Christopher Ward C65 Aquitaine Bronze COSC Online

None more handsome, none more unique

Ah, bronze. The hottest, most distinctive and – yes – most divisive case material in the horological sphere. It might not be for everyone, but for the many of us it speaks to, nothing else is quite so characterful – or quite so alive. A warm, tough, subtly luxurious alloy, it’s also special in that, given time and proximity, it becomes part of you and your life story, its surface gaining a unique, protective patination. Sure, you could polish this off and return your watch to its box-fresh dull gleam – but why would you? With bronze, the surface flaws it gains are sort of the point.

This, along with its lengthy and distinguished history as metal-of-choice for ships’ fittings, makes bronze perfectly suited to dive watches, and to retro dive watches in particular.

Few look as good in the metal, however, as the C65 Aquitaine Bronze. Part of it’s to do with the colour scheme, the Marine Blue of the dial and bezel pairing beautifully with this richest and most charismatic of case materials. Look closer, though, and you’ll see it’s actually the pleasing rough-smooth contrast between the ever-changing bronze case and Aquitaine’s shiny, sophisticated elements that make this such a pleasing piece: from the sunray dial to the sharply angled indices to the polished elements on the Light-Catcher case, the Aquitaine Bronze is awash with such precise, lustrous details.

And then there’s the domed sapphire inset to the bezel, which constantly catches the light in the most enjoyable of ways. Combined with the tactile qualities of bronze, it all makes Aquitaine Bronze one of the most fascinating watches we’ve ever offered, one to simply look at, touch, and enjoy.

This tactile quality even extends to the new vintage oak straps, almost suede-like in their softness. And if leather’s not for you, there’s a range of alternative options, including canvas webbing and blue rubber. A tool-free strap-swap system makes switching between them easier than ever.

Aquitaine Bronze is also the only chronometer in the launch line-up, using the COSC version of Sellita’s SW200-1. Not just a pretty face, then – though, of course, it is that too. Indeed, it’s because it’s already more jewellery-like than other retro divers that Aquitaine pairs so well with rough-and-ready bronze. They go together like Lady and the Tramp.

Christopher Ward donates five percent of the sales value of every C65 Aquitaine sold to Blue Marine Foundation, a charity working to protect our oceans and addressing the issue of overfishing. Over the next few years, we aim to raise over half a million pounds for Blue Marine.

Sellita SW200-1 COSC Automatic

Robust, reliable, easy to fix, and officially designated a ‘chronometer’ by the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres, this Swiss-made automatic movement offers the very highest standards of timekeeping. If you love mechanical engineering, but value extraordinary precision too, then COSC are the four key letters to look for.

What’s a chronometer? It’s a movement with a certified, independently verified timing tolerance of just -4/+6 seconds per day in a variety of temperatures and positions. Only the top six percent of Swiss-made watches are this accurate.