The Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto watch, the British watchmaker’s sell-out mechanical chiming watch, has been nominated (unsurprisingly) in the Petite Aiguille Category of The Grand Prix D’horlogerie De Genève (GPHG).
Christopher Ward Bel Canto - Credit WatchGecko
Christopher Ward has come a long way in such a short space of time, and no one doubts them as a powerhouse in British horological innovation. But when they launched the C1 Bel Canto last November, it was completely unexpected. This isn’t just some fancy skeletonised timepiece, but a passing chime watch that emits a single chime every hour. Sure, that’s nothing new for the watch world, but at this price point, it is a complete novelty.
Christopher Ward Bel Canto - Credit WatchGecko
The Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto retails from £3,195 making it the most affordable Swiss Made mechanical chiming watch in the world. And so as you’d expect, the original limited edition design did not last long, and sold out its 300-piece run in just a matter of hours. It was also a major departure from CW’s previous designs, displaying a futuristic, three-dimensional blue sunray-brushed display.
Christopher Ward Bel Canto - Credit WatchGecko
It’s then no surprise that the Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto watch has recently been nominated for an award by the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG). The annual awards celebrate excellence within watch and clockmaking, highlighting and rewarding exceptional designs and contributors within the industry. The Bel Canto watch has been nominated in the Petite Aiguille category which celebrates timepieces priced from CHF 2,000 to CHF 8,000.
Mike France, the CEO and Co-Founder of Christopher Ward comments on the nomination:
“The Bel Canto is a significant watch, not just for Christopher Ward but for the industry as a whole. That it has been nominated by the GPHG is deserved recognition for the team at CW whose skill and endeavour created it.”
Christopher Ward Bel Canto - Credit WatchGecko
The key to the Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto watch is the FS01, a chiming module named after the brand’s technical director Frank Stelzer. Rather ingeniously, Frank modified their previous Calibre JJ01 jumping hour movement by adding in 60 new components to create a watch that chimes on the hour, every hour. As if that wasn’t enough, the mechanism is showcased on the dial so just as the hours and minutes reach their goal, the chiming hammer strikes the steel spring curved at the bottom left of the display.
Christopher Ward Bel Canto - Credit WatchGecko
The execution of the Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto is breathtaking; from the blue sunray-brushed finished dial with its bridge-and-hammer mechanism and floating time-telling counter to the highly domed sapphire crystal glass and light-catching grade 5 titanium case. The original, blue-dialled model is sadly out of our reach, but Christopher Ward has thankfully created an open-series version of the watch in new dial colours of Rosa, Nero, Viola and Cielo.
Compared to its competition, we think the Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto watch has a great chance of taking the crown home. But we will have to wait until Thursday, 9th of November, 2023 to find out.
Meet us back here then for all the latest news on the winners!
