Christopher Ward Bel Canto Review: The Game-Changing Affordable Chiming Watch After 3 Years

London-based watchmaker Christopher Ward has achieved the impossible in its relatively short number of years in the watch game, catapulting from if you know, you-know microbrand to one of the most continuously successful indie watch brands on the market. Its founding principles remain largely unchanged, though its scale has grown in the 24 years since its founding: make high-quality watches while cutting what could be called the luxury tax in the industry with a direct-to-consumer model. But there is one distinct product that put the brand on the map more than any other, and that was the introduction of its own chiming watch at an unheard-of price point, the Christopher Ward Bel Canto. As you might have already guessed by the article title, today, we’re taking a microscopic view of the C1 Bel Canto, exploring what has made the watch such a crowd-favorite, and how it holds up today, four years after its initial release. 

Christopher Ward Bel Canto History

As always, let us begin our horological journey with a history primer on Christopher Ward’s pathway to contemporary success. Luckily for you (and your dear writer), the brand doesn’t have as sweeping a history as many of the centuries-old watchmakers out there, so we can really dive into the microscopic view here. Christopher Ward, whom I would bestow the title of reigning King of Indie Watch Brands, has one of the scrappiest origin stories in the watch world. Founded in 2004 by the trio of Mike France, Peter Ellis, and its namesake, Chris Ward, the brand converted a chicken shed in Berkshire, England, into its new operations home base. The founding ideal was simple, though something that hadn’t been successfully attempted yet in the industry: create a brand with Swiss-made quality, and cut out the middlemen, bringing the product directly to those who would wear it, free of the hike in costs that are left up to the consumer to bear. 

Now, we can see the magic in the idealism of the brand’s founding, but at the time, the perceived luxury, and therefore the inherent luxury markups, had already long been a part of the appeal of the mystique of the Swiss watch industry for decades. In 2005, Christopher Ward debuted its first timepiece, the C5 Malvern Automatic. This watch channeled classic dress watch stylings of the 20th century with its formal and simple design language, and was powered by the Swiss ETA 2824-2, and priced at just £199. Despite the brand’s pricing transparency, which promised to price its watches at no more than three times the manufacturing cost, its initial launch flew relatively under the radar. The brand would gain some momentum after receiving some good press, but it pales in comparison to the success the brand would later find. 

While Christopher Ward began its entry into the watch world with outsourced Swiss movements, a huge leap forward for the brand was made with the creation of its own, in-house movement in 2014. The brand unveiled its own fully fledged mechanical caliber with the SH21 that powered the C9 Harrison 5 Day Automatic, a watch that still leaned on 20th-century-inspired dress watch aesthetics. Not only was this something of a revolution for the brand, and a necessary milestone in proving its horological chops, but the SH21 Calibre also marked the first time a commercially successful mechanical movement was designed and crafted in Britain in more than 50 years. The brand would expand and iterate upon this movement as it moved along, but the initial SH21 already boasted COSC certification and a 120-hour power reserve at the time of its release, and was a big win for British watchmaking at large. 

The company’s real big break would come in 2022, with the initial release of the watch we’re gathered here today to discuss, the now-iconic C1 Bel Canto. At the start, the brand kicked off the launch of its revolutionary, affordable chiming watch with two limited editions of 300 pieces, both of which sold out in just a few hours, and essentially set the watch community on fire for its inventive design and complication at an unprecedented price point – debuting for under $4,000. The following January, the brand would introduce its core C1 Bel Canto Collection, which garnered an extensive waitlist upon its launch, and would go on to win the Petite Aiguille prize at the 2023 GPHG Awards. And thus, Christopher Ward was catapulted to heights narely seen in the world of micro watch brands, and has managed to securely maintain the momentum in the following years. 

Christopher Ward Bel Canto Dial and Design

Of course, the chiming complication of the C1 Bel Canto is a large part of the line's lasting success, but the manner that which the brand has chosen to present the novelty of it all is also an essential element of what makes the watch so continuously compelling. Especially in comparison to the brand’s earlier, more dressy designs, the C1 Bel Canto is immediately futuristic, almost alien-like, but still wearable. Straying from traditional watch design in nearly every manner, the dial showcases the timekeeping mechanism floating above the dial's surface, completely suspended at the typical twelve o’clock position. The regular timekeeping subdial is also instrumental in imparting the watch’s signature sonic flair, winding the chiming hammer mechanism as time passes, but more on that later. Around the dial’s perimeter lies what is essentially the gong element of the Bel Canto, which imparts the complication with its signature melodic sound, working in concert with the aforementioned hammer that rests on the bottom of the dial. 

The dial itself, which rests under the skeletonized movement, has undergone some changes since its initial release, with the brand adding more variations and options in subsequent years. The first C1 Bel Canto models were available with either a blue or green dial with a sunray-brushed finish, but now, there are several different iterations to choose from, including models with textural guilloché finishing. 

Christopher Ward Bel Canto Case

The dial and the revolutionary movement are the clear stars of the show here, but the case itself of the C1 Bel Canto happily does not lose the plot. The plot being that this is a watch that’s made to be worn, not just admired for its mechanical ingenuity and fair price point. The case measures 41mm in diameter with a 48mm lug-to-lug, and is crafted in titanium for a lightweight feel on the wrist; the watch itself only weighs a total of 53 grams. But, in addition to its light feel, the titanium also serves a utilitarian purpose when it comes to the functionality of the chiming mechanism itself. Because it is less dense than steel, titanium has more resonance and actually allows the chime to ring out more clearly than if it were made in typical steel. 

Additionally, the case sports brushed surfaces with polished chamfers, along with beveling on the top and bottom of the case. At four o’clock, you’ll find the pusher that controls activating the chiming mechanism, while the crown for setting regular timekeeping functions is at three o’clock. Given that much of the magic of the movement is on display right on the dial, the caseback is closed and decorated with a textured motif that harkens to a sound wave. Finally, the case is protected with a domed, glassbox-style sapphire crystal, resulting in a case profile of 13mm. 

Bel Canto Movement

As for the movement in the C1 Bel Canto, which could rightly be dubbed an epiphany for modern watchmaking, we’re working with the Calibre FS01. This movement was developed with some help from a legendary contemporary watchmaker and the brand’s technical director, Frank Seltzer, who previously worked on the creation of the Christopher Ward JJ01 jumping-hour caliber, and adapted the module that made the complication possible. 

To achieve what is called in the wild world of horology a sonnerie au passage complication, the base of the ever-reliable Sellita SW200-1 caliber underwent some major modifications. Most importantly, Frank Seltzer returned to the jumping hour JJ01 movement, adding 60 new components to achieve the striking mechanism for the watch to chime every hour, on the hour. The mechanism is relegated to the bottom of the dial, and is actually intended to be bird-shaped, or I guess we could say, songbird-shaped. The tail of the bird acts as a hammer, and as time passes, the hammer is drawn back with such visual subtlety that it’s almost invisible. As the hour strikes, the hammer is released and strikes the gong-like spring around the dial, chiming in the hour in the key of D. If you happen to want to turn off the melodic chime of the watch, a push of the presser at four cuts the sound, and the bird’s beak changes colors to indicate whether the sound is on or off. 

Final Thoughts

It’s been several years since Christopher Ward’s C1 Bel Canto shook up the watch world, and still, there isn’t a contemporary watchmaker, independent or otherwise, that has managed such a technological feat for the price. For the non-guilloché dial models, the C1 Bel Canto remains under the $4,000 mark, and I can think of a whole slew of watches out there that do much less for much more money.

That being said, what I perhaps admire the most about the brand is that it beat any naysayer’s one-hit-wonder predictions and has managed to garner even more consumer support and confidence in its daring model since the C1 Bel Canto hit the scene. Its also continued to successfully introduce new lines and watches that both fall into the realms of the experimental, such as the C12 Loco, or the everyday, do-it-all variety, like its ever-popular integrated bracelet watches with The Twelve. All in all, it seems as if the brand has no intention of slowing its roll anytime soon – though I don’t think I will shake my fondness for its chiming Bel Canto, either, and would like to see Christopher Ward continue to refine and experiment with sonnerie au passage complications in the years to come. You can learn more at christopherward.com