• The new Christopher Ward C1 Jump Hour XV is a 300-piece limited edition, paying homage to the 15th anniversary of the brand’s very first in-house complication.
• Scaled down, it features a 39mm Light-catcher™ case that frames a wild concentric guilloché dial stamped with a custom femtosecond laser.
• It runs on the Calibre JJ01 movement using a clever 36-component module on a Sellita base.
Fifteen years in the Swiss watch industry is barely enough time for a committee to agree on a slightly different font for a date wheel, let alone winning serious hardware, including the Petite Aiguille Award at the 2023 GPHG for the Bel Canto and managing to bag British Watch Brand of the Year three times on the bounce at the WatchPro Awards. In fact, a decade ago, Christopher Ward dropped the C9 Jumping Hour Mk I, unleashing its very first in-house complication powered by the JJ01 calibre. Today, we all know the Anglo-Swiss watchmaker as a massive disruptor. Fast forward to its 22nd anniversary, and Cristopher Ward is now shipping to over 100 countries and has just released the C1 Jump Hour XV Limited Edition, following last year’s C1 Jump Hour V iteration.
It’s a 300-piece run that takes the classic vibe of the 2011 original and drags it right into the present day, packing it with a level of finishing we’ve come to expect from its modern Atelier collection. For a bit of context, the Atelier line is essentially Christopher Ward’s high-horology playground – the ultra-premium wing where boundary-pushing designs like the Bel Canto live. By bringing this new jump hour into the Atelier fold, the brand gives a heritage piece a massive technical and aesthetic glow-up.
The original C9 watch was pretty chunky, measuring 41mm in diameter, whereas this new XV version wisely scales things down, swapping that bulk for the brand’s incredibly popular 39mm Light-catcher case. Made from 316L stainless steel, it has a very wearable 47.33mm lug-to-lug length and a 13.10mm thickness. The Light-catcher case really lives up to its name, blending polished edges with brushed sides that curve down at the lugs. It plays with the light to trick your eye, making the watch look and feel slimmer than its physical dimensions would suggest on paper.
Christopher Ward topped it with a vintage-style, box-domed sapphire crystal, which gives the unique jump-hour complication plenty of room to breathe. Flip the watch over, and you’ll find the same highly detailed caseback as the previous Mark V, featuring a clever mix of fine polishing and heavy sandblasting to mimic the textures on the dial. Such decoration beautifully highlights the 12-hour stops for the jump-hour wheel and the 60-minute markers.
The dial shares an obvious family resemblance with the original C9, but has received a major technical upgrade. While it still features that familiar, circular guilloché pattern radiating from the centre, the engraving is much deeper and crisper than fifteen years ago, thanks to a femtosecond laser that cuts a custom stamping tool. Christopher Ward’s Director of Product, Jörg Bader, said this tech let the brand nail the iconic look while flexing some of its finest modern manufacturing skills.
The layout of the new C9 watch is incredibly clean and intuitive, too. Designers at Christopher Ward chose a crisp black Roman numeral on the jump-hour disc, with classic Arabic numerals on the outer minute track. To add serious depth, a trapezoidal chapter ring splits the textured centre from the minutes, featuring a brushed sunray finish on top and polished sides. You’ll also spot a matching sunray finish tucked right below the hour window, as well as a single minute hand in vibrant blue, treated to an “Atelier finish”, with a meticulously brushed top and polished, bevelled edges.
Under the caseback of the new C1 Jump Hour XV is the Calibre JJ01, which sparked Christopher Ward’s focus on in-house watchmaking. Designed by the brand’s first Technical Director, Johannes Jahnke, it adds a custom 36-part jump-hour module to a reliable Sellita SW200-1 automatic base. Jumping hours can be a mechanical nightmare because they usually hoard power and snap forward violently, shocking the delicate escapement, but this design is much smarter. It sips power steadily over the hour to keep the watch running smoothly and accurately. Beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour, it offers a 38-hour power reserve and an accuracy tolerance of -5 to +12 seconds a day.
Fifteen years ago, Christopher Ward was getting ready to drop its first jumping hour. Today, that original C9 still holds a special place in the CEO’s own collection. By wrapping the core design in premium, Atelier-level finishing and a much sharper 39mm case, Christopher Ward has shown exactly how far it has come, dedicating the new C1 Jumping Hour XV watch to just 300 pieces and giving enthusiasts a rare chance to be part of the next chapter in the brand’s history.
Christopher Ward C1 Jump Hour XV pricing and availability
The Christopher Ward C1 Jump Hour XV is strictly limited to 300 pieces. Price: £1,795 / US$2,495 / €2,350 (leather strap) / £1,940 / US$2,695 / €2,540 (bracelet).
Brand
Christopher Ward
Model
C1 Jump Hour XV
Case Dimensions
39mm (D) x 13.10mm (T) x 47.33mm (LTL)
Case Material
Stainless steel
Crystal(s)
Sapphire front
Dial
Silver guilloché
Bracelet
Leather (black, blue, brown), stainless steel bracelet
Movement
Calibre JJ01, automatic
Power Reserve
38 hours
Functions
Jumping hour, minutes, seconds
Availability
Limited to 300 pieces
Price
£1,795 / US$2,495 / €2,350 (leather strap)
£1,940 / US$2,695 / €2,540 (bracelet)