The C1 Bel Canto

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C1 Bel Canto

The Watch That Changed Everything

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What the watch world says about Bel Canto

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“There’s not really anything else quite like it outside of the likes of MB&F’s LM series and nothing even close to this price. It’s a masterpiece of a watch.”

“My personal favourite is the Viola on the purple strap – it’s a perfectly measured take on a truly outlandish watch.”

Sam Cross

T3

“The dial perfectly shows you the mechanism that’s responsible for producing the sound.
I also love how different this makes it from all the other watches from the brand.”

“Sonneries, watches that make sound, are usually the domain of brands charging 20, 40, or even hundreds of times this price.
That Christopher Ward had made one for $3,595 was somewhat of a miracle.”

Named after the art of ‘beautiful singing’ in opera, the exquisite C1 Bel Canto chiming watch has transformed watchmaking by offering the most exquisite levels of haute horlogerie at a distinctly democratic price. Nothing will be ever the same again.

C1 Bel Canto chiming watch

What makes the Bel Canto tick?

A chime on the hour. The C1 Bel Canto chimes a ‘D’ note on the hour, every hour, in what the French call a Sonnerie au Passage complication, which translates as ‘Passage of Time’. The chime is created by a ‘hammer’ striking the steel spring that circles the dial.

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Layers of beauty. The sunray-finished platine plays host to the intricate time-telling dial, which ‘floats’ above the platine, creating an industrial stacked look. It also provides a visual partnership with the chiming mechanism.

FS01: the heart of Bel Canto. Bel Canto’s FS01 modified movement was created by our technical director Frank Stelzer after he realised he could modify our JJ01 ‘jumping hour’ mechanism to create an hourly chiming module.

Perfect polishing. Above the platine, the hammer, spring and bridges of the chiming mechanism resemble a songbird and have been polished to the highest levels. This type of finishing is carried out by some of Swiss watchmaking’s most respected artisans.

Trust in titanium. The C1 Bel Canto’s 41mm case is crafted in Grade 5 titanium, which improves the resonance and tone of the chime, and also delivers lightness, durability and wearability. Meanwhile, the case’s Light-catcher™ design means it’ll sit close to your wrist.

Mute – if you must. Should you wish to silence the chime, a button at 4 o’clock can be set to the ‘on’ or ‘off’ position, while ringing status is indicated by a small arrow – the songbird’s ‘beak’ – next to the button. 

A rainbow of colours

Viola

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Nero

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Cielo

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Rosa

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A story of four young watchmakers

At the heart of the C1 Bel Canto is the FS01 movement, created by CW technical director Frank Stelzer, who, in a moment of inspiration, realised that he could adapt CW’s JJ01 ‘jumping hour’ movement to create a calibre that delivers a Sonnerie au Passage complication, which chimes on the hour, every hour.
Throughout the journey, Frank continually adapted FS01 so it was always in step with the evolving plans of designers William Brackfield and Adrian Buchmann, and CW’s head of product development, Jörg Bader Junior.

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Perfection through collaboration

The C1 Bel Canto unique value proposition is only possible by the industrialisation of the process – and the expert suppliers and partners who collaborate with us.
Armin Strom, maker of high-end open-worked watches, contributed the platine, while Chronode polished the bridges, hammer and gong. Viquo Deco, based in Swiss watchmaking’s ‘heart’, the Jura valley, worked on the movement’s specialist wheels.

The making of the C1 Bel Canto

The sound of science. The movement of the hour and minute hands on the floating time-telling dial draws the chiming ‘hammer’ until it strikes the steel spring that curves around the dial’s edge. The mechanism resembles a songbird, and the chime it creates is the ‘beautiful singing’ after which the watch is named.

No bridge too far. Bel Canto’s bridges are on the dial for all to see – so they have to look good. First, the raw bridges are shaped and machined by CNC milling machines, before being sand-sprayed. A red lacquer is applied to protect the sand-spray from being scratched.

Perfect platine. The Bel Canto’s platine has 30 openings as much of the movement and the time-telling dial is mounted to it. What starts as a ‘blank’ – a rough metal disc – is polished smooth by rubbing it with pumicestone. It’s then brushed using a state-of-the-art machine, which delivers a uniform appearance.

Flawless finishing. After every element of the dial has been assembled – on the Bel Canto, it’s part of a large bridge – the cleaning process begins. On surfaces with a flawless finish, even the smallest of dust particles are visible, and any present are removed.

How we launched Bel Canto

The first – and limited edition – C1 Bel Canto in Azzuro Blue was previewed to CW customers at a series of online events, presented by CEO Mike France.
When it became available in late October 2022, it immediately sold out – days before its launch. The C1 Bel Canto was officially presented to the watch industry at an opera-themed event in Holland Park, London on November 2nd.
A new limited edition Bel Canto was released the next day: this time in Verde (it sold out within two hours).

Triumph in Geneva

In November 2023, the C1 Bel Canto won the ‘Petite Aiguille’ category at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) awards in Switzerland – the ‘Oscars’ of watchmaking.
In front of an audience of big players in the Swiss watch industry – and after buying the world’s most expensive gin ’n’ tonics – CEO and co-founder Mike France accepted the award with the words, “This feels like a big moment.” As the first British brand to win a GPHG, this may have been an understatement.

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The new Bel Canto Classic

Discover the new C1 Bel Canto Classic. Boasting a face rendered in textured ‘guilloché’ finishing and a new time-telling dial with Roman numerals, it makes the Bel Canto aesthetic even more refined. One thing that hasn’t changed: the world-famous chime.

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A Bespoke Bel Canto?

You can now make your own version of the Bel Canto through Christopher Ward’s Bespoke department, which has already created limited edition versions for watch reviewer Andrew Morgan and The Vamps’ band member James McVey.
Meanwhile, watch clubs at tech brands, plus luxury car clubs, have collaborated with Bespoke to make a series of Bel Cantos with one-off colourways, mottos and badges.

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Pride of Britain

The UK-themed C1 Bel Canto 9324 – a limited edition of 10 – was released to mark the first British Watchmakers’ Day. It boasts a subtle union jack platine and a new time-telling dial with Roman numerals – both exclusives for this edition.
To widen the watch’s appeal, Bel Canto is now available in a rainbow of beautiful colours: from Nero and Viola to Cielo and Rosa.

The Red one

The UK-themed C1 Bel Canto 9324 – a limited edition of 10 – was released to mark the first British Watchmakers’ Day. It boasts a subtle union jack platine and a new time-telling dial with Roman numerals – both exclusives for this edition.
To widen the watch’s appeal, Bel Canto is now available in a rainbow of beautiful colours: from Nero and Viola to Cielo and Rosa.

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Time is precious:
The story of Bel Canto

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