British-owned brand Christopher Ward, which makes its watches in Switzerland, has cut prices on several lines, despite the challenge of the rising value of the Swiss franc.
The formal merger with its long term manufacturing partner, Synergies Horlogères, last summer is now delivering significant cost savings that are feeding through to retail prices.
The merger, which created a co-owned company called Christopher Ward London Holdings was announced in July last year. It allows Christopher Ward to operate as a truly vertical watch brand where the customer is in direct contact with the supply chain, including the watchmaker, the company claims.
Christopher Ward’s 40mm Jumping Hour Mark III, which launches this month, is the first new timepiece to benefit from this restructuring. It was originally going to sell for £1250, but its price has been slashed to £995. The 2014 43mm version has also been reduced to the same price.
Mike France, co-founder of Christopher Ward explains: "This brand was founded on a mission to put premium quality watches within the reach of everyone and the launch of the Jumping Hour achieves a quantum leap in the level of value for the customer. We’re delighted that we are starting to reap the cost benefits of last year’s merger with our long-standing Swiss atelier partner, Synergies Horlogères, and the release of the stunning new smaller diameter Jumping Hour Mk III is an opportunity for us to share these benefits with our customers.”
