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All the watch news, reviews, videos you want, brought to you from fellow collectors
British watchmaker Christopher Ward has introduced a new in-house movement, Calibre CW-002, alongside the latest flagship model in its Sealander range, the C63 Sealander True GMT. With the new timepiece, the brand aims to make a more traditional movement, such as a “true GMT”, more accessible to a wider audience. The timepiece is offered in two dial versions – a silver-white dial with orange accents and a black dial with light-blue accents.
A True GMT, often referred to as a “traveller GMT”, allows the local hour hand to be adjusted independently without affecting the minute, seconds, or GMT hands. When the hour hand passes midnight, the date automatically jumps forward or backwards accordingly. This complication allows travellers to change time zones quickly while maintaining precise timekeeping, giving it an edge over “caller GMT” mechanisms, where the GMT hand is adjusted instead of the local hour hand.
According to the brand’s CEO and co-founder, Mike France, the absence of readily available Swiss off-the-shelf True GMT movements led the company to develop its own movement. The development of Calibre CW-002 began in 2023 with a challenge that involved integrating a GMT mechanism into an existing calibre without increasing the movement’s thickness. To solve this issue, a new plate was designed to support the GMT wheel and control the height of the additional components. In total, the project introduced 23 new components – 16 newly developed parts and seven modified from elements used in the earlier CW-001 calibre.
The finished movement is visible through the exhibition caseback with rhodium-plated surfaces and circular Côtes de Genève decoration. The key elements are visible, including the twin barrels, balance wheel, train bridge, and the tungsten rotor with alternating sunray-polished and sandblasted surfaces for automatic winding. The movement operates at 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz), delivers a power reserve of 120 hours (five days), and meets the −4/+6 seconds per day accuracy standard required for COSC certification.
The dial of the C63 Sealander True GMT is built using a multi-piece construction. It features an applied small-seconds subdial at 6 o’clock and a power-reserve indicator at 9 o’clock. The applied subdials and the grainé-finished outer GMT track are created using custom-made stamping tools developed to eliminate rippling and enhance depth. At 3 o’clock, the GMT bridge is partially exposed and finished with linear brushing, sandblasting, and hand-polished facets, alongside a circular-brushed GMT wheel. A colour-matched date display is also positioned at 3 o’clock.
At the periphery lies the 24-hour ring, which carries the applied hour indices framed by a diamond-polished rhodium border. The markers are linearly brushed with polished facets and filled with Super-LumiNova Grade X1 BL C1 for improved visibility in low light. The hour and minute hands feature linear brushing with diamond-polished chamfers, while the small seconds hand is diamond-polished. The GMT hand and power-reserve indicator are highlighted in either orange or blue lacquer, depending on the dial variant, both of which are also filled with Super-LumiNova.
The watch is housed in a 40.5 mm stainless steel Light-catcher™ case with a lug-to-lug measurement of 48 mm and a thickness of 14.15 mm. Box-domed sapphire crystals with anti-reflective coating are fitted on both the front and back and account for 31 per cent of the watch’s height, helping reduce its perceived thickness on the wrist. The stainless steel mid-case itself measures 9.75 mm and features alternating linear-polished and circular-brushed finishes. Water resistance is rated to 100 metres.
The C63 Sealander True GMT is offered on the brand’s Bader bracelet, which features polished bevels along the outer links and a 6.5 mm taper from lug to clasp. The clasp includes a push-button micro-adjustment system with 6 mm of adjustment range. The watch is also available with a colour-matched integrated rubber strap fitted with a deployant Bader buckle.
The watch is priced at approx. INR 3,90,000 on a rubber strap and approx. INR 4,00,000 on the Bader bracelet.
What we think -
Christopher Ward has long left its microbrand roots, and they are now welcomed on global platforms with equal enthusiasm as any other mainstream brand that has any substantial heritage. Their concerted efforts at developing ‘in-house’ calibres with their partners are commendable and this is what will set them up for the next century as a powerhouse of British watchmaking.
Images - Courtesy Christopher Ward
British watchmaker Christopher Ward has introduced a new in-house movement, Calibre CW-002, alongside the latest flagship model in its Sealander range, the C63 Sealander True GMT. With the new timepiece, the brand aims to make a more traditional movement, such as a “true GMT”, more accessible to a wider audience. The timepiece is offered in two dial versions – a silver-white dial with orange accents and a black dial with light-blue accents.
A True GMT, often referred to as a “traveller GMT”, allows the local hour hand to be adjusted independently without affecting the minute, seconds, or GMT hands. When the hour hand passes midnight, the date automatically jumps forward or backwards accordingly. This complication allows travellers to change time zones quickly while maintaining precise timekeeping, giving it an edge over “caller GMT” mechanisms, where the GMT hand is adjusted instead of the local hour hand.
According to the brand’s CEO and co-founder, Mike France, the absence of readily available Swiss off-the-shelf True GMT movements led the company to develop its own movement. The development of Calibre CW-002 began in 2023 with a challenge that involved integrating a GMT mechanism into an existing calibre without increasing the movement’s thickness. To solve this issue, a new plate was designed to support the GMT wheel and control the height of the additional components. In total, the project introduced 23 new components – 16 newly developed parts and seven modified from elements used in the earlier CW-001 calibre.
The finished movement is visible through the exhibition caseback with rhodium-plated surfaces and circular Côtes de Genève decoration. The key elements are visible, including the twin barrels, balance wheel, train bridge, and the tungsten rotor with alternating sunray-polished and sandblasted surfaces for automatic winding. The movement operates at 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz), delivers a power reserve of 120 hours (five days), and meets the −4/+6 seconds per day accuracy standard required for COSC certification.
The dial of the C63 Sealander True GMT is built using a multi-piece construction. It features an applied small-seconds subdial at 6 o’clock and a power-reserve indicator at 9 o’clock. The applied subdials and the grainé-finished outer GMT track are created using custom-made stamping tools developed to eliminate rippling and enhance depth. At 3 o’clock, the GMT bridge is partially exposed and finished with linear brushing, sandblasting, and hand-polished facets, alongside a circular-brushed GMT wheel. A colour-matched date display is also positioned at 3 o’clock.
At the periphery lies the 24-hour ring, which carries the applied hour indices framed by a diamond-polished rhodium border. The markers are linearly brushed with polished facets and filled with Super-LumiNova Grade X1 BL C1 for improved visibility in low light. The hour and minute hands feature linear brushing with diamond-polished chamfers, while the small seconds hand is diamond-polished. The GMT hand and power-reserve indicator are highlighted in either orange or blue lacquer, depending on the dial variant, both of which are also filled with Super-LumiNova.
The watch is housed in a 40.5 mm stainless steel Light-catcher™ case with a lug-to-lug measurement of 48 mm and a thickness of 14.15 mm. Box-domed sapphire crystals with anti-reflective coating are fitted on both the front and back and account for 31 per cent of the watch’s height, helping reduce its perceived thickness on the wrist. The stainless steel mid-case itself measures 9.75 mm and features alternating linear-polished and circular-brushed finishes. Water resistance is rated to 100 metres.
The C63 Sealander True GMT is offered on the brand’s Bader bracelet, which features polished bevels along the outer links and a 6.5 mm taper from lug to clasp. The clasp includes a push-button micro-adjustment system with 6 mm of adjustment range. The watch is also available with a colour-matched integrated rubber strap fitted with a deployant Bader buckle.
The watch is priced at approx. INR 3,90,000 on a rubber strap and approx. INR 4,00,000 on the Bader bracelet.
What we think -
Christopher Ward has long left its microbrand roots, and they are now welcomed on global platforms with equal enthusiasm as any other mainstream brand that has any substantial heritage. Their concerted efforts at developing ‘in-house’ calibres with their partners are commendable and this is what will set them up for the next century as a powerhouse of British watchmaking.
Images - Courtesy Christopher Ward
