Watches Rated In-Depth Review - Christopher Ward Bel Canto (Video)

Check out the full review at our blog, with pictures and a full break-down of the score this watch received: www.watchesrated.com/post/in-depth-review-christopher-ward-bel-canto-2024

Introduction:
By now, you probably have heard about Christopher Ward’s most recent masterpiece: the Bel Canto. Busting onto the scene in late 2022, the Bel Canto quickly became a sensation in the watch world, offering one of the most affordable chiming watches on the market. Coming in at under $3,600, the Bel Canto proved that good watchmaking isn’t just a race to the stratosphere by watchmakers making a handful of watches reserved for ultra-high net worth collectors. Christopher Ward proved that a scrappy watchmaker, with less than 20 years of history, could compete with the big boys and create a quality watch that stunned the watch community.

The watch’s proportions are nearly perfect: the watch’s case is 41mm in diameter and just 13mm thick and is made out of incredibly light Grade 5 titanium. The watch’s case exudes understated class, but the dial and its various polished and sandblasted details really steals the show.

The chiming mechanism taking up the bottom half of the dial is clearly the show-stopper. The Bel Canto is a chiming watch, more specifically a sonnerie au passage, which audibly chimes once at each passing hour. The mechanism to accomplish this impressive feat consists of an in-house module with 50+ components (all of which sits on top of a Sellita SW200 movement). For reference, similar chiming models from other watchmakers (such as Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe or Omega) regularly cost five- or six-figures and are in very limited production.

Overall Score: 83.5/100

Grading Criteria:

1. Design – 22.5/25 pts
a. Case (size, shape, construction, angles, finishing) – 4.5/5pts
b. Dial (color, pattern, indices, hands, chapter ring) – 5/5 pts
c. Strap/bracelet (material, comfort, finishing, clasp) – 4.5/5 pts
d. Bezel (indices, rotation action, scale) – 3.5/5pts
e. Originality (design cues, homage, re-issue, re-design) – 5/5 pts

2. Construction – 20.5/25 pts
a. Overall Quality (case, dial, hands, finishing) – 5/5 pts
b. Materials (type of metal, rare metals, finishing technique) – 4/5 pts
c. Resistances (water, magnetism, shock) – 3/5pts
d. Ancillaries (lugs, crown, pushers and other extremities)– 4.5/5 pts
e. Bracelet/clasp (link type, integration with case, clasp mechanism) – 4/5 pts

3. Movement – 19.5/25 pts
a. Origin of Movement (Swiss, sourced, in-house, design) – 4.5/5pts
b. Complication(s) (design, usefulness, integration, operation) – 4.5/5 pts
c. Accuracy (overall +/-, positions, variance) – 3.5/5 pts
d. Power Reserve (length, indicator, variance) – 3.5/5 pts
e. Finishing/Design (decoration, finishing, architecture, rotor) – 3.5/5 pts

4. Other Factors – 21/25 pts
a. Price (Value) (MSRP, secondary (new), secondary (used), value proposition) – 5/5pts
b. Quality Control (Finishing, dial cleanliness, mechanical, known issues) – 4/5 pts
c. Certifications (COSC, METAS, manufacturer) – 2/5 pts
d. Warranty (limitations, extensions, service) – 5/5 pts
e. Presentation (box, certificates, ancillary items) – 5/5 pts