Christopher Ward C60 Trident Pro 300 C60-42ADA31S0BB0-B0 Review

Christopher Ward really started to gain traction in the watch world right as I was starting to lose my intense interest in watches in the late 2000s. To be honest I wasn’t aware of the brand at that time and I only really started to hear about them in the last few years.

Over those past few years it seems that Christopher Ward has just exploded in popularity and it’s pretty much impossible to not see multiple Christopher Ward watches pop up while scrolling through Instagram. Huge releases like the integrated sports watch series “The Twelve” and the high complication hour chiming “Bel Canto” have cemented Christopher Ward into the minds of even the most serious watch collectors.



The Twelve has brought an integrated sports watch to the masses having a price tag that most collectors can stomach while looking and functioning every part of their counterparts from Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantine. It took me almost 20 years into my watch collecting journey to finally obtain a Royal Oak Offshore, while I could have had a member of The Twelve family right at the beginning if they were around at the time naturally.

The Bel Canto has really brought the world of chiming watches down to earth. I would have never thought that any chiming watch would be in my budget, which to be fair is decent, but it’s nowhere near where chiming watches start. For Christopher Ward to release both of these watches so close to each other, it really makes you think of what they can and will do next.



Christopher Ward did not choose to send me either a Bel Canto or member of The Twelve family to review first though, which I feel was a pretty smart move. There is so much hype with those two series of watches that my opinion of the brand might have been influenced by having one of those show up first.

Alternatively Christopher Ward picked one of their divers to send us first. The watch they chose was the C60 Trident Pro 300, reference number C60-42ADA31S0BB0-B0. I’m no stranger to dive watches, like most watch collectors my journey into watch collecting started with divers. The first two “nice” watches I purchased for myself was an Omega Seamaster 300M GMT and an Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean. Currently in our collection we have the following “divers”: an IWC GST Aquatimer 2000 and my wife has a Rolex Yacht-Master 16622. Although not a true diver, Rolex did intend it to replace the Submariner and its water resistance has been debated. The Yacht-Master is a super similar watch to the Trident Pro, so it’ll be fun to see how “much better” a watch with an original retail more than ten times more is.



The C60 Trident Pro 300 comes in three case diameters 38, 40 and 42 mm. Christopher Ward luckily sent us the 42 mm version. Personally I feel if the watch was any smaller it would have felt too small on my 7.25 inch wrist. With my caliper I measured a 42 mm case diameter, 49.2 mm lug to lug and 11.7 mm thickness. On wrist the watch sat well and was centered once I removed three links from the bracelet.

The case and bracelet are crafted out of stainless steel and have a nice weight to them. I tend to really not wear any watches on a bracelet anymore and also do not look for stainless steel cased watches when buying a personal watch. All of my personal watches are made out of titanium or ceramic and are on either leather or rubber straps, so I was a little concerned about the weight of the Trident Pro. With three links removed, the watch weighed 157 grams on our scale. The first few times wearing the watch, I really didn’t notice the weight, but after wearing the watch all day it did start to feel a bit heavy. This is a personal issue, I read a review just this morning about a titanium Zenith where the reviewer complained that the watch was too lightweight as he preferred a more substantial feeling timepiece. So I guess this argument can go either way. Christopher Ward does also offer the C60 Elite 1000 in titanium if weight is an issue for you.



The dial of the Trident Pro 300 is done in a Deep Blue that matches the blue found on the ceramic bezel nicely. The hour indices, hour and minute hands, tip of the seconds hand as well as the markings on the bezel are treated to a nice amount of Super-Luminova. This makes telling the time a breeze on this diver, in pretty much all conditions. The seconds hand also has a fun trident counter-balance on it. The updated Christopher Ward logo is located at 12 o’clock and the color matched date can be found at 6 o’clock. “Automatic” and “300m|1000ft” text can also be found just above the date window with the “Automatic” text being in an orange that matches the seconds hand as well. This little pop of orange wakes up the dial just a little bit as well, I feel without it the dial might have been a bit too monotone for my liking.

The right side of the case finds the screw-down crown complete with Christopher Ward’s twin flag logo. It’s nice to have a screw-down crown, especially with this being a diver with a 300 meter water resistance. The watch features stop seconds and when unscrewed can be manually wound in its first position. The next position will allow forward setting date and the final position allows you to set the time. The date advances with a nice and satisfying click, while the action of setting the time is nice and firm. Pushing the crown in doesn’t make the minutes hand jump either.

While talking about feel, the Trident Pro 300 comes with a uni-directional rotating bezel with 120 clicks. Moving the bezel requires a little bit of initial effort but has a very secure and rewarding feel and sound while going along all of those 120 clicks. There is zero chance you will incorrectly set or bump the bezel and have the bezel turn, which is super re-assuring for a diver capable of such depths.



Flipping the watch over shows off the Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement. The first thing that catches your eye is the beautifully decorated winding rotor with Christopher Ward text and twin flag logo in repetition, sort of how the dial pattern of The Twelve looks. The SW200-1 is a super reliable movement that runs at 4Hz and has a power reserve of 38 hours. We measured the movement at a solid +5 to +8 seconds a day on our timegrapher.

The last thing we’ll talk about before getting into our experience with the C60 Trident Pro 300 is the bracelet. When the watch arrived it was sized rather large and I needed to remove three links from the bracelet. With my wrist being 7.25”, the extra 3 links would have allowed a much larger wrist than mine to wear the watch without the need for extra links to be ordered from Christopher Ward. Just using a set of jeweler’s screwdrivers, I was easily able to remove the screwed links and size the watch to my wrist. The watch also has a quick change strap system, which would make swapping the watch over to a rubber strap a snap not needing any tools.

The bracelet doesn’t feature a diver’s extension, but does have an easy to use micro-adjustment feature. There is a tab underneath the clasp that when pushed in allows the clasp to expand or contract up to about a full link. The system also allows very fine adjustments, since there isn’t a catch, the link just slides to where you wish to stop it. I love this feature, and with most watches I’ve had experience with that come on a bracelet being older watches, haven’t really had the pleasure of using before. That might be one of the reasons I don’t like watches on bracelets, since a lot of times the watch is just too big or too small. With the extreme Texas temperatures, it can be very unpleasant to be wearing a tight bracelet in 100+ degree weather when your wrist swells up.



The C60 Trident Pro 300 showed up at a great time to be reviewed, since we had it in our possession while we went for a quick weekend trip to a resort in San Antonio. I knew we would be in the extremely large pool / lazy river for extended periods of time and would also be going out for drinks and a nice dinner, so it was a great time to test the duality of the Trident Pro. It was also a great time to test my reservations about the watches weight and being stuck with a bracelet all weekend long.

Before leaving for the weekend I sized the watch so that the micro-extension was all the way in. Being inside an air-conditioned house, the watch fit the tiniest bit loose in this configuration. I was thinking that with the temperatures already in the 80s and the humidity being rather high, I’d want to be able to take out the bracelet as far as possible. On the two hour drive to San Antonio, the watch never really bothered me. I knew the entire time it was on my wrist though. I feel some of my lighter weight watches basically slip my mind when being worn in contrast though.

After checking into the hotel we got ready to meet my sister and her family at the pools. Since we have twin 16 month old daughters, going swimming is more than just relaxing by the pool with a drink. They are extremely active and we’re constantly maneuvering them around and that means our watches go for a workout in the pool.



All told the Trident Pro was in the pool for around 5 or 6 hours, with a good deal of that time being under water or at the water line… many splashes and plunges were thrown its way. I know this is a serious divers watch with 300 meters water resistance, but let’s be honest, most divers watches don’t see more than a few feet of water like it did at the resort’s pools.

After we finished at the pool for the day, I rinsed the watch with fresh water and dried it off. The watch still looked brand new after a day at the pool, with no scratches or more importantly no signs of water ingress. The crystal was spotless and there was no sign of moisture or fogging up. I also never really noticed the watch while in the pool or ever felt that the bracelet needed to be adjusted. It’s nice knowing that the micro-adjustments were there if I needed them though.

It was also nice wearing at diving watch with a retail of just $1,095 around the pool. The divers we personally own are a lot more expensive and would take some of the fun out of being at the pool if being worn, since we would constantly be worried about them getting banged or scratched up or worst case water getting into them. Now I didn’t want to give Christopher Ward back a scratched up watch, but at the same time it wouldn’t be the end of the world if something did go a bit south. I guess besides doing its intended duty of keeping track of dives down to 300 meters, a great divers watch needs to be a tool not just a wrist candy. You could bet the fun of playing with our babies in the pool would have been much less if I was constantly worrying about the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms or Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore diver on my wrist.



Having easily passed the pool test, next up was how would a night out with the C60 Trident Pro 300 be. We were at the resort over Easter and the upcoming Monday the resort was hosting a PGA tournament. This all meant that the resort was packed with people wearing their best both for Easter and for the tournament. A bartender even told us that some of the golfers like Rory Mcllroy were walking around the resort earlier.

It goes without saying that if I had on an AP or Rolex many more people would have been “impressed” by what I was wearing. If that was all that was important to us, then all I’d ever wear would be my Offshore Montoya and my wife would stick with her Yacht-Master, but in truth those are our least worn watches. They’re both amazing and great, but definitely with the AP, it’s not a watch I’m going to wear all the time.



For non-watch people, the Christopher Ward would look like a nice watch and somebody might actually ask you what it is, but as soon as you tell them they’ll lose interest. If a watch isn’t first a Rolex, or second possibly an AP or Richard Mille, most people don’t care…

On the other hand, if a watch nerd was to spot the Christopher Ward, they would probably be very impressed and probably have tons of questions about the watch. I feel Christopher Ward has been gaining so much notoriety in the past years with The Twelve and the Bel Canto, that any chance somebody has to see one of their watches in the metal must be taken.



It’s not as much of a black and white test as water resistance, but having the Trident Pro on while at dinner and having drinks was more than pleasant. Even with the blue coloration, the watch still went perfectly well with my black hoodie, maybe since the dial and bezel are a rather dark blue, it goes with more better than a brighter hue would.

In all the Christopher Ward C60 Trident Pro 300 did an amazing job on the little weekend trip. Funny enough my wife took an IWC Aquatimer IW354805 on the trip and although we both did the same amount of activities and wore the watches the same amount of time, the Christopher Ward was still ticking overnight, while the Aquatimer had to be wound the next morning. I started the IWC the next day by shaking it, so it wasn’t an issue with the rotor, just for some reason the Christopher Ward outlasted it, or maybe had a more fluid winding mechanism.



Now before we get into my final thoughts on the Trident Pro, let’s compare it to my wife’s Rolex Yacht-Master 16622. This is probably the closest watch we have in terms of looks to the Trident Pro. We don’t currently have a modern steel sports Rolex to compare the Trident Pro to, but the Yacht-Master is new enough to give you a general feeling of a modern sports Rolex.

Both watches are stainless steel sport watches on stainless steel bracelets. The Rolex is 40 mm, while the Trident Pro is 42 mm (can be had in 40 mm). The links of the Rolex and Christopher Ward are extremely similar in design and both feature screwed in links. The Trident Pro has a bit wider bracelet than the Yacht-Master and both taper down. The Trident Pro also features the micro-adjustments in the clasp, which newer Rolex’s do have, but this Yacht-Master does not. One thing not seen on newer Rolex sports models is the quick release bracelet that the Christopher Ward does have. The Trident Pro also has a display case back, which is only seen on some of the top end Daytonas, but not on any other Rolex sports models. It’s not a deal breaker, but being able to see the movement is a nice touch.



In hand the Trident Pro feels a little more substantial than the Yacht-Master. Also the bracelet seems a little sturdier than the Yacht-Master as well. Sure the Yacht-Master is nearly 25 years old, but it’s a great and very clean example of what was the pinnacle of Rolex sports watches of the time. The bezel action of the Trident Pro also feels much crisper than the Yacht-Master, this could also be attributed to age, but I feel that’s not the case. How will the bracelet and bezel of the Trident Pro feel in 25 years, who knows it’s impossible to tell.

All things being equal, is the Yacht-Master worth ten times more than the Trident Pro? If you’re just talking about the watch in terms of being a watch, no, not at all. Sure the Yacht-Master has 10 more hours of power reserve and an in-house (all be it mass produced) movement. It does also have a platinum bezel and dial, but neither of those adds substantial value. The real value in the Yacht-Master comes down to its name, Rolex. Rolex is probably one of the best known brands of any product period and its watches will hold their value and prestige until the end of time.

I guess that’s where we end up with this review. If you’re looking for a great everyday divers watch at an unbeatable price, the Christopher Ward C60 Trident Pro 300 has you covered. Not only does it perform excellent in the water, but it also looks the part of being a tool watch with its brushed stainless steel case. On the other had it has just enough polishing and a regal blue dial to also allow it to be dressed up. Besides not having a divers extension and an in-house caliber, there really isn’t anything we can fault on the Trident Pro.



Now if you’re looking for a watch that will impress people on name alone, Christopher Ward isn’t there just yet. As mentioned earlier, watch enthusiasts will know the name and more than likely be very interested to look at the watch closer and see what all the fuss is about. Laypeople will not bat an eye though, but they probably also wouldn’t think anything of a $100,000 watch if the name wasn’t Rolex, AP or Richard Mille.

Would I recommend the C60 Trident Pro 300 to somebody as a good everyday divers watch? Absolutely, if they wanted a great looking tool watch that does exactly what it’s intended for. Personally, I’d probably prefer it on a rubber strap, and I’d also probably spend an extra few hundred dollars and go for the C60 Elite 1000 in titanium. Once again just my preference for titanium cases and straps over bracelets.

Hopefully Christopher Ward will send me one of The Twelves or a Bel Canto next to review. I’d personally just love to see how a larger titanium Twelve stacks up to my titanium Offshore Montoya and also hear and play with a Bel Canto.

For more information about the C60 Trident Pro 300 please visit : Christopher Ward

Technical Specifications

Reference Number: C60-42ADA31S0BB0-B0

Retail Price: $1,095

Case Size: 42mm

Thickness: 11.7 mm

Weight: 157 Grams (Three Links Removed)

Case Material: Stainless Steel

Bezel: Ceramic

Strap: Stainless Steel with micro-adjustments

Movement: Automatic Sellita SW200-1

Functions: Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Date

Power Reserve: 38 Hours

Water Resistance: 300 Meters