Evolution of the C60 Trident
The C60’s origins date back to 2007 and the launch of CW’s first dive style watch, the quartz-powered C6 Kingfisher.
2009 saw a clutch of automatic dive watches hit the market in the form of the C60 Kingfisher automatic, the C600 Tri-Tech Diver Elite and now famous C60 Trident Pro 🔱.
The first version of the Mk1 C60 Trident Pro featured the original Christopher Ward London logo and was available in a Henry Ford style ‘any colour you want, as long as it’s black‘. They had a painted aluminium bezel which, while far more durable than the C70 bezel, was still pretty easily marked by modern ceramic standards. While the user manual stated it was 42mm, the watch was actually 43mm.
2010 saw the launch of the GMT version, with its additional 24h hand. They were available in either black with white pips or black with orange pips.
Jump forward two years to 2012 and it’s all change on the logo and colour front. The 2011-introduced CHR. WARD logo arrives on the face and there are bright green, blue and red versions added to the range. The black face version is also expanded with the popular orange bezel version shown below, plus some lessor-known and now quite collectable charcoal grey and khaki green bezel options.
2013 also sees the introduction of the C61, which is the 38mm version and was available in black/black, blue/blue or black/orange. There was no Mk1 38mm GMT.
In 2015 came a huge change to the C60 range with the launch of the ‘Mk2’ Trident Pro 600. That saw the introduction of the far more scratch-resistant ceramic bezel, the pips on the face were switched to batons, the crown also got larger/beefier and finally the depth rating doubled from 300m to 600m. The bracelets now also gained a user-friendly micro adjustment. CW weren’t done with the older Mk1 case design though, they kept that going as the basis for the introduction of the Mk2 quartz range known as the C60 Trident 300. Initially available in seemingly limitless colour combos, the Mk2 range was later trimmed to just include the more popular sellers. The 43mm version was still incorrectly stated as 42mm in the hand books!
A prototype orange ceramic bezel watch was produced, but deemed a little too dull/muddy for mass production. A couple of prototype white ceramic bezel watches also exist - one white face and one black. One new ceramic colour which did make it into production was the dark green version shown in the centre of the image below.
In early 2016 we saw the introduction of the first titanium C60 and later the same year CW introduced their new and current logo - upsetting the traditionalists with its contemporary look and blowing the odd blood vessel by often placing it at 9-o’clock! The haters vowed to never buy another CW watch, others (myself included) failed to see what all the fuss was about. That said, some CHR. WARD Mk2 tridents have been known to attract premiums over the equivalent new-logo version, so some buyers are certainly happy to put their money where their mouth is on the used market.
The new logo didn’t land on a C60 until the start of 2017 with what some (again, myself included) call the Mk2.5. This 2017 range saw the end of the short-lived dark green bezel. It also switched the blue/blue version from a somewhat in-your-face, intense blue to a more toned-down, darker colour. The range was pretty limited with just black and white faces paired with either black or red bezels - plus the blue/blue version. This Mk2.5 version also signalled the launch of the first C60 bronze case and the start of a regular conveyer belt or specials and limited edition steels. Anoraks like me may also be (un)interested to know the technical specs in the handbook finally acknowledged the 43mm case size!
The new and current Mk3 version arrived in Mid 2019. It kept the popular ceramic bezel (obviously), but did delete the top lume pip, which had an occasional habit of getting knocked off of Mk1 bezels. The biggest change for the Mk3 was the new case design. More wasting on the sides give it a far more slim and sleek look on the wrist. A less fussy hand design completes the move to a more modern look and feel. While the Mk2 bracelet would fit a Mk1 (or Mk2 quartz), the Mk3 bracelet is all new and will only fit the Mk3 case - it features wider centre links and user-friendly quick-release spring bars.
Like the Mk1 and Mk2 before it, the Mk3 is available in a 38mm size. But unlike the previous models, the Mk3 introduces an all new 40mm model and the largest size has been dropped from 43mm to 42mm.
The King is well and truly alive, long live the C60 Trident!
