Introducing: Christopher Ward Goes All Out On Lume With The C1 Bel Canto Lumière

What We Know

This week, Christopher Ward reveals perhaps its most modern take on its runaway hit watch, with the C1 Bel Canto Lumière. This one’s surely for the watch nerds – after all, it’s a Bel Canto, just with all the lume. As with all past editions, the Bel Canto’s sonnerie mechanism is front and (lower) center on the dial, showing off the custom FS01 chiming module that has made the design so successful. Loosely designed in the shape of a bird, with the beak acting as the on/off indicator for the hourly chime, its tail slowly rises during the course of the hour, releasing and hitting the gongs at the start of the next.

What is totally new on the Bel Canto Lumière is the approach to the dial. Subtle it is not, with a healthy application of lume all throughout, even down the strap. The top time-telling dial on the Lumière features high contrast, with the darkness of a smoked sapphire disc topped by a three-dimensional blue Globolight ring, as well as Globolight tips on the brushed and skeletonized hands. 

Underneath this disc is the base dial plate, which we’ve typically seen in all arrays of sunray brushing and guilloché. This time around, Christopher Ward opts for a vivid sunray-brushed dial to match the blue of the Globolight, but prints broad lines of faint blue Super-LumiNova set in a radiant sunray pattern. For just a bit more visual interest in the dark, the inner sector ring of the printed Super-LumiNova emits green while everything else radiates blue.

It’s all set in a 41mm grade 5 titanium case, measuring 13.65mm thick and 48mm lug-to-lug, housing the FS01 caliber with a Sellita SW200-1 base and the proprietary chiming module on top. Just when you thought we were done with lume, Christopher Ward says, “But wait! There’s more!” and gives the white rubber strap an infusion of Super-LumiNova as well. While you can order the Bel Canto Lumière with a three-link or five-link bracelet, wanting all the lume means going with the strap variant.

The Christopher Ward Bel Canto Lumière is available now, priced at $4,910 on the Aquaflex Lume rubber strap, $5,205 on the three-link Bader bracelet, and $5,290 on the five-link Consort bracelet.

What We Think

Christopher Ward certainly hasn’t been shy about the sheer number of Bel Canto designs it has brought out in the few years since the watch’s introduction in 2022, not only through its standard editions but also through many of the custom orders it has offered to watch collector groups. And though some might take issue with how many editions have come out, I’m very happy to see it. Is the Lumière universally appealing? 

Definitely not. But at the same time, I do think it commits well to an ultra-modern aesthetic and has enough unique details to make it all quite compelling, even if the strips of lume on the base dial feel a bit overwhelming at times. I particularly like the smoked sapphire and Globolight execution of the time-telling dial, which makes me interested in seeing how the brand might push the Bel Canto design into sleeker, more minimal versions in the future.

The Basics

Brand: Christopher Ward
Model: C1 Bel Canto Lumière
Diameter: 41mm
Thickness: 13.65mm
Case Material: Grade 5 titanium
Dial Color: Blue
Indexes: No
Lume: A lot
Water Resistance: 30 meters
Strap/Bracelet: Aquaflex Lume rubber strap or three-link/five-link bracelet options

The Movement

Caliber: FS01 (Sellita SW200-1 base)
Functions: Hours, minutes, hourly chime, on/off for chime
Power Reserve: 38 hours
Winding: Manual
Frequency: 28,800 VpH
Jewels: 26

Pricing & Availability

Price: $4,910 on rubber strap, $5,205 on three-link bracelet, $5,290 on five-link bracelet
Availability: Now
Limited Edition: No

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