BY DHANANJAY PATHAK
Since its inception, Christopher Ward has focused on producing high-quality Swiss-made timepieces that are sensibly priced. However, recently the UK based brand seems to have upped its game by offering unique products that offer technical advancements and features that are unheard of in their price category. A short while back, the brand introduced a sapphire dial variant of its popular C60 dive watch, and now it’s back with the new C65 Super Compressor, a cool looking dive watch with a ‘true’ Super Compressor case.
Offered with a vivid electric blue or a sand-colored dial with sharp faceted applied markers, a twin-crown setup, an internal dive time bezel, and bright orange highlights, the new C65 compressors are handsome looking dive watches. But aren’t there a handful of other watches that look funky and colorful and come with a similar feature set? Aesthetically, yes, but functionally, maybe not. What makes this new C65 duo stand apart from its competition is their ‘true’ Super Compressor case, which not only looks like a Super Compressor but is also similar in operation to the one’s developed by Ervin Piquerez SA (EPSA), the original manufacturers of these cases during the 1950s.
So, what makes a Super Compressor case special? In a nutshell, it is how it handles water pressure. The case features a spring-loaded case back that tightens the seal, increasing the water-resistance as the depth increases. Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it? The 41mm light- catcher stainless steel case is a modern take on the Super Compressors from the past. It uses an ultra-thin compression spring to achieve a depth rating of 150 meters using the principle explained above. The spring is just 300 microns thick, which is only four times the richness of human hair. What’s even more intriguing is that unlike the vintage Super Compressor cases, the one on these new C65 watches allows the wearer to admire the mechanism through an exhibition case back. The compression spring is placed within the orange compression ring that also has the ‘diving-bell’ mark, the logo Ervin Piquerez used to signify authenticity. Also visible through the case back is the beating heart of this watch which is the venerable Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement which operates at 4 Hz and offers a power reserve of around 38 hours.
The new Christopher Ward C65 Super Compressor watches are available to purchase on the brushed stainless-steel bracelet for USD 1145 or a tropic rubber/Tiber leather strap for USD 1025. 
Visit Christopher Ward here.
