Latest Review
October 13, 2025 
If you’ve been following along with Worn & Wound over the years, you’ll have seen Christopher Ward appear with some regularity since the beginning. This isn’t due to favoritism, mostly, but rather because of values. Independent, accessible, modest, and underappreciated, Christopher Ward, in the early days of W&W, represented a challenge to the status quo. They set out to prove that a different type of watch brand was possible. Fast forward almost 15 years, and they are still independent, largely accessible, and far from pretentious, but hardly underappreciated. Now, Christopher Ward represents what an outsider brand can achieve through diligence and staying true to its values.
Five years ago, we celebrated a decade of collaboration with Christopher Ward with a duo of watches, the C65 Sandstorm and Sandstorm Blackout. A major success, and one of our favorite collaborations to date, they drew inspiration from rugged outdoor vehicles and tough terrain. In the years following that launch, both of our brands have grown and changed. In 2023, Christopher Ward launched the C1 Bel Canto, one of the most disruptive watches of the last decade. It rocketed Christopher Ward into prominence, earning them the recognition we always felt they deserved, and paved the way for the 2025 launch of the incredible, game-changing C12 Loco.
But, to back up, in early 2024, we reached out to Mike France, co-founder and CEO of Christopher Ward, to initiate conversations about creating a limited edition once again. With no preconceived notions of what direction this new collaboration could take, at some point during our kickoff call with Mike, Will Brackfield, and Jörg Bader Jr., Mike surprised his team by saying something along the lines of “Should we show them the new one?” After the shock settled, they pulled up early drawings of what was to become the C12 Loco. In awe, we said, as coolly and calmly as we could muster, that yes, we would be excited to go with the C12 Loco (then just called the open balance).
Over the next few months, concepts and general directions were shared, including the potential for the new collaboration to follow up on the first. A Loco Sandstorm, if you will. This was all happening concurrently to the C12 going through its final development, which, if you’ve seen the brand’s lovely documentary (featuring us truly), you’ll know, had its ups and downs. About halfway through the process, probably around two or three rounds of concept refinement in, Mike, on a call with their design team, politely suggested that he thought we should start over. That (paraphrasing from memory), the project needed to be more grounded, and that said ground should focus on Worn & Wound, our hometown of Brooklyn, and our story.
With the 10th anniversary of Windup Watch Fair just a little over a year away as the target launch date, this idea made sense. Although we’re not ones to celebrate ourselves, a milestone is a milestone, and with the C12 Loco as our conduit, we knew we were on the right track. But what to do? If there’s one thing we despise in watches, it’s literalism. We didn’t want to put a map on the dial, or the Brooklyn Bridge, a bunch of W&W logos, etc. And then it hit us, we just needed to look up.
Worn & Wound was founded in an apartment in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. That’s where the initial idea was born, as well as the name. 14.5 years later, our office and showroom reside in Gowanus, Brooklyn, about 1.4 miles from the origin. In the middle, looming large in the skyline with its watchful eye looking over us, is a building of significance not just to Brooklyn, but to horology as well: the Williamsburg Savings Bank Tower.
Built between 1927 and 1929, the tower was the tallest building in Brooklyn for 80 years. Its Art Deco design is full of interesting details, from the strange and unique carvings along the façade to windows featuring metal silhouettes by renowned American sculptor René Chambellan. But it’s what sits on top that makes it particularly relevant: a four-sided clock tower.
The largest in the world until 1962, each face is 27 feet in diameter and features hands that weigh a combined 900 pounds. It also featured a relatively new invention along its face, red neon lights that could be seen for 30 miles. Still functioning today, the clock tower serves as a visual landmark for all of the surrounding neighborhoods, as well as a semi-accurate way to tell the time (it’s never quite right).
With our inspiration solidified, the design fell into place quickly. While still avoiding a too literal translation, it brings together various details from the tower, creating a tasteful homage to the landmark. Emulating the granite and limestone façade of the building, the dial is rendered in an off-white hue bordering on champagne. It features a subtle texture that falls between matte and satin, lending it a natural feel. Along both the lower and upper surfaces are raised vertical lines, speaking to the height of the tower as well as its numerous rows of windows. In the context of the C12, these lines complement the cascading rings created by the time-display, the balance wheel, and the escape wheel.
The most direct reference to the tower is found on the hour and minute index. In what is truly a remarkable coincidence, the layout of the four faces happens to resemble the structure of the Loco’s hour and minute track. Both have wide rings with smaller chapter rings along their edges, encircling open center spaces. On the tower, that space is filled with stacked, multi-pointed forms carved into the limestone surface, which are just barely visible from the ground. On the Loco, there’s a view behind the dial, to the gearing that moves the hands. The similarity is striking.
For the collab, the sapphire ring has been painted to match the dial surface and features black, lume-filled rectangular markers per hour. Between the markers are diamond forms with circular openings, the most direct detail taken from the tower. As subtle as can be, they give the specificity that the other elements lack, speaking directly to the building’s design. Finally, the chapter ring along the edge of the sapphire features black dots per minute, and slightly raised steps every five.
A feast for the eyes, the CW-003 features large cantilevering bridges with gorgeous finishing holding large barrels that supply an impressive 144 hours, or six days, of power. Regulated to ±0/7 seconds per day, it is within chronometer specifications for highly accurate timekeeping. The brand’s second in-house movement, it too could easily be described as “architectural” in nature, pleasantly complementing the overall theme.
Though rooted in Art Deco, the dial does not conflict with the later 20th-century case concept. Rather, it highlights the structural aspects of the case, making the many facets, bevels, and surfaces all the more profound. The case, a comfortable 41 x 47.5mm, has a striking design that culminates in a 12-sided mid-case and bezel. At 13.7mm thick, it has a substantial presence, though a significant portion of the height comes from a nearly 4mm tall domed crystal.
Featuring an integrated lug design, the accompanying steel bracelet flows from the case seamlessly. A single link design, each piece features vertical brushing and polished, beveled edges that follow a line across the mid-case for a handsome and reserved appearance. For the collaboration, a black rubber strap is included as well. A sportier style, the dark rubber adds contrast, highlighting the dial further.
A limited edition of 100 pieces, the Christopher Ward x Worn & Wound C12 Brooklynite is priced at $5,260*/£3,995/€5,205 and will be available first at Windup Watch Fair NYC 2025. 30 pieces will be available to purchase and take home at the event from Oct 17th – 19th at a booth located next to the Christopher Ward booth. The remaining units will be available at 10 am EST on October 21st through christopherward.com.
*In line with CW’s Tariff Rollback, USD ($) prices quoted include all duties and tariffs and exclude local state tax.
