Three Christopher Ward watches for a modern 007

James Bond has worn Rolex, Seiko and, since 1995, Omega. All great watches, all Swiss or Japanese. But Bond is the most British character in cinema: a Royal Navy commander, working for the Secret Intelligence Service, ordering his drinks in a very particular way. So here is our question for this episode of Recast: what if 007 wore a British watch?

Our answer is Christopher Ward, and we built Bond a complete three-watch collection from its catalogue: one diver, one everyday watch and one dress watch.

Why Christopher Ward

Christopher Ward was founded in England in 2004 by Christopher Ward, Mike France and Peter Ellis. The brand designs its watches in Maidenhead, near London, and makes them in Switzerland; in 2014 it merged with its Swiss manufacturing partner and unveiled its own in-house movement, the SH21. It sells mainly direct to customers, which is why its prices sit well below those of the traditional Swiss brands.

British design, Swiss manufacturing, a career built abroad: it is not a bad description of Bond himself. You can browse the full catalogue on Christopher Ward’s website.

This is an editorial pick, not a sponsored one: Cult & Crown has no commercial relationship with Christopher Ward.

1. The diver: C60 Trident Pro 300

Every Bond needs a dive watch. Sean Connery wore a Submariner, Brosnan and Craig wore the Seamaster, and Bond is, after all, a naval officer. Our choice is the Christopher Ward C60 Trident Pro 300, the brand’s best-known diver.

Why it suits Bond: it is a real tool, with 300m water resistance and a ceramic unidirectional bezel, and it comes in 38, 40 and 42mm, so it fits any wrist. In blue, it is also a quiet tribute to the blue Seamasters of the Brosnan and Craig years, without copying them.

Specifications: according to Hour Striker’s 2024 review, the 42mm version measures 11.7mm thick and 49.2mm lug to lug, with an automatic Sellita SW200-1 movement and Super-LumiNova on the hands, markers and bezel. The version in our photo carries “Chronometer” on the dial, a sign of the latest, more accurate generation.

2. The everyday watch: C63 Sealander Automatic

Bond spends most of his time travelling, not diving. He needs a watch that works with a suit at the airport, a polo on a boat and a jacket in the mountains. That is exactly the brief of the Christopher Ward C63 Sealander, whose name says it all: at home on sea and land.

Why it suits Bond: Ian Fleming’s Bond is a man who does not want to be noticed. A black dial, clean steel case and no superfluous details make the Sealander the most discreet watch of the three, the one you wear without thinking about it.

Specifications: according to WristReview, the 2026 Sealander Automatic comes in 36mm and 39mm, with 150m water resistance and a Sellita SW200-2 Power+ movement with a 65-hour power reserve. Prices range from about €1,125 to €1,390, depending on version and bracelet. For Bond, we would take the 39mm in black.

3. The dress watch: C1 Moonglow

Black tie, a casino, a long night. For Bond’s evenings we chose the most theatrical watch in the collection: the Christopher Ward C1 Moonglow.

Why it suits Bond: most dress watches are about restraint. The Moonglow is about atmosphere: a black dial full of stars, two oversized moons and a date ring around the edge. It is elegant, but it has a secret, and Bond has always liked gadgets.

Specifications: according to Christopher Ward, the Moonglow has a 40.5mm case, an automatic Sellita SW220-1 movement with the brand’s JJ04 moonphase module and a 38-hour power reserve. The moons and the date ring are treated with Super-LumiNova. On Christopher Ward’s US website it is listed at $3,050.

What you can learn from this watch: how a moonphase works

The Moonglow is also a good excuse to understand one of the oldest complications in watchmaking. The Moon takes about 29.5 days to go from one new moon to the next. A moonphase watch shows where we are in that cycle.

Most moonphases use a disc with two moons printed on it, visible through a small window: the disc turns a little every day, and the moon slowly “fills” and “empties” behind the curved edges of the window. Because 29.5 days do not divide neatly, simple mechanisms drift by about a day every few years and need to be corrected.

The Moonglow takes the same idea and turns it into a show: instead of a small window, the two moons rotate around the dial, and the shaded areas reveal the phase. According to Christopher Ward, the JJ04 module is accurate enough to track the real moon for 128 years before needing a one-day correction. For a spy who often works at night, there are worse ways to tell what the sky looks like.

Bond’s Christopher Ward collection at a glance

Role	Watch	Size	Why
Diver	C60 Trident Pro 300	38, 40 or 42mm	300m, ceramic bezel, a nod to the Seamaster
Everyday	C63 Sealander Automatic	36 or 39mm	Discreet, 150m, 65-hour power reserve
Dress	C1 Moonglow	40.5mm	Twin luminous moons for black tie

Why this collection works

Three watches, three sides of Bond: the naval officer, the traveller and the man in the dinner jacket. All from a British brand, all built in Switzerland, and together still cheaper than many single watches Bond has worn on screen.

Explore the full range on Christopher Ward’s website, and if you want the real watches of the films, read our guide to every Omega worn by Daniel Craig’s James Bond. For more episodes, browse our Recast section.