Christopher Ward creates fresh family of dive watches inspired by 1950s Fifty Fathoms

Christopher Ward has created what it calls a third “platform” watch in its new C65 Aquitaine collection.

The Aquitaine design takes inspiration from the watches of the mid-fifties when deep sea diving was rapidly advancing and professionals turned to instruments like Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms to keep reliable and accurate time underwater.

It is named after the French coastal region that was home to Jacques Cousteau, who popularised ocean exploration in the second half of the 20th century.

The Aquitaine “platform” joins Trident and Sealander in a coherent line up at Christopher Ward.

A fourth platform is due next year, teased Christopher Ward managing director Mike France to WATCHPRO this week, without elaborating.

The C65 Aquitaine collection has three models at its debut: a three-hander with date with a “sea moss” green dial and sapphire crystal diver’s bezel (£895 to £1075); a GMT steel on steel piece with a sand-white dial and blue 24 hour bezel (£1,120 to £1,350); and a COSC-certified blue three hander in a bronze case (£1,095 to £1,325).

Aquitaines are slimmer and more discreet than the chunkier Tridents, measuring 41mm in diameter and standing 12.5mm tall on the wrist.

The curved sapphire crystal bezel — so reminiscent of the Fifty Fathoms — sits lower on the watch than the heavier ceramic rings on a Trident.

“There is a femininity to the design, like an E-Type Jaguar or a lioness that makes it gender-neutral,” Mr France suggests.

Not that gender-neutral is new to Christopher Ward. The company stopped labeling its watches for men or for women a decade ago.

Subtle changes have been made to the dial of the Aquitaine including moving the date from 3 o’clock to 6. Christopher Ward’s logo does not appear on the front of the watch. Instead, he company’s twin-flags logo sits just below the 12.

Christopher Ward has used a new glass box crystal, reminiscent of those seen on classic ’50s and ’60s dive watches, and a sleeker, more tapered, steel bracelet.

All three models use Sellita movements, visible through their crystal case backs.

At today’s Aquitaine launch, Christopher Ward has said it will donate 5% of the sale of each watch to the Blue Marine Foundation, a charity dedicated to restoring the ocean to health.

Christopher Ward sales rose to £13.2 million in 2021, up 25% since the pre-pandemic 2019.

Growth was fastest in the UK, up 39% year-on-year in 2021. Sales to the rest of the world rose 22%.

The company posted an adjusted EBITDA loss of £1.1 million, up from a loss of £783,000 in 2020. Mr France says the larger loss was largely down to increased marketing spend of £1.15 million.

After the end of its financial year in March 2021, the company founders injected a loan of £750,000 into the business, leaving it with a positive cash position of around £1 million.