Christopher Ward launched the C65 Aquitaine in April 2022. This was the brand’s retro diver with hints of Blancpain and a sapphire bezel. After four years, the Aquitaine range is being
retired and the retro diver gap is being filled with an all-new model line featuring that all-so-relevant retro design feel but with modern materials, movements and all the nous of Christopher Ward’s design team.
The range consists of a three-hand automatic in steel, a caller GMT in steel and a bronze three-hander. The brand has made sure that the watches are available in a range of sizes and that each one is appropriately slim. The watches are deliberately retro but with modern features such as updated movements and iLink™ tool-free bracelet adjustment. The range itself is a nod to the brand’s previous history with some “Easter Eggs” for the brand faithful. The Bay of Biscay is adjacent to Aquitaine in France, and the watches clearly move on from 2022’s C65 Aquitaine and 2018’s C65 Trident Diver. They also show how Christopher Ward continuously refines their watches. Now, let’s take a look at the new Christopher Ward C60 Trident Biscay.
Design
Skin-diver, slim, refined retro
The C60 Trident range is a Christopher Ward staple. The C60 Trident Biscay sits alongside the serious divers represented by the Trident Pro and Lumiėre and the C60 Reef, which is the beach and snorkelling diver. Each of these watches is a modern interpretation of the dive watch. The C60 Trident Biscay is a deliberately retro interpretation of the skin diver watch theme. Dive watch design has two broad templates. The first is the serious dive watch exemplified by the likes of the Submariner. The second is the skin diver exemplified by the original Zodiac Seawolf. Anything that doesn’t follow these templates is an oddity like the Omega Ploprof. 
The Trident Biscay is the first Christopher Ward to work so closely from the skin diver template. They are slim, with arched cases, no crown guards, and have boxed sapphire glass. The bezel markings are simplified, the water resistance is capped at 200m, and the dial features large Arabic numerals at 3, 6, 9 and 12 for the steel automatic and bronze pieces. The brand has also decided to offer the automatic and GMT in two sizes (39mm and 42mm) and two colourways. The GMT range is similar, and the bronze is limited to 39mm but with two colourways. The GMT has the obligatory date window at 6 o’clock, which accentuates the Arabic numerals at 3, 9 and 12 o’clock.
The Steel automatic has a black dial, black bezel, and a black dial red bezel in both sizes. The GMT has a cream dial, blue bezel,l or a black dial with a “coke” bezel with a black sector for dark hours and the red sector for the daylight ones. Long-time fans of the brand who have missed the old red bezel Trident won’t be surprised to learn that the bezels are anodized aluminium rather than ceramic. Some ocean depths are just too hard to dive to. The alternative is a cream dial with a blue bezel which is reminiscent of the Pan-Am limited edition. Finally, the bronze is only available as a 39mm, but to compensate,e it comes with either a black dial, black bezel, or a fetching green dial, green bezel combination. Each dial is finely textured.
The hand set is the familiar sacrificial dagger hour hand and Oakshotte Type XIII straight minute hand. The Light-Catcher™ case has been redesigned once again. The overall design is closer to that of the Lumière than the Trident Pro, with the smoother transitions from brushed to polished surfaces. In both steel and bronze, the case retains all the strengths of the Light-catcher design but continues its refinement and shows the flexibility of the case’s overall design. It really is one of Christopher Ward’s secret sauces.
The 120-click, unidirectional aluminium bezel has been hardened to 250 HV (Vickers) to prevent damage and is lumed to match the indices.
Watch Specifications
Steel Automatic: 316L Steel, 39 or 42mm, height 11mm (inc. crystal), sapphire box crystal, open case back, old-radium lume, 200m water resistant, Bader or Consort bracelet, hybrid rubber strap or vintage oak leather strap
Steel GMT: 316L Steel, 39 or 42mm, height 12mm (inc. crystal), sapphire box crystal, open case back, old-radium lume, 200m water resistant, Bader or consort bracelet, hybrid rubber strap or vintage oak leather strap
Biscay Bronze: Marine-grade bronze, 39mm diameter, 11mm high, open case back, 200m water resistance, hybrid rubber or vintage oak leather strap only.
The steel models are great, but the real stars of the show have to be the bronze models. There are lots of different forms of bronze. Metallurgy has moved a long way from the archaeological bronze. The Trident Biscay introduces a marine-grade alloy in a Christopher Ward. The new alloy is a nickel/aluminium bronze CuAl10Ni5Fe4, which is corrosion-resistant and wear-resistant. If you’re allergic to nickel, this could be a problem, but there are steel models. The new bronze also looks rather like Omega’s bronze gold. It has a lovely colour and lustre which will patinate slowly and keep its good looks for far longer than conventional bronze. The bronze and green dial version, in particular, looks spectacular.
Movement
Steel and bronze Automatics: Selitta SW300-1, 56-hour power reserve, COSC certified
Steel GMT: Selitta SW330-2, 56-hour power reserve, COSC certified.
Selitta SW3XX movements have been used to help keep the watches slim and deliver competitive power reserves.
Price & Availability
The C60 Trident Biscay Automatic is priced from £1,330/€1,740/$1,870 on the Hybrid strap or Vintage Oak leather strap, £1,495/€1,950/$2,095 on the Bader bracelet and £1,535/€2,005/$2,150 on the Consort bracelet.
The C60 Trident Biscay GMT is priced from £1,430/€1,850/$1,995 on the Hybrid strap or Vintage Oak leather strap, £1,595/€2,060/$2,220 on the Bader bracelet and £1,635/€2,115/$2,275 on the Consort bracelet.
The C60 Trident Biscay Bronze is priced from £1,495/€1,950/$2,095 on the Hybrid strap or Vintage Oak leather strap.
Concluding Thoughts
The C60 Trident Biscay is named after the Bay of Biscay. This stretch of the Atlantic is a famously difficult stretch of water to navigate. It is a ship killer and drowner of men. An 18th-century sea shanty puts it thusly:
“Loud roared the dreadful thunder, / The rain a deluge showers; / The clouds were rent asunder / By lightning’s vivid powers!”
“Each fears a watery pillow, / None stops the dreadful leak!”
For me, the design is too refined for the Bay of Biscay. It suggests to me cliff diving in Acapulco. I can see Elvis Presley wearing one in the 1963 film “Fun in Acapulco.” Cliff-diving may be as perilous as sailing in the Bay of Biscay, but the water is warmer. The flowing lines of the slim Light-catcher case, especially in bronze, suggest Acapulco much more than Biscay.
The combination of large arabics and indices is not something the brand uses very often. The C65 Trident diver and the C8 Flyer watches had them, and these are becoming part of the retro signature for the brand, and it is good to see that the brand can refer to its own history in this way. It doesn’t hurt that the Explorer 1 also has them.
The Sealander and Trident ranges are the core of Christopher Ward, and whilst the retro trend continues to go from strength to strength,h it is appropriate that the Trident range has a retro-strong dive watch. By sticking closely to the skin-diver template and referring to their own history, Christopher Ward’s Trident Biscay range fulfils this brief perfectly. The watches also show the Brand’s ability to continuously refine offerings. There are subtle revisions to the Light-Catcher case, new milling on the bezel, and bezel hardening all go to show that the brand’s quality and sophistication improve each time they release a new watch. They have even brought the iLink tool-free bracelet adjustment system to the Consort bracelet. What more could you ask for?
The C60 Trident Biscay line has a lot of options to choose from. The colourways of the steel Automatic and GMT are on point. For me, the new bronze-cased watches are the stars of the show, especially the green dial version. The marine-grade bronze has a gorgeous, rich gold tone which pairs very well with the old radium lume. It’s a stunner, especially when paired with the vintage oak leather strap. Will these watches encourage you to dive off a cliff in Acapulco or even brave the stormy waters of the Bay of Biscay? Let us know in the comments below.
Steel Automatic is priced from £1,330/€1,740/$1,870 on the Hybrid strap or Vintage Oak leather strap, £1,495/€1,950/$2,095 on the Bader bracelet and £1,535/€2,005/$2,150 on the Consort bracelet.
Steel GMT is priced from £1,430/€1,850/$1,995 on the Hybrid strap or Vintage Oak leather strap, £1,595/€2,060/$2,220 on the Bader bracelet and £1,635/€2,115/$2,275 on the Consort bracelet.
Bronze Automatic is priced from £1,495/€1,950/$2,095 on the Hybrid strap or Vintage Oak leather strap.
