Today, Christopher Ward announced the new C60 Sapphire Edge, a long-awaited upgrade to the now five-year-old C60 Sapphire and more recent #tide model.
Priced at £995/$1,195/€1,295 on the Lumed Rubber Strap and £1,095/$1,315/€1,420 on the Bader bracelet, the new C60 Sapphire Edge reintroduces the innovation of a sapphire dial for a clever translucent finish that shows off the full date wheel and inner workings of its Sellita SW300-1 movement inside.
Sapphire is a notoriously difficult material to work with and is rarely used on dials because of its characteristic as a brittle material. Each dial is only 0.6mm thick, and even the slightest mistake can cause an issue with quality control, so it needs to be meticulously applied to get the desired result. It's a testament to CW's commitment to innovation that they've returned to using the material extensively with this new model.
As well as having sapphire on the dial, the Christopher Ward C60 Sapphire Edge has also replaced the steel bezel of its predecessor with a sapphire one, complete with multi-layer Superluminova print on the markers. This offers enhanced durability given the immense scratch-resistance of the material, as well as completing its overall excellent aesthetics with a colour-matched deep blue surface.
The C60 Sapphire Edge has also had a small, but noteworthy, change to the strap options. The rubber strap it comes with now has added lume on its edges, matched in colour to the watch's hands, dial indexes and bezel markers. This provides even more visibility in darker conditions should you need it, and continues CW's commitment to making even a standard dive watch that bit more interesting.
The move over to the SW300-1 pushes the power reserve up to 56 hours from the lesser 38 hours of the SW200-1 on the older model, but more importantly (as the movement is now 1mm thinner) the C60 Sapphire Edge now marries up with the brand’s infamous Lightcatcher case for improved aesthetics and wearability. For reference, the Sapphire Edge is 2.25mm thinner than the C60 Sapphire and a not inconsequential 3.4mm thinner than the C60 #tide.
Elsewhere, the Sapphire Edge makes for an excellent diver (or desk diver) with 300 metres of water-resistance, a 120-click unidirectional bezel and a screw-down crown. Its 42mm case is on the larger side, while the 49.32mm lug-to-lug gives it plenty of presence across the wrist, and helps the Sapphire Edge to be rather legible. With this in mind, the 10.7mm thickness keeps it feeling sleek and modern despite its status as a larger diver’s watch. It also comes with a flat-top sapphire crystal to fit well under cuffs, and offer excellent durability across the entire piece.
Christopher Ward C60 Sapphire Edge
Technical Specifications
- Size: 42mm
- Case Material: Stainless Steel
- Case Height : 10.7mm
- Lug-to-lug: 49.32mm
- Weight: 70.87g
- Bezel: 120 click unidirectional sapphire bezel
- Crystal: Flat top sapphire
- Water Resistance: 30ATM (300 meters)
- Crown: Screw-down
- Caseback: Screwdown display caseback
- Movement: Sellita SW300-1
- Jewels: 25
- Power Reserve: 56 hours
- Frequency: 4hz/ 28,800 vibrations per hour
- Tolerance: +/- 20 seconds per day
- Lume: SuperLuminova C1 BL Grade X1
