Meet The Twelve 660

There’s something irresistible about a super-thin watch. Something that demonstrates the uniquely human desire to improve, to refine and to finesse. Not because it’s easy but because with hard work and perseverance, it might be possible. And because not doing so is the abandonment of the principles that guide you.

This philosophy is behind the new Twelve 660.

Is it a dress watch? A sports watch? Perhaps the 660 is both. Despite its diminutive vital statistics, and elegant, pared-back dial, it manages to look solid and substantial: thank the hewn-from-a-single-piece effect of the integrated bracelet, or the wide, flat bezel, bringing just the right amount of visual heft.

The idea of a dress watch you can wear every day, or a sports watch that adores black tie, may not make sense to you. But if it sounds intriguing, and you share Christopher Ward’s desire for continuous improvement, then this watch is for you.

First, a bit of context. The watch industry enjoys periodic arms races, but the quest for ‘slim’ is one of the liveliest. In the ‘classic’ era of the mid 20th century, this was a way to show off your technical prowess. More recently, it’s become a bizarre charge towards nothingness, where the more money you’re willing to spend, the more remarkable (and occasionally ridiculous) the results.

Indeed, in recent years a number of high-end, low-production pieces have been chipping away at the 2mm (and $500,000+) barriers, though at a cost: case backs serve as baseplates, and traditional winding crowns are verboten.

“Really thin watches are impressive,” says Mike France, Christopher Ward’s co-founder and CEO. “But there comes a time when you start to wonder, ‘What’s the point?’ Wearability is terrible and elegance is lost.”

The Twelve 660 – the name comes from its ultra-sleek profile – is a very different beast. Its 6.6mm height, slim, but not enough to feel fragile, puts it in the same ballpark as gorgeous options from the likes of Patek Philippe. Sure, these are watches that cost more than most cars, but the refined appeal they share is undeniable.

“The more you remove, the clearer the shape becomes”

How slim is it? “It’s 3.35mm thinner than the regular Twelve 38mm,” says design director Adrian Buchmann. “This means it isn’t quite the skinniest Christopher Ward ever – that’s the C5 Malvern 595 of 2018, just 5.95mm thick. But it’s close, while being a more considered and visually intriguing piece all round.”

Yes, CW could have made the 660 sleeker by dumping the applied indices, and the glass-box crystals, and by opting for a single-piece case – but to do so would have meant abandoning the distinctive architecture of The Twelve. “Instead, we’ve created a slim watch that has a lot of depth to it,” says Adrian. “Wearability is maximised – and you gain a fascinating versatility, too.”

Hence the ongoing debate over whether this is a dress watch or a sports watch.

“For me, it’s a modern dress watch, as the increasing popularity of integrated bracelet pieces has broken down old barriers,” says Mike. “The classic 1950s dress watch doesn’t exist any more; and the idea that a rubber strap defines something as a dive watch is also outdated. The Twelve 660 incorporates elements of both in a way that would have made no sense 40 years ago, but does so today – and becomes an important go-anywhere, do-anything piece for men and women alike.

Understated and lightweight, it’s for daily life – but more than happy to dress up for Oscar night, too.”

The Twelve is one of Christopher Ward’s fastest evolving lines. The mainstream steel versions launched a couple of years ago; followed by the titanium (Ti) iteration; and high-end pieces that share the architecture, like The C12 Loco. What else could be done with it?

A slimmer, minimalist version that stripped away anything that could be considered excessive: a watch that refined proportions and rethought details; and that maximised comfort, too. (No easy task, since The Twelve is already ultra-wearable).

At first glance, the dial is the definition of simple. The subtly grained surface is ringed by brushed and polished applied indices, and printed minute markers; the only other detail is an applied twin-flags logo. But it wasn’t always like that.

“The design journey took us in a circle, particularly with the dial,” says senior designer Will Brackfield. “We started with something restrained, then began to experiment – what about embedding a pattern deep in the dial? Or adding this detail or that? But the further we went, the more we came back to the idea that timeless and minimalist is best. It’s like carving a marble sculpture: the more you remove, the clearer the shape becomes.”

The hands are slimmer than on most Twelves, and the lume has gone – as have the date window and seconds hand. Colour choices are classic: silver, black, and subtle tones of green and blue.

“We do this, not because it’s easy, but because it might be possible”

A redesigned bracelet is in the established Twelve style, but much, much slimmer, so the metal flows seamlessly from case to link to clasp, where you’ll find a new super-thin buckle with hidden pushers. “The new bracelet contributes hugely to how comfortable this watch is,” says product director Jörg Bader Jnr. “Had we used the original Twelve clasp, it would have been thicker than the watch head itself – so we knew that had to change!”

All this good work would be pointless, of course, without a thin movement, and thoughts soon settled on Sellita’s manual-wound SW210, which for this application has been extensively modified by Christopher Ward.

“Our version combines a unique high- grade finish to the wheels with a new, custom-designed, custom-made train bridge,” Jörg says. “These special pieces were designed in-house, machined at Paoluzzo and finished at APJ, making great use of key suppliers we brought in to work on the C1 Bel Canto. It would have been easier to just slap in the standard movement, give it a closed caseback and off you go, but ‘easier’ has never been the Christopher Ward way.”

Alongside three stainless steel models comes our cover star, the all-monochrome, blacker-than-black DLC-coated version: Darth Vader’s dress watch. “The watch head, bracelet and clasp are all covered in Diamond-Like Carbon coating, which coating, which is incredibly hard-wearing,” Mike says. “Everything’s the deepest, inkiest black – except for the silver dial furniture. We initially considered making this a limited edition, but it’s just too bloody brilliant for that.”

Super-slim watches traditionally sell at a premium – especially ones that break the 7mm barrier – so it’s pleasing that The Twelve 660 slots right into the middle of the Twelve range, almost equidistant in price between entry-level versions and the Titanium. 

“Even if you don’t feel you need a dress watch, you owe it to yourself to consider The Twelve 660 as your regular, everyday wear,” Mike says. “It’s tough, it’s elegant, and there’s much to be said for the zen joy of having just the two hands; a reminder not to take life – and the passing of time – too seriously.”