Dark materials: introducing the C60 Sapphire Black | Christopher Ward

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Jan 28, 2021
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Christopher Ward

The new C60 Sapphire is both a thing of beauty and a professional-grade diving watch. Come for the looks: stay for the build quality and peerless accuracy.

C60 Sapphire Black​

40mm Black Automatic Brushed steel
Pre-order C60-40ADA3-S00K0-B0

Pre-order for early Feb-2021


Smoked sapphire dial. Swiss automatic movement. And a Light-catcher™ case that sits slim on the wrist. The new dark C60 Sapphire Black lets you see deep into the heart of the Swiss automatic movement, while dive-watch engineering ensures water-resistance to 600m. How dark do you want to go?

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The dark side calls​

The first C60 Sapphire broke the mould – and sales records, too.

Then the conversations began: could we do another C60 Sapphire? How would we make a watch that wasn’t just the equal of the original but something with its own unique character?

The answer to that is the C60 Sapphire Black.

Like the original C60 Sapphire, the dial is made from ultra-thin, scratch-resistant sapphire. However, here, the sapphire has been ‘smoked’ – something that’s achieved through a complex process called physical vapour deposition (PVD).

This involves placing the sapphire in a vacuum chamber filled with a vapour of silver and carbon graphite – heated to 400°C – for three hours. It’s then put in another chamber, this time filled with silicon oxide vapour, which adds protection.

The result is a subtly tinted transparent dial that allows you to see deep into the Sellita SW200-1 movement. And with a compressive strength of 2,000 megapascals, it’s not just beautiful but incredibly tough, too.

The dial is only part of the story. Turn the watch over and you can see the movement from behind thanks to the sapphire caseback, while the Light-catcher™ case is not only graceful but thin enough to slip under a shirt cuff. And at 40mm in diameter, pretty much suits every wrist.

Engineered to the requirements of a professional diving instrument, the watch is water-resistant to 600m, while the unidirectional bezel allows you to time your ascents – a vital safety tool for subaqua divers.

Finally, power comes from the highly regarded Sellita SW200-1 movement, which delivers accuracy under the most testing of conditions.

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Sellita SW200-1 Automatic​

An update on the classic Sellita SW200, this Swiss-made self-winding movement is known for its accuracy and reliability.

The 26-jewel movement boasts a date wheel, a 4Hz frequency (equating to a smooth eight ticks per second) and a 38-hour power reserve. It also has an in-built anti-shock system to maintain accuracy when faced with any sudden jolts.

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See the magic​

The pure sapphire dial has been shaved to just 0.8mm, which allows you to see the Sellita SW200-1 movement inside. The smoked colour is achieved by exposure to silver and carbon graphite vapour in a vacuum-sealed chamber. The sapphire goes through 20 steps and 80 operations before it’s ready.

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A case for all wrists​

The Light-catcher™ case boasts a mix of brushed and polished surfaces and graceful lines that make it look and feel slim. It also sits snugly on the wrist – and at 40mm it suits every width of wrist.

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Back story​

The Sellita SW200-1 is a beautifully engineered movement. Something you’ll be able to appreciate when you look through the see-through sapphire caseback and see it whirring away.

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Glow pressure​

The hands and indexes have been coated in Super-LumiNova® Grade X1 GL C1, delivering outstanding luminosity in low light. Check out the contrast between the hands and indexes, and the sapphire dial.

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Boss the bezel​

The watch’s unidirectional bezel is a vital timing tool for diving ascents. Made from marine-grade stainless steel, it’s been precision-engineered to deliver a satisfying – and reassuring – ‘click’ whenever it’s used.

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Dark materials: introducing the C60 Sapphire Black​


The see-through bestseller of summer 2020 gets a magical moody makeover

The sapphire dial has been machined to a thickness of just 0.8mm

Welcome to the dark side – a diver’s watch that lets you see the movement from the front. Agonising hours spent by the watchmaking team in Christopher Ward’s Swiss atelier over the summer have resulted in the C60 Sapphire Black, a fusion of the skill and technical excellence it takes to create a sapphire-dialled watch, and the moody, black aesthetic of darkness. Within a steel bezel reminiscent of the Trident 316L iterations, a smoked-sapphire dial sits beneath the iconic Trident 3 handset, exposing the inner workings of the watch’s Swiss-made automatic movement on the wrist – while an exhibition caseback reveals it from behind.

The first C60 Sapphire’s debut sold out in hours last year. It broke the mould for affordable watch design, and broke some sales records, too.

“The C60 Sapphire was a monster,”

Mike France, Christopher Ward’s CEO and co-founder says. “It caught the eye because the arresting looks combine perfectly with its exceptional engineering.” says Mike.

“With the C60 Sapphire, the dial was constructed from a single piece of pure sapphire crystal, backed with a very thin sliver of polycarbonate to give it its blue colour,” says Jörg Bader, senior product manager at the Swiss atelier.

“Here, the dial is made of a single piece of sapphire crystal that’s been smoked to give it a dark, almost-black hue.”

The graceful Light-catcher™ case sits low on the wrist

Indeed, as you stare into the movement’s inner working parts, revealed at the front by the smoked-sapphire dial, and to the rear by an exhibition caseback, it’s easy to get lost in the wonder of its tiny, moving components.

“We’ve made something of a specialism in creating sapphire crystal dials – the Moonglow shares elements of this technology, as does the Abyss SH21. It’s a very beautiful, yet durable material. Now the team’s challenge was to bring this into a more accessible piece,” explains Mike. One sometimes gets the feeling that, as CEO, Mike can be a bit of a…taskmaster.

“It’s not been easy, given the delicacy of each dial,” says Jörg. “Sapphire crystal is very hard and scratch-resistant, so it’s great if you want to attack it with a screwdriver but it can be exceptionally brittle to machine. So many accidents can happen; with over 20 steps and 80 operations being completed every time, each one is a risk and there’s often a high rejection rate. That’s what makes it such a challenge to do affordably.”

The watch really speaks to our company philosophy, like full transparency, or the fascination of microscopic engineering

Despite the delicacy of its construction, this piece is a workhorse (as well as a dark horse); its translucent front and crystal back are both waterproof to 600m. Strap options are similarly pragmatic: two hybrid colourways, an integrated brushed steel bracelet or a new #tide ocean material® strap available in black and red, all quick-release, of course. A 316L steel bezel, on which the distinctive red triangle at 12 o’clock is applied by hand, encases the Swiss Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement, with CW’s twin flags in a ‘Colimaçoné’ (spiral) design on the rotor.

“The amount of work that has gone into this piece is no joke!” says Jörg. “But the result is a watch that really speaks to our company philosophy, like full transparency, or the fascination of microscopic engineering. Everything we do comes back to that in the end.”
The C60 Sapphire Black is available now, from £795 / $910 / €950
 
A very cool, standard size, automatic, PD, three hand, from Christopher Ward. Stylish, and versatile.:wink: Thanks Mike. :hat:
 
I can see this watch branded...Omega, Longines...TAG....and going for a lot more money....Is it just me??? Have I gone to far???

:dizzy:
 
Good choice, but they all look nice.

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When I ordered my C-65 Super Compressor I ordered a hat-trick of these hybrid straps the next day.

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Interesting that the "Dark" dial gets it "smoke" from a vapor process and the original blue get's it color from a polycarbonite film layered on to the sapphire...

Liking the "Dark" process better...very anxious to get this one in hand...
 
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