First Impressions: Christopher Ward C60 Trident Biscay Collection
Christopher Ward released a new lineup of the C60 Trident called the Trident Biscay, or should we call them the new Christopher Ward Black Bay lineup, because these new releases are Tudor Black Bay copycats.
There are countless similarities between the new Christopher Ward and the Tudor Black Bays. So much so, you question where the creativity is. Not to say there aren’t plenty of homage watches out there, but this release contains not one, not two, but three different watches that look eerily similar to their Tudor counterpart. From the bezel, to the dial, to the indices, and to the bracelet, the first thing I thought of when I saw these was Tudor. Lots of watches take inspiration from other brands. But each has their own identity at the end of the day and I don’t see that with these new Christopher Ward watches.
The disappointing thing about this release is that Christopher Ward did also release a unique colorway with the GMT, so the ability to be original is clearly there, but the rest of the release doesn’t show it.
TRIDENT BISCAY AUTOMATIC
Technical specs (42mm, black dial, Bader bracelet):
Case: stainless steel, 42mm, 11.4mm thick, 49.3mm lug-to-lug, 67g (157g with strap)
Movement: Sellita SW300-1, COSC-certified chronometer, 28,800 vph, 25 jewels, 50-56hr power reserve, -4/+6 sec/day
Water resistance: 200m (20 ATM), screw-down crown and caseback
Crystal: anti-reflective box sapphire
Bezel: unidirectional anodized aluminum, 250 HV hardness
Dial: matte black, applied Arabic numerals at 3/6/9/12, Super-LumiNova X1 BL lume
Strap: 22mm, Bader bracelet with iLink tool-free adjustment (also available on Consort bracelet, hybrid rubber, or leather)
Price: $2,095 as configured; other Automatic configs run $1,870-$2,150
As far as the design goes, the only difference from the Tudor Black Bay is the numerical indices at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock. Otherwise the design is the same: the bezel color, the patina-colored indices, the bracelets.
So this blog isn’t just bashing these releases the whole time, I will say a few nice things about the watch. It is COSC-certified, meaning the movement has an accuracy of -4/+6 sec p/day. The most striking thing is the price. The Tudor Black Bay costs more than double what the Christopher Ward. So if you really like the Black Bay but don’t want to pay the premium, this may be a worthy alternative.
TRIDENT BISCAY GMT
Technical specs (39mm, black/red dial, Consort bracelet):
Case: stainless steel, 39mm, 12mm thick, 46.3mm lug-to-lug, 61g (131g with strap)
Movement: Sellita SW330-2 GMT, COSC-certified chronometer, 28,800 vph, 25 jewels, 50-56hr power reserve, -4/+6 sec/day, caller-GMT function, date window at 6
Water resistance: 200m (20 ATM)
Bezel: bidirectional two-tone anodized aluminum, 250 HV hardness
Dial: matte black with red accents, applied numerals, X1 BL lume-filled indices
Strap: 20mm, Consort bracelet (5-link) with iLink tool-free adjustment (also available on Bader bracelet, hybrid rubber, Cordura, or leather)
Price: $2,275 as configured; other GMT configs run $1,995-$2,220
The new black and red dialed GMT is the spitting image of the Tudor Black Bay 58 GMT. The bezel, dial, and indices all have the same colors as the Tudor. What I find comical is that CW specifically released the GMT version with a 5-link bracelet option, which makes me think CW knew they were making watches that looked exactly like the Black Bay, and they did it on purpose to directly compete with Tudor. I say this because just a few months ago Tudor released the “coke” bezel Black Bay 58 GMT on a 5-link bracelet at Watches & Wonders.
I think CW’s underlying market strategy is “we can make the same-looking watch but way cheaper,” and yes, they can, but did they have to make it so similar? If it was just a slightly different shade of red or different colored indices, or if only one watch looked like the Black Bay rather than three, maybe I’d find this collection more appealing, but when I look at this new release I question the creativity and integrity of Christopher Ward. I genuinely think Christopher Ward saw how popular the Black Bay is, and they wanted to chip into that revenue.
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