Hardly a day goes by when we fail to feature a Swiss watch whose exclusivity, pedigree and price tag puts it impossibly out of reach for 99% of the typical watch buying public.

Some of the watches we feature are so select they are destined for museums rather than their own boutiques.

So it’s refreshing indeed to be able to feature a watch company which has deliberately turned the concept on its head to create quality Swiss-made watches affordable for all.

That was the idea from the outset for this British watch making firm founded on June 4th 2005.

Those not involved or concerned by the day to day intrigues of Swiss haute horology might be lulled into thinking that the eye watering price tag attached to many Swiss watch brands must have something to do with the sheer quality that goes into the making of them. There’s no question a Swiss made watch is a quality product, but what you are really paying for of course is the name. Or more specifically you are paying for the name attached to the brand name. Because for every world renowned celebrity you see enthusing about a top brand Swiss-made watch, you can be sure someone is going to pay a hefty price for it – and that will be you, the watch buying public.

You see, by the time the multi-national advertising campaigns, the high profile sponsorships, the $1000 a minute brand ambassadors, and the lavish boutiques in the most expensive parts of fashionable world capitals have all been paid for, the price of that longed for Swiss watch has to be inflated many times before it reaches your wrist. Not only that, but the behemoth Swiss brands are sold through third party retailers. This means that their wholesale prices (already inflated by those huge marketing costs) are then doubled or even tripled by the retailer.

The Christopher Ward way is the same but very different

Their watches are designed by watchmaker Chris Ward to reflect a number of tastes; from an understated classical English style; to more sporty Rolex GMT influenced models; to specially commissioned military timepieces for the RAF, and even, in the case of the Harrison C9 series, some high end limited editions. And all of their products are top quality Swiss-made watches.

To have the words ‘Swiss Made’ on the dial means a watch must have a Swiss made movement and be assembled in Switzerland. The movement, the heart of any watch, is supplied to Christopher Ward by leading Swiss movement manufacture ETA, and Swiss Quartz movements are from Ronda. Their watches are assembled by a factory in the Jura, the ‘silicone valley’ of the Swiss watch industry. They make watches exclusively for Christopher Ward to the same uncompromising standards you would expect of any leading Swiss brand.

The key difference comes in the way Christopher Ward watches are marketed. If you do happen to see a celebrity wearing one you can rest assured he has paid for the privilege, because Christopher Ward do not do celebrity endorsements, nor do they run 90 second TV commercials at the start of major sporting events, for the simple reason they are not sponsoring any. Instead, they sell their watches directly to the customer via their own website and pass on the considerable cost savings.

So an automatic Swiss-made watch created to Rolex quality can be yours for around $500 to $600, and sometimes less, because they also offer discounts on their site on some of their best selling models such as the C5 Malvern Automatic and Quartz, the C40 Speedhawk Chronograph Automatic and the new C60 Trident GMT Automatic.

The concept has caused shockwaves through the watch industry and impressed many a watch forum armchair expert, which in many respects is even harder to do. Their website is replete with genuine positive comments from scores of satisfied customers from around the world, and yet it all started just 6 years ago on a boat on the River Thames.

Christopher Ward may not have the cachet of an Omega or a Rolex just yet, but it does leave you with a quality watch and a lot more cash.