Christopher WardMicrobrand

Christopher Ward was founded in 2004 by Christopher Ward, Mike France and Peter Ellis and is based in Maidenhead, England. The company set out to sell Swiss-made mechanical watches directly to customers online, without wholesalers or retailers, and that model still defines it, together with a 60-day return policy and a five-year movement warranty. In 2014 it merged with its Swiss manufacturing partner, Synergies Horlogères of Biel, and in the same year released Calibre SH21, an in-house automatic movement with a five-day power reserve and chronometer certification.

The C60 Trident dive watch is the brand's longest-running line; the C63 Sealander field and GMT watches, the C1 Bel Canto of 2022, which sounds a chime on the hour, and The Twelve, an integrated-bracelet sports watch launched in 2023, are its other main references. Christopher Ward himself left the business in January 2020; the company remains privately owned and independent.