Christopher Ward debuts Calibre CW-002 and the new C63 Sealander True GMT

One of the most active brands on British soil, Christopher Ward has recently demonstrated its capacity to create intricate mechanisms and movements, such as the Bel Canto and its chiming mechanism, or the C12 Loco with its exposed mechanics. Today, the brand has decided to get serious about one of our favourite complications, the GMT display. Many of these watches, when powered by off-the-shelf movement, are so-called office GMT-style watches, something we don’t necessarily think appropriate when travelling. With this in mind, Christopher Ward debuts its new in-house Calibre CW-002 with a genuine traveller GMT function, within its new C63 Sealander True GMT watch. 

What makes a true GMT, or traveller GMT watch, the best possible option? As explained in this in-depth article, a true GMT movement allows the local hour hand to be adjusted independently without disturbing the minute, second, or GMT hands. Thus, the local hour hand is set forward and backwards independently, making it a breeze to use when crossing time zones and landing in a different country. Also, as you adjust the local hour hand, the date jumps to the correct day. This is the main difference with a caller or office GMT, where only the 24-hour GMT hand can be set independently.

The new in-house Calibre CW-002

The main problem faced by smaller watch companies is that off-the-shelf true GMT movements are not widely available. Miyota offers it with the Calibre 9075, but nothing of such substance exists from Swiss suppliers Sellita, LJP or Soprod. So the only option for Christopher Ward, in order to have a Swiss-made true GMT movement, was to move to in-house development and production. And for that, the brand is using its calibre CW-001 (formerly known as SH21) as a base. As a reminder, this movement was first developed for CW and Meistersinger by Synergies Horlogères, a company that was previously owned by the Fossil Group. Synergies Horlogères merged with Christopher Ward in 2014, which coincidentally announced their Calibre SH21.

Using the SH21/CW-001 base, Christopher Ward’s Technical Director, Frank Stelzer, has overseen the development of the Calibre CW-002 since 2023. The result is an integration of a GMT complication, without any increase in movement height. A new plate serves as the support for the GMT wheel and limits the height of the new components. 23 components have been introduced in total: 16 newly designed and seven modified from existing CW-001 parts. And, as you’ve guessed from the name, the real deal comes from the way this GMT movement works, being a true or traveller GMT.

The rest of the movement is familiar, with its large twin-barrel construction delivering 120 hours or 5 days of power reserve. The movement runs at a 4Hz frequency and is chronometer-certified by the COSC. The movement is nicely finished, with rhodium-plated plates and bridges, with circular Geneva stripes, cut-outs revealing the twin barrels, diamond-polished edges and a tungsten rotor with sunray-polished and sandblasted surfaces.

The new C63 Sealander True GMT

To house this new Calibre CW-002, Christopher Ward elected the C63 Sealander platform, a range of go-anywhere adventure watches. The watch is housed in a 40.5mm Light-Catcher case equipped with two box-shaped sapphire crystals with AR coating, both on the front and the caseback. The watch itself isn’t thin, at 14.15mm, but the case is reasonably slender at 9.75mm without the crystals. Water-resistant to 100m, the steel case is nicely finished and shaped, with an ultra-thin bezel, brushed surfaces and thin polished bevels.

The dial of the C63 Sealander True GMT, available in black with light blue accents or silver with orange accents, is fairly complex. It is a multi-piece construction with an applied small seconds at 6 o’clock and a power-reserve indicator at 9 o’clock. The surface is deeply grained by an embossing process, and the multiple layers created help to differentiate the indications (local time and home time). At 3 o’clock, the GMT bridge is fully exposed and features linear brushing, sandblasting and hand-polished facets, alongside a circular brushed GMT wheel. The hour chapter ring houses the applied markers, generously lumed and framed by a diamond-polished rhodium surround. A colour-matched date wheel at 3 o’clock completes the display (even though it seems to sit low in the movement).

The Christopher Ward C63 Sealander True GMT and its new Calibre CW-002 are released as part of the permanent collection. It is available on a steel bracelet with brushed surfaces and polished edges, closed by a clasp with push-button micro-adjustment (6mm of range), and priced at EUR 4,090. You can also opt for a rubber strap with a folding clasp, in a colour matching the dial’s accents (orange or light blue), then priced at EUR 3,950.

For more details and orders, please visit www.christopherward.com.