Introducing: Christopher Ward Overhauls The Sealander Line With Design Refinements And Upgrades

What We Know

The Sealander sits at the core of Christopher Ward’s lineup, serving as its everyday, approachable, price-conscious, do-it-all Swiss-made watch. For those considering a Christopher Ward for the first time and looking for a sport watch with the most bang for the buck, the Sealander GMT or Automatic three-hander has been a logical go-to. It’s also been a major seller, with the 39mm white dial GMT often taking the honors as the top-volume model for the U.K.-based company. So when Christopher Ward embarks on a major overhaul and redesign of the Sealander collection, it’s a significant moment. 

Unveiled today, and on sale beginning tomorrow, the new models bring a slimmer case and upgraded movement for the Automatic, refinements to the case and dial design for both models, a new 42mm size for the GMT, and upgraded, more user-friendly bracelets with tool-free adjustment and link removal.

Starting with the Sealander GMT, the brushed case has been redesigned, giving a more refined, thinner profile and sporty finish, and is available in 36mm, 39mm, and, for the first time, 42mm. The new case offers sharper lugs with distinctly faceted, polished edges. The upgraded, refined finishing further emphasizes the crown guards that remain on the GMT case, adding to the overall rugged appearance. 

The brushed 24-hour fixed bezel with black lacquer-filled numbers is now less angled with a flatter profile to improve legibility while giving the watch more presence across the three case sizes. At 10.9mm thickness vs. 11.15mm previously for the 36mm model and 11.3mm thickness vs. 11.85mm previously for the 39mm GMT, the new case has also notably thinned down, with the new 42mm Sealander GMT case measuring 11.5mm thick. The lugs are spaced at 20mm on the two smaller case sizes, while the new 42mm model has 22mm lugs. The cases wear relatively compact across the board, with a 48.5mm lug-to-lug measurement for the larger GMT model and a 42 mm lug-to-lug distance for the 36mm. 

On the polished-lacquer GMT dials, the minute track has been pared down significantly, dropping the 5-minute marker numbers and color accents, leaving only hash marks. The polished indexes, filled with Super-LumiNova, are longer and more prominent, tapering towards the handset. The lacquered GMT hand has been redesigned to be larger with more presence, and the date wheel is matched to the dial colors on each model. The hour and minute hands have also been redesigned and slightly upsized, while, in perhaps the most important change to the look and feel of the handset, the CW ‘Trident’ on the counterweight side of the seconds hand has been dropped, making for a simpler, straightforward design which also includes the ‘Sealander’ appearing for the first time on the dial, with ‘GMT’ scripted below.

The brand says white and sky blue dials are available across all three sizes, while black is available only in the 39mm and new 42mm models, with pistachio green available only for the 39mm case size. A screw-down, logo-stamped crown controls the functions of the ‘caller’ style GMT. Inside is the Sellita SW330-2, the same automatic movement offered with the previous Sealander GMT models, giving 56 hours of power reserve and an accuracy claim of -5/+12 seconds per day.  

The wearability and practicality of the redesigned, slimmer cases for both the GMT and Automatic Sealander models are getting another boost with a new proprietary bracelet system called ‘iLink’ that allows links to be removed without tools. The new system, for which Christopher Ward has trademarked the name ‘iLink’ in the U.K., eliminates the use of screws or pins in the bracelet construction and features a small push-button on the underside of each removable link that releases the outermost link from its securing pin. This allows additional links to slide out and be removed. Once adjustments are made, the links can be clicked back into place without tools. The company says the new iLink system will be available on both its ‘Bader’ (named for veteran executive Jörg Bader, the CEO of CW’s Swiss company and operations in Biel/Bienne) bracelet and its five-link ‘Consort’ bracelet with micro-adjustment. And another upgrade, the new Bader bracelet clasp with micro-adjustment has been reduced in thickness by 1 mm, which should also improve comfort and wearability. 

The changes to the Sealander Automatic also include a redesigned, more refined, slimmer case, as well as a fresh dial layout, new colors and the new bracelet options. Most significantly, it gets an upgraded movement in Sellita’s new SW200-2 Power+ calibre. One of the first watches to use the new movement, it boosts the power reserve to 65 hours from the SW200-1’s previous 38 hours, marking a major step-up. 

Aesthetic and design changes to the Sealander Automatic include a polished bezel and a screw-down crown, which loses the crown guards from the previous iteration. The case in the 36mm diameter has been reduced in thickness from 11.05mm to 10.6 mm. The lugs offer better finishing and more definition than on the previous iteration, with brushed flanks and polished facets.

The new dial layout on the Automatic continues some of the upgraded design elements found on the Sealander GMT with diamond-polished indexes and a tapered profile replacing the blockier shapes of the original. The handset has been slimmed, and the applied and raised date window at six o’clock gives more presence and balance. Both the hands and indexes are filled with Super-LumiNova, keeping the sport watch functionality despite the refinements. Water resistance is 150 meters, the same as the GMT.

Dial colors include white, black, and sky blue in both 36mm and 39mm sizes. The new pink dial is only on the 36mm version, and the pistachio is only on the 39mm version. 

The Sealander GMT is priced the same for each size and is $1,395 on a ‘Vintage Oak’ leather strap, $1,535 on a new fitted rubber strap, $1,620 on the Bader (3-link) steel bracelet, and $1,675 on the Consort (5-link) steel bracelet. The Sealander Automatic is priced the same for both sizes and starts at $1,150 on a leather strap, $1,290 on the rubber strap, $1,375 on the Bader bracelet, and $1,430 on the Consort bracelet.

The New Sealander collection will be available to purchase from christopherward.com at 8 am BST on April 30th. All models will be in stock and available from launch.

What We Think

These are most certainly welcome upgrades and refinements to the Sealander GMT and Automatic, and they hammer home the value proposition that the model line has long offered Christopher Ward fans.

If there’s a criticism to be leveled here, it’s one that the brand has occasionally heard before. These are excellent design and quality improvements, but the overall look could be called out for not being the most original in form and design. With the new bezel, the GMT’s resemblance to the Explorer II is now even more pronounced, and the Automatic is also leaning more heavily on design cues perfected by the Crown, from case and bezel shape to the new pink, pistachio green, and turquoise dial colors that we’ve certainly seen elsewhere. The brand is more than capable, with breakout hits like the Bel Canto chiming watch, demonstrating its ability to create uniquely original timepieces.

Still, the GMT appears better balanced, more sporty, and robust with improved wearability thanks to the slimmer case size and bracelet upgrades. The new 42mm size option might seem to buck the trend toward smaller watches, but there’s clearly demand from some customers, and we saw Tudor lead the charge with the 43 mm-sized Black Bay 68 last year. 

Following the launches of the C63 Extreme GMT in 2025 and the more recent C63 True GMT with a jumping hour ‘flyer’ GMT movement, Christopher Ward now has most of the GMT travel watch category well covered with options across the spectrum of price and function. For the Automatic, the combination of losing the crown guards, refining the case and dial, adding a polished bezel, and upgrading the movement might just mark an even more significant step-up in value for the model, particularly when paired with the new tool-free sizing convenience of the iLink bracelet.

These new Sealanders aren’t revolutionary, but they do demonstrate Christopher Ward’s continued ability to disrupt the Swiss watch industry with upgrades and improvements to quality, finish, design, and practicality, without upending the outsized value-for-money proposition its watches offer. 

The Basics

Brand: Christopher Ward
Model: Sealander GMT, Sealander Automatic

Diameter: Sealander GMT 36mm/39mm/42mm; Automatic 36mm/39mm
Thickness: GMT 10.9mm/11.3mm/11.5mm; Automatic 10.6mm/10.9mm
Case Material: Stainless steel
Dial Color: GMT White, Sky Blue, Black 39mm and 42mm Pistachio in 39mm only; Automatic White, Black, Sky Blue, Pink in 36mm only, Pistachio in 39mm only
Indexes: Applied
Lume: Super-LumiNova Grade X1 BL C1
Water Resistance: 150 meters
Strap/Bracelet: Leather, rubber strap, Bader 3-link, Consort 5-link bracelets with micro-adjustment and ‘iLink’ tool-free link removal

The Movement

Caliber: GMT – Sellita SW330-2; Automatic – Sellita SW200-2 Power +
Functions: GMT, hours, minutes, seconds, date; Automatic Hours, minutes, seconds, date
Power Reserve: 56 hours, 65 hours
Winding: Self-winding
Frequency: 28,800 (4Hz)
Jewels: 25, 26
Chronometer Certified: No

Pricing & Availability

Price: GMT – $1,395  leather strap, $1,535  rubber strap,  $1,620 on the Bader steel bracelet, and $1,675 on the Consort steel bracelet; Automatic – $1,150 on leather strap, $1,290 on rubber strap, $1,375 on Bader bracelet, and $1,430 on Consort bracelet.
Availability: April 30th
Limited Edition: No

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