Standing shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine

The war in Ukraine has shocked the world.

While the tragedy is there for all to see, the invasion has also prompted unbelievable acts of generosity from individuals, groups and organisations. One of which has come from a Christopher Ward customer.

When Russia invaded, Christopher Ward felt it had to do something to help the Ukrainian people and so launched a one-off watch, the C63 Ukraine Limited Edition, to raise money for the International Committee Of The Red Cross (ICRC) in Ukraine.

The C63 Ukraine LE, limited to 300 pieces, boasts a dial that represents the ancient colours of the Ukraine flag, while on the backplate, the words’ Слава Україні!’ (Glory to Ukraine) have been engraved. The watch sold out in hours and has raised over £115,000 for the Red Cross.

“We were overwhelmed by the reaction from CW customers worldwide,” says Christopher Ward CEO Mike France. “But then we found out one customer had gone much further than any of us could imagine.”

The C63 Ukraine LE watch sold out in hours and raised over £115,000 for the Red Cross

That customer is Mark Wallace. When Ukrainian citizens started to leave the country in the face of the invasion, Mark let authorities know he would host a Ukrainian family in his own home.

A few weeks later, the Petrovs, children Daniil and Lisa, and their mother, arrived at Mark’s door. Being forced to leave your homeland would be a traumatic time for anyone, but for Daniil, it coincided with what would typically be a time for celebration – his 18th birthday. Mark felt he had to commemorate the occasion, so contacted Christopher Ward about a particular timepiece.

“Realising Daniil’s 18th birthday was near and seeing we’d created a watch for Ukraine, Mark contacted me to see if we had any left,” says Mike France. “Luckily, we managed to locate one for him. We were incredibly honoured that he’d thought of us.”

As part of their pre-season preparation, Everton played Dynamo Kyiv at Goodison Park in late July. There, Christopher Ward CEO Mike France and Blues’ Ukrainian left-back Vitaliy Mykolenko presented Daniil with his C63 Ukraine LE – a fitting present for a young man who has been through so much and whose experiences mirror those of millions of Ukrainians.

While the C63 Ukraine LE can’t solve the problems the war-torn country faces, Christopher Ward was proud to have played a small part in the effort to help its people.