The technicolour Twelve

For a timepiece inspired by the integrated sports watches of the 1970s, The Twelve has achieved that most modern of phenomena: it’s gone viral – establishing itself as an immediate fan favourite, exceeding all sales projections and garnering glowing reviews from watch bloggers and influencers.

Released in April last year, the watch wears its influences on its sleeve. The 12-sided bezel is a direct reference to the work of Gérald Genta, the designer behind iconic watches like Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak and Patek Philippe’s Nautilus. Its shimmering dial – made up of 3D representations of CW’s logo – is like nothing else on the market. At the same time, the slim, integrated bracelet delivers an elegant curve M. Genta would surely have approved of.

The Twelve was launched as a stainless steel model (‘The Twelve’), a titanium chronometer (‘The Twelve (Ti)’), and, in August, a 36mm version. Later in October, a 36mm luxury remix with a rose-gold bezel arrived – The Twelve Halo.

For many brands, this would be enough, but Christopher Ward is not a company that’s easily satisfied. Which is why a new generation of Twelves is appearing in a range of colours (and sizes) – with most of the action happening around the titanium Twelve (Ti).

“The Twelve family has been a huge success – about three times as big as we first thought”

The theme is nature. A new 36mm Twelve will now be available in Frosted Lavender, while The Twelve 40mm welcomes a Mineral Blue version. Moving to titanium, the 40mm Twelve (Ti) will see an Aurora Green model, with the 36mm (Ti) adding Cosmic Purple, Lagoon Blue and Nardus Green to the stable.

“The demand for The Twelve has been incredible,” says Mike France, CW CEO and co-founder. “We released the 36mm steel version in August, and ever since, customers have been asking for the titanium model in the small size. I love all the new shades, but the Lagoon Blue Twelve (Ti) is very special. It’s refreshingly... refreshing!”

William Brackfield is the designer behind The Twelve. He says the new colours for The Twelve (Ti) reflect those of the 36mm Twelve but with a more subtle version of the ‘fumé’ finish seen on the first set of titanium Twelves.

“Perfecting the fumé for these watches was challenging,” he says. “We decided early on that for the 36mm (Ti), we wouldn’t take the fumé effect to black as on the 40mm. Instead, we’ve gone to a darker version of the base colour – something that matches the feel of the 36mm case a little better. It’s been an enjoyable project: normally, our more technical watches are upwards of 38mm, so a 36mm titanium chronometer has presented some interesting challenges!”

For Jörg Bader Junior, Head of Production at CW’s Biel atelier, the new watches are another example of how the combination of high-quality watch-making, thoughtful design and realistic pricing has once again paid dividends.

“The Twelve family has been a huge success – about three times as big as we first thought,” he says. “With the new watches, we wanted to open up The Twelve (Ti) to more customers – so combining a smaller case and new colours makes sense. The COSC-certified movement is a big plus, too.”

All the team believe that The Twelve range, as with Trident and Bel Canto, will be a ‘pillar’ collection for years to come. There’ll likely be a chronograph and a ‘Concept’ in 2024 – but details haven’t been confirmed. For now, The Twelve is sitting pretty – an integral part of the CW family and bolstered by a variation of colours and sizes that make it appealing to everyone, whatever their gender or wrist size.

“Many people were surprised we followed up the Bel Canto with an integrated sports watch,” says Mike. “However, we like to surprise, and if the C1 Bel Canto demonstrated our ability to innovate, The Twelve shows just how good we are at taking a classic concept, giving it a distinctive CW signature and finishing it to an exquisitely high standard. It also reinforces our ethos of making the highest quality watches accessible to everyone.”