What were they thinking?
What were they thinking?
Honestly, I don’t know why Christopher Ward let me run wild with their baby, but they did and so here we are. I’ve been a fan of the C1 Bel Canto since it first landed in my inbox all those years ago, although I’ll be honest, at first I thought it was a scam. That much watch for so little price? Well, yeah.
I was actually so engrossed in getting a review video out as close to launch as possible that I forgot to order one. By the time I was done, they were all gone. They thought it would take a year to sell three hundred, but it actually took an hour. I asked if they had any more left and they said no. But they did say I could make one of my own.
That’s cooler than a penguin’s pencil case, and I knew immediately what colour I wanted: red. It’s the colour of the Ferrari I don’t have. And it’s the colour of my favourite luxuriously smooth and delicate Swiss milk chocolate truffle.
But I felt kinda bad being the only one to have a Bel Canto in red. So, we decided to make more. And it’s not just the red that makes it special, although the red is, as I’m sure you’ll agree since you’ve taken the time to read this far, very special—there’s some other nifty little niblets, too. To the next paragraph!
FS01 chiming movement
FS01 chiming movement
Created by CW’s technical director Frank Stelzer, Calibre FS01 is an ingenious modified movement with Christopher Ward’s DNA in every cog and spring. With an inspired piece of lateral thinking, Frank realised that CW’s ‘jumping hour’ movement could be adapted to create a chiming sound on the hour, every hour. More than 60 new components form the striking mechanism module which sits atop a Sellita SW200-1 base movement which provides the 38-hour power reserve.
That sweet, sweet ding
Using nothing more than a lot of hard work, the clever clogs at Christopher Ward created a complication that audibly alerts you to every passing hour with the strike of a hammer upon a gong. It can be switched on and off, which my dog, Henry, who hates it, is very grateful for. I asked if they could do the chime from my childhood ice-cream van, but I couldn’t remember how it went.
It’s red
As has been made quite apparent, the dial is red. Very red. So red, in fact, that Christopher Ward had to invent a brand new type of red just to make it work. Actually, they didn’t, but it would’ve been pretty cool if they did. Instead, it’s just a really, really nice red.
It’s bejazzled
For a bit of a laugh, I asked them if they could swap the ruby jewels for clear sapphire, just to see if they could. Well, I guess you’ve figured out that they can, and you have to admit, it looks quite dope. Some might say it’s a stroke of design genius, but no, it’s just the machinations of an idiot.
It’s monochromazing
The Oxford English Dictionary defines monochromatic as, “containing or using only one colour,” and since this is “The Red One,” it would have been quite ridiculous to include any other colour. So not only are the jewels colourless, but so is the chime indicator—or as I call it, the Seismotron.
It’s got my logo on it
Can you believe it, they let me put my logo on the back. Some say it’s the best logo in the world, but we’ll let the experts decide. In the meantime, owners of “The Red One” will get to enjoy being branded with my inverted mark.
It’s got mad strap game
Summer is here and that means putting a rubber on it, and in keeping with the theme we’ve chosen the rather excellent White Rubber Cut-To-Size from Delugs. The colour’s not for everyone, so there’s also the choice of the Delugs Grey Alcantara Signature too, or the classic Christopher Ward Bader bracelet.
