Christopher Ward’s azure C60 Sapphire Edge cuts a slim and stylish figure
Nina Scally- Christopher Ward slims the C60 Sapphire down by 2.5mm and swaps movements for a more ergonomic fit on the wrist.
- This release marks the first time the brand uses a luminous rubber band.
- The watch shares characteristics with the sustainable C60 #tide with a blue-tinted sapphire dial, exposing the date wheel through its surface.
When the world was doing little else other than hoarding toilet paper and relentlessly washing its hands, Christopher Ward was washing its hands of tradition and testing the waters with sapphire dials. The C60 Trident Sapphire watch, released during COVID lockdown in 2020, had a rather unconventional transparent dial that even featured in its own TV commercial. Fast forward to November that year, CW was turning its focus towards sustainable watchmaking, marking its support for marine conservation with the launch of the limited edition C60 Blue.
Since then, the British watchmaker has been dedicating itself to supporting the global issue by raising funds for the Blue Marine Foundation and using eco-friendly packaging. Born of those same initiatives was the C60 #tide, featuring a sapphire-crafted wave dial that granted a view into its Sellita SW200 movement. #tide is a prolific name in sustainable watchmaking, collaborating with names like Maurice Lacroix and Norqain. The blue band on the C60 Sapphire #tide was made from recycled ocean plastic fished out of Thailand’s Andaman waters by local nomadic seafarers. The latest release belonging to this bang-for-buck Swiss dive watch family – the C60 Sapphire Edge – builds on this design.
The newly released Sapphire Edge watch continues to respect the laws of the original C60, initially released in 2009, albeit with some recent modifications, putting it on the radars of those looking for a budget diver with a not-so-budget spec. When we consider that Christopher Ward has collaborated with experts like Synergies Horlogères and Fears to create cutting-edge movements, not to mention the calibre of its fit and finish on a watch – it’s clear the brand doesn’t do things by halves. The new C60 Sapphire Edge is no exception. Using sapphire for a watch dial is not a common choice because it’s expensive and has a high failure rate. Unbeknownst to many, the brand is believed to have initially borrowed the concept of the sapphire dial from its earlier C1 Moonglow watch before bringing it to the C60 line. Now, it has become a signature design trait of the modern collection.
Back in 2020, using sapphire as the material for the dial, the C60 brought light refractions and colour intensity on a level that people hadn’t seen before. Similarly, the new C60 Sapphire Edge doesn’t disappoint. The experts at CW have designed this model so that when held under bright conditions, light will bounce off the top side of the movement in a similar way to the C20 Sapphire, creating a brilliant blue that emulates the behaviour of water and its rippling waves, looping back to the brand’s connection with the big blue and its large dive watch collection. The sapphire dial affords a view into the model’s rotating date wheel, while on the surface, an arrow-shaped hour hand, straight minute hand, light blue seconds hand, and 6 o’clock date aperture all identify as hallmarks of the C60 #tide dial, not forgetting the double flag brand logo at 12 o’clock.
The faceted indexes are, once again, served with ample lume, but this time, they link to something altogether different. Matching the dial’s aqua blue-green emissions cast by the Super-LumiNova C1 BL Grade X1 material is the illuminated edging of the rubber strap. The lumed rubber band gives the C60 watch perfect luminous homogeneity across the hands, indexes, bezel and band. By that, I mean the glowing trims of the band appear equal to the Super-LumiNova-coated appliques on the dial, achieving streamlined visibility in dark conditions. This is a first for Christopher Ward, which is considered something of a player in the field of watch luminosity.
The 42mm stainless steel case of the new Christopher Ward C60 Sapphire Edge watch has been slimmed down and sports the brand’s sturdy ‘light–catcher’ case, which gives the watch its distinctive “waist” and smoothly sculpted, aerodynamic appearance. Now 2.5mm thinner than the C60 Sapphire and 3.4mm thinner than the C60 #tide, these clever proportions enable the watch to lie low for a more ergonomic fit while offering a decent 300-meter water resistance.
With multi-layer luminous printing on the 60-minute scale, the bezel also sees some changes. On the C60 #tide watch, the steel bezel accounted for a significant amount of its case height, seating a blue ceramic insert to match the tones of the dial. This time, Christopher Ward crafts the bezel from sapphire, which allows for this new case slimness in conjunction with the movement.
Christopher Ward also swaps out the Sellita SW200-1 used in the C60 Sapphire and C60 #tide watches for the 1mm slimmer SW300-1. The movement is known for being the up-market version of the SW200-1 and has been used to great effect in svelte dive watches, also guaranteeing an improved power reserve of 56 hours. Flip the case over, and you can view the movement performing through a blue-tinted sapphire exhibition caseback similar to the caseback of the C60 Sapphire.
If you didn’t fancy the luminous-accented rubber band, the new C60 Sapphire Edge watch from Christopher Ward also comes as a bracelet option, featuring a folding clasp stamped with the twin-flag logo. The three-link stainless steel strap perfectly completes the metal and glass package with a built-in extension mechanism that gives you extra wiggle room for wrist expansion.
Christopher Ward C60 Sapphire Edge pricing and availability
The C60 Sapphire Edge is available now, directly from Christopher Ward. Price: US$1,195 (on rubber strap), US$1,315 (on bracelet)
| Brand | Christopher Ward |
| Model | C60 Sapphire Edge |
| Case Dimensions | 42mm (D) x 10.07mm (T) x 49.32mm (LTL) |
| Case Material | Stainless steel |
| Weight | 70.87 g |
| Water Resistance | 300 metres, screw-down crown |
| Crystal(s) | Clear sapphire front, blue-tinted sapphire exhibition caseback |
| Dial | Blue-tinted sapphire |
| Strap | Lumed rubber strap, pin buckle ‘Bader’ 3-link steel bracelet, foldover clasp, on-the-fly micro-adjustment |
| Movement | Sellita SW300-1, automatic |
| Power Reserve | 56 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds, date, unidirectional diving bezel |
| Availability | Available now |
| Price | US$1,195 (on rubber strap) US$1,315 (on bracelet) |