Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto Lumiere Review

Since the very beginning of Hourstriker two brands have constantly been overly supportive of the site, one being Ulysse Nardin and the other being Christopher Ward. Even though we had been in the watch industry for two decades, we didn't have any contacts at brands since we solely focused on the secondary market. So it blew my mind when both of those brands agreed to send us watches to review after a few brief correspondences.

In the case of Christopher Ward, over the past two years we've had access to pretty much every important release from the brand. None being as talked about and important as the Bel Canto. The Bel Canto was released in late 2022 and announced Christopher Ward's shift from being merely a microband to becoming a full blown independent watch manufacture capable of producing highly complicated in-house timepieces.



Soon after the Bel Canto released, Christopher Ward sent us one to review and while I was blown away by the design and mechanics of the watch, it just didn't resonate with me. I think the fact that the version we first reviewed was on a bracelet, which I typically don't prefer, and also had a very pale blue dial kind of ruined the Bel Canto for me personally. In the time that followed, I have seen pictures and videos of various Bel Cantos with very colorful dials and on straps that seemed far more interesting to me. Then just recently, Christopher Ward released a completely out there version of the Bel Canto that ticked all the boxes of weird design characteristics I love in a watch and I instantly asked if the brand could send me one to review. Luckily Christopher Ward agreed and now I'm sitting here with the ultimate Bel Canto in my opinion.

Before we get into the newest Bel Canto, let's first go over a brief history of Christopher Ward. I think by this point I've gone over the founding of the brand as well as notable releases enough, so I'll try to keep this version rather short for those who have already read the story a few times. If you'd like a longer version of the brand's history you can find it at the beginning of our review of the C60 Trident Reef.



Christopher Ward was founded by three friends: Mike France, Peter Ellis and Chris Ward. During a boat ride down the River Thames in 2004, the trio decided to direct their combined talents into creating a watch brand. France and Ellis had just sold their very successful ethical toy company and Ward was also looking for something new to pursue professionally.

The idea of starting a watch brand was concreted when through a friend connected to the watch industry, they found out that the luxury watch market sometimes operated on as much as a 34 times markup from production costs. The friends wholeheartedly believed that even at an extremely low markup of 3 times, that their watch company would be more than profitable enough.

To keep costs low, the brand would operate differently than how most established watch brands did. First they would sell direct to consumers, thus cutting out retailers and distributors that would each need to take a percentage of profit, which would raise prices. The brand would also avoid having boutiques and exclusively sell online, again cutting costs. Finally, celebrity endorsements would not be used, which was extremely common with luxury watch brands.



As for the name of the brand, Christopher Ward was picked, because of the three friends' names; Chris' name sounded the most English. In 2005, operating out of a converted chicken shack, Christopher Ward launched its first two watches, the C5 Malvern Automatic and the C3 Malvern Chronograph. The watches initially didn't sell well and were met with extreme skepticism based on their low prices and high specs. A well known member of the watch community on Timezone.com, Dave Malone, ended up buying a watch with the intent of destroying it through a scathing review. What ended up happening was the exactly opposite. Malone was genuinely blown away with the quality of the Christopher Ward watch he received and his glowing review ended up building the first real momentum for Christopher Ward.

In 2008 Christopher Ward began their partnership with Synergies Horlogeres to produce custom calibers and modules for the brand. Leading the charge was master watchmaker Johannes Jahnke, who was instrumental in developing the "JJ Calibres" which were modified ETA calibers which accepted modules such as Jumping Hours and Worldtimers. The culmination of the relationship between Christopher Ward and Synergies Horlogeres came to a head in 2014 with the release of the Calibre SH21, which was the first production ready mechanical movement from a British brand in 50 years. Not only that, but the movement was expertly finished and boasted 120 hours of power reserve. 2014 also marked the formal merger of Christopher Ward and Synergies Horlogeres, now allowing the brand to truly create their own in-house movements.

Since this merger, Christopher Ward has continued to offer affordable time only watches that punch way above their weight class, but they have also moved on to a "high horology at obtainable price tags" mantra as well. Following the release of the SH21, Christopher Ward would go on to release the Bel Canto in 2022, a skeletonized integrated sports watch featuring the SH21 called the Twelve X in 2024 and most recently the C12 Loco was released in 2025, which showcased a free-sprung balance wheel on the dial.





Initial Thoughts

Through all of these impressive releases, the Bel Canto is still looked at as being the crowning achievement for Christopher Ward. The version of the Bel Canto we are going to be looking at today has received the brand's Lumiere treatment. The first watch to be branded a Lumiere by Christopher Ward was their C60 Trident Lumiere, which is a titanium cased dive watch that features solid blocks of luminous material on the dial. While the Trident Lumiere put on quite the lightshow, Christopher Ward stepped it up a few levels when it came to the Bel Canto Lumiere.

The Bel Canto Lumiere shares the same titanium case and movement as the Bel Cantos that have come before it, but really makes a name for itself with its usage of lume. Perhaps the most subtle use of lume on the Bel Canto Lumiere is on its white rubber strap which uses infused Super-Luminova on its sides and back. The dial gets its time telling ring fully crafted out of Globolight as well as the tips of the hour and minute hands made out of the same block lume. Christopher Ward then coats the rest of the sunray patterned dial in two different shades of Super-Luminova. The effect is near mind blowing and some of the best usage of lume that I have seen in recent memory.



When the Bel Canto Lumiere arrived, the first thing I noticed about the watch was its extremely bright teal dial, which Christopher Ward refers to as "neon". The neon colored dial, even in the daylight, is just something else to witness. While I felt the first Bel Canto we reviewed fell a bit flat because of the pale blue dial, the neon dial on the other hand really elevates the look of the watch to match the incredible complication living underneath. Of course when the lights go out, the watch truly comes to life.

Right away the second thing I noticed about the Bel Canto Lumiere during my initial time with the watch was the exceptional lume. Soon after I unboxed the Bel Canto Lumiere, I took the watch to a dark room with a UV flashlight. I was shocked with just how bright the dial and strap were when fully charged. The only watch I've seen recently with such a lume presence is my Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 500 Fathoms, which has lume you can see glowing in full sunlight. The lume of the sunray pattern on the dial and the strap match each other perfectly in blue and the halo of the time telling ring and the hour and minute hands glow a strong contrasting green.

The last thing I took note of during my first few moments with this new Bel Canto was the chiming hourstriker complication. I've always been a fan of chiming watches, be it minute or quarter repeaters and hourstrikers, so much so we even named our site after the complication. While the Bel Canto might not be as complicated as a repeater or even the Hourstriker from Ulysse Nardin, which chimes out the full hour count, it does cost a fraction of a fraction of what those watches cost. On each hour, or on demand, the Bel Canto will fire its "songbird" striking mechanism which chimes an ultra clear D note ding. Honestly I love just having the Bel Canto on my desk and hearing it chime each hour, which actually gives me a better perception to the passing of time throughout the day.





A Closer Look

Now that we've gone over a brief history of Christopher Ward as well as my initial impressions of the Bel Canto Lumiere, let's now take a closer look at the technical specifications of the watch. The Bel Canto Lumiere is crafted out of grade 5 titanium and has a case diameter of 41.8 mm with a lug to lug length of 47.7 mm. The watch weighs 72 grams on the rubber strap and titanium deployant clasp and at its thickest point is 14 mm tall.

The Bel Canto Lumiere uses the famed Light Catcher case from Christopher Ward. The Light Catcher was inspired by the lines of the Aston Martin DB9 and makes the case appear slimmer on the wrist due to the complex geometries of the mid-case which gives the watch a "waist" as opposed to being slab-sided. The Light Catcher cases also uses an expertly done mixture of polished and brushed surfaces which reflect light differently and makes the case seem visually interesting instead of being static. This Light Catcher case is one of those rare instances where you can tell the brand of a watch purely by the case design.

To further highlight the stunning dial found on the Bel Canto Lumiere, Christopher Ward has fitted the watch with an extremely impressive box sapphire crystal which has an anti-reflective treatment applied to it. On traditional watches, you look down on the dial through the crystal, but in the case of the Bel Canto Lumiere, you can actually get a nearly level view of the dial through the sides of the sapphire crystal. This gives you not only a perfect view of the neon dial and Globolight lume, but also of the chiming elements of the watch.



Through the crystal clear sapphire you notice the neon teal colored dial first. Starting from 12 o'clock and radiating through the entire dial is the well defined sunray pattern done in alternating hues of Super-Luminova which glow blue in low light. This pattern really draws your eye to the center time telling ring found right below 12. The time telling ring is crafted out of Globolight block lume that appears teal in normal lighting and glows a bright green in low light. Interestingly and understandably, there are no hour or minute markers on this time telling ring, so telling and setting the time can be a bit of an estimation.

The hour and minute hands are skeletonized and have a satin finish with polished edges. The large tips of the hands are covered by matching Glogolight block lume to what is found on the time telling ring. The time telling ring and hands are mounted on a specialized bridge that spans the upper section of the dial. The way the hands and time telling ring are mounted give them the appearance of floating over the dial. Underneath the hour and minute hands you can clearly see the transfer gears as well, giving the watch a somewhat skeleton design.

Of course the most important part of the Bel Canto's movement can be seen dial side as well, which are the components that make up the chiming mechanism. Around the perimeter of the dial is the gong, which is a thin polished u-shaped steel wire which when struck by the hammer produces the precise note of D. The hammer is located at around 8 o'clock on the dial and is what performs the striking action against the gong. Finally the beak is located at around 4 o'clock which acts as the on / off switch for the striking mechanism. There is also a small indication near the beak that indicates if the Bel Canto is set to strike or is on silent. Like the Light Catcher case, all of the striking components are done in a mixture of finishes between being satin and polished. The Bel Canto is such an iconic design, that no branding is found dial side, even having a lack of the Christopher Ward Twin Flag logo.



Moving on from the dial is the Light Catcher case that we spoke about earlier. Looking at the profile of the case you can see that the lugs have a great curve to follow the shape of your wrist. While the Bel Canto isn't exactly a slim watch, the Light Catcher case does an amazing job of making the watch seem a lot svelter than it actually is. Instead of having flat sides, the Bel Canto's Light Catcher case has a mid case that protrudes giving the watch a slimmer defined "body". Also the use of a tall box sapphire makes the actual metal case not that tall. The sapphire does take up a good percentage of the height of the Bel Canto, but in exchange also gives you a great uninterrupted view of the dial.

All of the flat major surfaces of the Bel Canto have a brushed finish to them. Christopher Ward then accentuates the edges of the case by finishing them to a high polish. This difference in finishing also helps add more visual interest to the Light Catcher case with how light reflects differently off of the different finishes and angles. Basically the case was named after how light interacts with the different surfaces.

The right hand side of the Bel Canto Lumiere's case features a non-screwed down crown at 2 o'clock and a pusher at 4 o'clock. With a push pull crown, the Bel Canto only offers 30 meters of water resistance, which is fine for a chiming watch, but having the ability to swim with the Bel Canto would have been nice. In the resting position, the crown allows you to manually wind the automatic movement. Pulling the crown out to its only other position allows you to set the time. Pushing the crown back in causes no jump in the minute hand either. The crown is also nicely scalloped and provides great grip. Christopher Ward's twin flag logo is found on top of the crown and is the only visible area of the watch head while being worn that has any branding.



The pusher found at 4 o'clock is used to arm the chiming mechanism on the Bel Canto Lumiere. Pressing the pusher will move the beak up or down to signal if the chime will go off on the hour or be silent. The up position pointing to the waveform means the chime will sound, if the beak is pointing downwards to the flat line, the chime will not sound. This pusher can also be used to manually fire the chime if you just want to hear it as well.

Flipping the watch over shows off the solid grade 5 titanium caseback that is held in place with four screws. Around the outside of the caseback important details of the watch are engraved. There is a large central engraving on the caseback of concentric rings that mimic the acoustic waves produced by the chime. A solid caseback was used by Christopher Ward to further enhance the sound produced by the chime with the titanium caseback acting as a resonance chamber.

Beating underneath the solid caseback is the Swiss made Sellita SW200-1 featuring the in-house FS01 module. The FS01 was developed by Christopher Ward's technical director, Frank Stelzer, who adapted the earlier JJ01 Jumping Hour module to be used as a hourstriker. The modification of the jump hour module to chime was an ingenious adaptation and is what really set the Bel Canto apart and allowed it to become an obtainable chiming watch.



The SW200-1 beats away at 28,800 vph (4Hz) and has a power reserve of 38 hours, which is a bit low in today's market of common 50 plus hour power reserves. The movement is quoted as having an accuracy of +/- 20 seconds per day, but we've always seen these movements from Sellita test far more accurately. On our timegrapher the SW200-1 inside of the Bel Canto Lumiere showed an average accuracy of +2 seconds per day when averaged out over several positions. This is extremely accurate and also well within chronometer specifications.

The Christopher Ward Bel Canto Lumiere has a rather standard lug width of 22 mm, meaning the watch can accept a huge variety of aftermarket straps. By default the watch comes equipped on a white Aquaflex rubber strap that has been infused with Super-LumiNova. The top of the strap does not glow and has a Clous de Paris pattern on it. The sides and back of the strap glow a brilliant blue to match the non-timing elements of the dial. The strap is extremely supple and required zero break in time to be overly comfortable. Each side of the strap also receives a quick release spring bar to make tool less strap changes a breeze. The strap tapers down to 16 mm at the titanium deployant clasp that is brushed and features the Christopher Ward twin flag logo. The deployant clasp features twin pushers that need to be depressed to release the clasp. When sizing the strap is held in place with a pin and two sets of retainers.



On The Wrist

The Bel Canto Lumiere wears like a dream on the wrist. While the 47.7 mm lug to lug length is a bit shorter than my preferred 50 mm measurement, the watch has a ton of presence on the wrist with its large box sapphire crystal and brash neon colored dial. I typically consider a watch the size of the Bel Canto as being lightweight if it has a combined weight with the strap and clasp being less than 100 grams. With the Bel Canto Lumiere only weighing in at 72 grams, it's a true featherweight.



Even on the longest wearing days of eight plus hours, the Bel Canto Lumiere never became a chore on the wrist or caused even a hint of wrist fatigue. The watch truly disappeared on wrist and was only there when I wanted to check the time or take a look at the watch. The Bel Canto did let itself be known when it would chime on the hour though. For the most part the chime can be heard when not paying attention and listening for it. In louder situations it will be drowned out though, such as a very loud restaurant.

I wore the Bel Canto Lumiere out on boring everyday errands and the watch was a perfect wrist companion. The Bel Canto Lumiere also went rather well with my everyday dress of a black t-shirt, shorts and sneakers. The mostly teal and white aesthetic of the Lumiere didn't clash with my laid back style of dress at all. I feel the watch might be a bit too casual of a design to really fit in with more formal dress and occasions. While changing the strap might help a bit, the dial will always be a bit loud. Christopher Ward offers much more subtle versions of the original Bel Canto and Bel Canto Classic if a more formal everyday piece is needed.

To test the legibility of a watch we use a simple test where we see how easy it is to tell the time while driving with just a glance. In this test dive watches with their high contrast dials and large markers do the best, while complicated and skeleton watches do the worst since they focus more on design than legibility. I was very concerned with how the Bel Canto Lumiere would do in this test since not only does the watch have a very small time telling area, but also there are no hour markers on the dial. In reality this assumption was confirmed, with the Bel Canto Lumiere being pretty hard to accurately read at a glance. More so, the watch is actually set with more of a guess than an accurate time. If you are looking to have a watch that you know the precise second, or minute, with, this is not your watch. Even with that being the case, the Lumiere was not designed to be the most accurate displayer or time. The Bel Canto Lumiere is a design forward watch and I honestly wouldn't change a thing about it in the hopes of increasing its legibility.



While wearing the Christopher Ward Bel Canto Lumiere out and about doing everyday errands as well as out to dinner and drinks, I noticed that the watch received a ton of attention. The amount of looks and comments I got on the Bel Canto was near the level of what is seen when wearing something crazy like an Ulysse Nardin Freak. With the bright white strap and super unique slightly openworked neon dial, this really didn't surprise me. Most people were just very curious about what the watch was and some even knew of the Bel Canto and were really excited to see one in person. The neon dial and exposed chime components definitely received the most flattering comments. People were also very interested to hear the chime go off. Everyone was pleasantly surprised by the price of the watch as well. With how the Bel Canto Lumiere looks, it could easily be a six figure watch like something from MB&F, which a six figure watch it is not.



Value and Position in the Market

Speaking of price, the Bel Canto Lumiere retails for $4,840. For that price you're getting a stunning and very unique looking watch that also is a true hourstriker. The Bel Canto is also housed in a super lightweight fully titanium case which also helps amplify the sound of the chime. This variant of the Bel Canto takes the design of the watch and moves it into the rarified air of some of the more unique independent high horology pieces from the already mentioned MB&F and URWERK. Now is the time in the review where we take a look at other watches that have a similar design or features to the Bel Canto Lumiere and see how it adds up value wise.



Up first is the Bell Hora from Meistersinger which has a 43 mm stainless steel case. Like the Bel Canto, the Bell Hora is also a hourstriker that chimes on the hour. The Bell Hora is much more classically designed watch and features a unique single hand for time telling. The Bell Hora uses the same SW200 movement from Sellita with a chiming module fitted on to it. The Bell Hora does offer a bit more water resistance than the Bel Canto at 50 meters. The Bell Hora is also a little more expensive than the Bell Canto Lumiere at $5,099 though.

Next up we have the Polaris Mariner Memovox from Jaeger-LeCoultre which has a 42 mm case made out of stainless steel. The Memovox is not a hourstriker, but rather has an audible alarm that you can set. The Memovox is powered by an in-house automatic movement with slightly more power reserve at 45 hours. The Memovox being a member of the Polaris family has a proper diver water resistance of 300 meters. The Memovox is much more expensive than the Bel Canto Lumiere at $22,800.

Moving on is the Legacy Machine 101 EVO from MB&F which has a 40 mm case made out of titanium. While the Legacy Machine isn't a chiming watch, it does have the more out there design that the Bel Canto Lumiere pulls off so well. The Legacy Machine is powered by an in-house hand wound movement with 60 hours of power reserve. The new EVO variant of the Legacy Machine 101 now offers a decent 80 meters of water resistance as well. The Legacy Machine is multiple times more expensive than the Bel Canto Lumiere at around $77,500.



Finally we have the Freak X Gumball 3000 from Ulysse Nardin which has a 43 mm case crafted out of titanium and carbon composite. Like the MB&F, the Freak X is more of an overstatement of design with a unique way of displaying the movement dial side with the flying carousel being used to display the time. The Freak X is powered by an in-house automatic movement with 72 hours of power reserve. The Freak X has a bit more water resistance than the Bel Canto at 50 meters. Also like the Legacy Machine, the Freak X is much more expensive than the Bel Canto at $52,500.

Looking at the above four watches one thing is very clear. With the Bel Canto being a roughly $5,000 chiming watch, there really aren't many watches you can directly compare it to. While the Bell Hora cost roughly the same as the Bel Canto and does a similar job at being a hourstriker, the Bel Canto just leaves it behind when it comes to design. The Memovox offers a useful yet much different sound complication and costs a lot more than the Bel Canto. Finally the Legacy Machine and Freak X don't offer any chiming functions, but do match the Bel Canto Lumiere on design, yet cost multiple times more. That the Bel Canto Lumiere is a true chiming watch and can compete with watches from MB&F and Ulysse Nardin in the design department; this just shows how great of a value the Bel Canto is.



Closing Thoughts

So in the end, is the Christopher Ward Bel Canto Lumiere for me? When the original Bel Canto was launched, I really loved the thought of the watch and couldn't wait to get one in for review. When the watch arrived I was a bit let down, mostly due to it being on a bracelet and having a very subtle pale blue dial. Since then, I've seen much more interesting dial colors on the Bel Canto, but still had this feeling in the back of my mind that the watch wasn't for me. For that reason I never asked to review another Bel Canto. When the Lumiere variant was unveiled, something hit home and I knew we needed to get one in to take a closer look at.



The changes to the dial with its neon color scheme and Globolight lume along with the lumed rubber strap has completely changed my mind on the Bel Canto. I now see the Bel Canto Lumiere as more of a high design future facing timepiece instead of a watch that just chimes the hour. That the Lumiere was able to move the chime to a supporting role to the design really says something. The chime could be removed from this watch and I'd still love it just about as much.

While the lug to lug length is a bit shorter than the typical 50 mm length that I prefer, the Bel Canto Lumiere has an amazing wrist presence that more than makes up for its lack of size. Also an added benefit when combined with the titanium construction means the watch is feather light and can be worn for hours on end in total comfort. The Bel Canto can also easily be worn by both my wife and me due to the case size and now being on a rubber strap. The original Bel Canto on a bracelet meant that the bracelet would need to be resized when the other wanted to wear the watch. The incredible lume and hourstriker complication are really just the cherries on top of an amazing watch. For all of these reasons, the Christopher Ward Bel Canto Lumiere really is a watch for me (us).

So would I then recommend the Bel Canto Lumiere to somebody looking at adding either a chiming watch or a watch with a unique and bold design to their collection? I really would without any hesitation. The one thing I would make sure of is that this isn't their only watch. The Lumiere treatment to the Bel Canto is too loud to be used in both casual and formal settings. If they are set on a Bel Canto and want to use it as a daily wearer, a model from the original release or the classic collection would suit them better. If they are more looking for an occasional fun or weekend watch, I don't think the Lumiere can be beat. You are getting MB&F level styling and a high horology chiming complication for under $5,000. This representation of value cannot be overstated with the Bel Canto Lumiere. The first release of the Bel Canto just having the chiming mechanism made it a huge hit at its low asking price, now adding in such high level design to the package really makes it a homerun.



I'd really like to thank Christopher Ward for sending us the Bel Canto Lumiere to review. Once again it proves just how high quality their watches are. The Lumiere also served as the watch that made me a true fan of the Bel Canto with its unapologetic design and tremendous usage of luminous material. This will be a watch that both my wife and I will sorely miss when we send it back to Christopher Ward following this review.

For more information about the Bel Canto Lumiere please visit : Christopher Ward



Technical Specifications

Reference Number: C01-41APT4-T00V0-RW

Retail Price: $4,840

Case Size: 41.8 mm

Lug to Lug: 47.7 mm

Thickness: 14 mm

Weight: 72 grams

Case Material: Grade 5 Titanium

Bezel: Grade 5 Titanium

Strap: White Luminous Aquaflex Rubber Strap with Titanium Deployant Clasp

Movement: Swiss Made Sellita SW200-1 Automatic Movement with an In-House FS01 Module

Functions: Hours, Minutes and Hourstriker

Power Reserve: 38 Hours

Water Resistance: 30 Meters