[VIDEO] Living the Life Exotic: A Year and a Half with the Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto

I’ve spent a lot of time with the Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto on my wrist over the last year and a half or so. I was lucky enough to pick one up at launch, so I only had to wait a few days before this incredibly special, unexpected, and ultimately charming watch ended up in my possession. Any enthusiast can relate to the incredible excitement of getting a new watch, but we also all know it can be a bit misleading. The honeymoon period, as it’s often referred to, is where you see your new acquisition with nothing but adoration.

But, as any enthusiast is also aware, this feeling can fade over time, and that watch you once thought was the greatest thing on Earth begins to lose its appeal. Perhaps it’s a touch larger than you wanted it to be, or the crown annoys you, or it’s just too damn shiny. Whatever it is, you start wearing other watches more and more, and before you know it, that watch you thought you’d love forever is on your “willing to sell” list.

The point of this story is that the C1 Bel Canto wasn’t like this. The joy and excitement I got when first putting it on have remained present for the entirety of my ownership thus far. While a new watch or two (just kidding, so many more than that) have entered and exited my collection since, the C1 Bel Canto has remained in constant rotation. It’s easily one of my favorite watches because it does more than most of my watches. Not in terms of functionality, though; yes, it’s the only watch I own that chimes, but because the experience of wearing it is different.

It’s a slice of something that typically sub-$5k watches can’t pull off. It’s exotic and luxurious, but not in a fake way. It’s not emulation. It’s not trying to look like something that costs more. Rather, it’s a watch executed to a higher level of mechanical complexity and finishing. It’s exotic and luxurious because it genuinely emphasizes watchmaking over all else. A way that other similarly priced watches generally can’t pull off or even attempt, which is a testament to the brand that built it.

The following video is my in-depth description of owning and wearing the Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto for the last year and a half. Needless to say, it’s a positive review of one of the most memorable watches of the last decade. Sure, the sheer novelty of the Bel Canto and the seeming surprise of it coming from a brand that was underrated by most media (I’ll give us a little pat on the shoulder for having covered C Ward since 2011) and largely ignored by larger industry players, made it all the more significant. But it has been the experience of ownership that has cemented its value to me. It’s a great watch on paper, it’s an amazing watch on the wrist. Chr