C1 Bel Canto Classic

41mm   Argento   Automatic   Blue Fine Italian Leather  
Pre-order C01-41APT3-T00G0-MB
Choose a dial colour
Argento Azzurro Argento
Choose a strap
Bader Bracelet
Black Fine Italian Leather
Tobacco Fine Italian Leather
Blue Fine Italian Leather
Camel Fine Italian Leather
Grey Fine Italian Leather
Pre-order for End January 2025
$4,225.00

Chime machine

FS01 chiming movement

What the press say about the C1 Bel Canto

FS01’s ‘beautiful song’

An extrapolation of Christopher Ward’s celebrated JJ01 ‘jumping hour’ movement, Calibre FS01 creates a gorgeous chiming sound on the hour, every hour thanks to a gorgeous U-shaped gong that doubles back on itself around the rim of the face, and a bird-shaped hammer mechanism, where the beak indicates whether the complication is on or off, and the tail strikes to make the sound.

Swell decoration

Advanced ‘femto’ lasers render Bel Canto Classic’s striking guilloché finish in three dimensions – an innovative technique that creates a far more detailed and intricate surface than a punched guilloché ever could. A bonus comes in the way it’s now possible to experiment with hitherto-impossible effects, so the repeating pattern can now get smaller and more intricate on certain portions of the face.

Classic – in every way possible

Bel Canto is no longer just a single watch, but an entire collection – the Classic taking the original’s retro-futuristic style and dialling up the vintage side of things significantly. This is still ‘the watch that changed everything’, but with a new style that brings traditional luxury aesthetics to the innovative engineering that makes it all possible.

Time flies

With much of the face given up to key mechanical parts in a glorious open-worked style, Bel Canto relies for its time-telling on a smaller subdial that ‘floats’ over the face, the base-layer disc a watch like this has in place of a traditional dial. It all gives a fascinating feeling of depth, while the elegant simplicity of Roman numerals and a new, restrained handset emphasise the Classic’s old-school refinement.

A case designed for sound

Christopher Ward’s famous Light-catcher™ case has proved to be one of our most crucial, versatile signatures, and with Bel Canto it’s had a subtle makeover to help it best reverberate with sound. The first ever CW case to be made from Grade 5 titanium – less dense than steel, so it amplifies the chime – it’s been optimised inside and out to produce the most pleasing possible ‘ting’.

Strong finish

Open-worked watches like Bel Canto feature fascinating multi-layered architecture, so some components exist below the coloured face, while others are displayed proudly above it – not least the vital hammer, the gong, and the bridges that support them. All are, of course, exquisitely polished by some of Switzerland’s finest finishers.

Sleeping beauty

A most welcome companion during the day, Bel Canto’s chimes may prove less than ideal when, say, you’re trying to snooze. That’s why the songbird can easily be sent to sleep: a simple press of the pusher at 4 o’clock moves the beak from chirpy to slumbering, temporarily disabling the watch’s key virtue.

Box clever

A box sapphire crystal, unique to the Bel Canto’s Classic, reproduces much of the charming look and feel of vintage acrylic crystals, while retaining all the scratch-resistance of sapphire. It even visually slims the watch slightly, too: win-win (and, indeed, win).

Technical

  • Watch Model C1
  • Size 41mm
  • Dial Colour Argento
  • Case Material Grade 5 Titanium
  • Case Colour Titanium
  • Bezel Colour Titanium
  • Height 13.20mm
  • Lug-to-Lug 48mm

Features

  • Swiss made
  • Self-winding 29 jewel movement with FS01 chiming module
  • 38-hour power reserve
  • Brushed and polished Grade 5 Titanium case
  • Deep-stamped caseback with soundwave motif
  • Push-down crown with twin flags motif
  • Anti-reflective domed sapphire crystal
  • Floating time display

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