They may not all be for everyone, but Christopher Ward just can’t seem to stop making cool watches. Whether its a chiming mechanism, a recessed crown, or a skeletonized watch (not just an open dial on a normal movement, but an skeletonized movement), the brand keeps doing things that make people happy — at prices that at least don’t make people mad. Well, here’s another: the Christopher Ward C60 Trident Lumière, a titanium diver with a gradient dial and solid blocks of lume for the markers and hands.
Right up front, I’ll say that if you’d like more information on CW’s exceptional Light-catcher case, you can read this review, this review, or this review. It has alternating brushed and polished facets that play with the light beautifully — one might even say it catches the light. Even on the Lumière’s grade 2 titanium case, the effect remains. At 41mm and with a 47.9mm lug-to-lug, the 10.85mm-thick watch wears well on the wrist. With those dimensions and the curvature of the lugs, the Lumière would wear well even if it were in steel. Thank goodness it’s not, though, because the titanium gives it just the right balance on my 7-inch wrist. I got to spend several weeks with the Christopher Ward C60 Trident Lumière, and when I strapped this back on to write this review — the very one you’re reading right now! — I looked down and the watch seemed closer to 39mm or 40mm.
CW has really dialed in the bezel and crown action with this release. Maybe it had nailed it earlier, but having recently had a falling out with Poseidon, it’s been a while since I spent time with a Trident. The 120-click bezel is fully lumed and has no wiggle, offering crisp, audible stops, while the crown is perfectly sized and proves no trouble to use. I’ll also note that, for what I think is the first time, the crown is flanked by screwed-on crown guards instead of the usual crown guards that emerge as part of the midcase (check the gallery below to see what I mean).
The bracelet is the CW Bader bracelet, the brand’s take on a classic three-link. It maintains the chamfers and finishing of the case and is supremely comfortable. I’m not sure I would’ve thought to use 22mm lugs on a 41mm watch, but it works well here, and the quick-release pins make it a snap. The folding clasp is also equipped with Christopher Ward’s newest push-button micro-adjust mechanism, providing an easy method for quick sizing tweaks. One thing I will say after a few weeks with this watch is that I would’ve preferred grade 5 titanium and its increased scratch resistance, or at least a hardening coating.
The dial of the CW Lumière is really where the action is, and it’s a whole new thing. The matte dial features a gradient color, from bright to dark blue, and is also offered in black or orange (both with matching ceramic bezels). The texture on the dial is its own pleasing element, offering a perfect amount of depth, even though the dial certainly doesn’t need it. What truly makes this dial are the markers and hands.
The markers, logo, and handset are all made from Globolight XP, a solid ceramic lume from the makers of Super-LumiNova. These chunky blocks can throw you off at first, and that was my experience. I felt the dial was just too much, that the blocks of lume and their height were overwhelming. After a few days on the wrist, though, that disappeared, and all I felt was appreciation for the bright, even glow and the astounding legibility. By using matte surfaces, nothing gets lost in the light, and there’s no problem reading the watch at any angle. It is worth noting that the hands are Globolight forms set atop PVD blue metal supports.
For the most part, Christopher Ward has resisted the temptation to roll out in-house movements for its more basic watches. While it has an in-house movement, it doesn’t use it recklessly or unevenly (compared to Oris, which introduced an admittedly impressive in-house caliber that is utilized inconsistently even within model lines). Within its modern catalog, CW reserves its in-house SH21 for skeletonized watches; for the Bel Canto and moon phase models, it uses in-house modules to modify Swiss Sellita movements. Like so many other brands, it’s those Sellitas that CW relies upon, and in the Christopher Ward C60 Trident Lumière, it’s the Sellita SW300-1, with COSC chronometer certification to -4/+6 seconds per day and a power reserve of 56 hours at 28,800 vph.
Once I overcame that initial feeling that the dial is too much, it was hard to find any flaws with this watch. I won’t go as far as to say it’s the best watch Christopher Ward has released (they brand has done some very impressive things in the past few years), but it’s certainly the best wearing tool watch I’ve experienced from CW. The Christopher Ward C60 Trident Lumière is priced at $1,975 USD on rubber and $2,390 USD on bracelet. For more information, please visit the Christopher Ward website.
