page.
- Payment: interest-free credit is available.
- Guarantee: 5 years on the movement, and 60 days to return the watch for free.
On this site
- Christopher Ward The Twelve 40: The Twelve in its 3 sizes, 36, 38 and 40 mm, and the 40 mm in Nordic Blue that I pre-ordered.
- Christopher Ward The Twelve 660: the full note on The Twelve 660.
- Christopher Ward C65 Sandhurst Series 2: the C65 Sandhurst Series 2, the MoD-licensed field watch.
Further Reading
- Christopher Ward slims down The Twelve, Fratello, on the 660
- Christopher Ward introduces the C12 Loco, Watches by SJX, on the CW-003
- Hands-on: the C1 Loco Classic, Fratello, October 2026
- The Christopher Ward manufacture calibre SH21, Professional Watches