I've been pondering recently if we can really call any watch the best watch on the market. After all, these things are super subjective. What one person falls in love with might be the height of unattractiveness to others.
As someone who gets hands on with more watches than most, though, I will say this – the Christopher Ward C63 Sealander GMT is perfect for me. The clean dial, GMT functionality and better-than-most water resistance make it my favourite all-round pick on the market.
I own one, in fact. And I'd struggle to pick any issues with it – if I really tried, I suppose it's still a shade on the big side. At 39mm it's no behemoth, but having recently got hands on with some more 36mm watches – hello Christopher Ward The Twelve 36 Titanium – I could certainly see the appeal of a smaller case.
It's much classier to wear, losing the oversized look and replacing it with a dial that is well sized for any wrist. I'm certainly not the only one thinking it, either. In fact, if you go through the comments section of almost any Christopher Ward social media post, you'll find people crying out for smaller dials.
Now, Christopher Ward has answered, with a 36mm variant of their iconic C63 Sealander GMT model. You'll find everything you loved about the original just in a new, smaller case size.
There are three dial colours on offer – Black, White and Dragonfly Blue – with options coming on either the Bader bracelet, the Consort bracelet or the Aquaflex rubber strap.
Pricing is extremely competitive, too. The top end Consort bracelet option runs at £1,060, while a model on the Aquaflex is just £905. That's very reasonable, though I'd say plumping for one of the bracelets is the better fit here.
Still, whatever you go for, a better fit is likely to be on the cards. Bigger is rarely better in the watch world, and this model might be perfect proof of that.
