Christopher Ward Bel Canto 9324 Limited Edition Announced for British Watchmakers’ Day

Last week we took a look at the colourful array of watches Duckworth Prestex is producing exclusively for the Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers’ inaugural watch fair, the British Watchmakers’ Day. Following this, we now have the preview for Christopher Ward’s exclusive, limited edition timepiece that will be available at the same event. It’s the Bel Canto 9324 British Watchmakers’ Day.

It’s primarily an aesthetic update to the classic Bel Canto with a new guilloché dial that creates the image of the Union Jack. It’s pretty subtle in the finished model because the dial is a monocolour dark blue, meaning there isn’t the usual red, white and blue definition. Plus, the dial it’s partially obscured by the subdial and chiming complication so unless you look closely, you might not realise the guilloché is in the shape of the flag.

The areas of the flag that are typically red are presented with a polished finish while the white sections are done in Clous de Paris. Then the blue sections are in a style of guilloché called Finque, which is your classical wavy pattern. It’s much easier to understand what that means by referring to the production image of the brass plate in isolation.

Another new element present on the Bel Canto 9324 British Watchmakers’ Day is the Roman numerals present on the time display off-set towards 12 o’clock. They replace the standard bar indexes of the existing range, adding a further sense of refinement to the relatively sporty watch. It reminds me the ultra-high class watchmaking from brands like Bovet with the subdial of the Récital 21. But then, that’s half the point of the Bel Canto, bringing complications and designs seen in haute horology to a more accessible level.

Speaking of accessibility, the Bel Canto 9324 British Watchmakers’ Day is priced at £4,995 and is limited to just 10 pieces. It’s exclusively available at the Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers’ event on March 9th at Lindley Hall in London where you can enter a raffle for a chance to purchase one of the watches, ensuring fair allocation.

All profits from the watch will go to the Alliance, of which Mike France the CEO of Christopher Ward is a founding member. This isn’t CW’s first watch created with the Alliance as they previously collaborated with Fears on the Alliance 01. The Alliance aims to promote and support British watchmaking in all capacities. Also, if you are planning to attend the British Watchmakers’ Day, come and say hello to the Oracle Time team who will be in attendance too.

More details at Christopher Ward.

​Oracle Time 

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