Considered by many enthusiasts as an entry-level “Swiss Made” watch of choice, the Trident C60 has recently gotten significantly smaller. Since the bulky 42 millimeters of the original model were often too massive for buyers of the skinnier type, this 38-millimeter Chr. Ward C61 Trident-Pro will fit any medium- and small-sized wrist. And if you think that orange is just too bright for you (and it is, just trust me), there are two more color combinations to choose from.
Designed as a kind of homage to the legendary Rolex divers (some people would even call it, um, a Rolex on, um, a tight budget), the Chr. Ward C61 Trident-Pro gives you almost everything that you can expect from your first diving companion: an elegant unidirectional rotating bezel with a dive timer, a set of large hour markers covered with Superluminova that look white in broad daylight (and is extremely contrast on the timekeeper’s black dial with stamped “waves” pattern), but emits the familiar greenish light at night, and, of course, a pair of broad, easily readable hour and minute hands.
As I have already mentioned in the first paragraph of this brief review, the new wristwatch is delivered in a reworked body, which is visibly smaller than the previous iteration.
Although guys that buy this kind of timekeepers often opt for larger, more massive bodies that have a sort of rugged presence on a normal person’s wrist, this new variety of the C61 goes back to the industry’s roots.
Not sure whether it was a conscious decision or not, but this device is suspiciously close in its dimensions to the legendary Submariner 16800 that was introduced back in the late 1980s and soon immortalized by Timothy Dalton playing James Bond in the 1989 flick Licence to Kill.
Although measuring just 38 mm in diameter and being just a hair thicker than the aforementioned Submariner, this little guy actually looks like a more interesting choice since it can actually be worn not only by males (especially the young ones, those who didn’t have time to get that middle age-style thickness to their bones that is particularly apparent around the waistline), but also by ladies: a nice thing considered how difficult it is to find a diving watch that wouldn’t look like a brick on a delicate wrist of a woman.
Powered either by the good old ETA 2824-2 caliber or its younger Sellita SW200-1 clone, the watch can be considered as a serious alternative to Japanese divers of similar price. With all due respect to the Japanese watchmakers, they either can’t or don’t want to offer an affordable sports watch that doesn’t look like it was designed by a pokemon. Also, thanks to the extra-strong yen, they gradually shift manufacturing their less expensive watches in China with inevitable degradation in quality.
Starting at just $550 for a watch on a leather strap and adding just $80 for a nice-looking, micro-adjustable stainless steel bracelet, this is a perfect watch for a young man that is still at the beginning of his journey.
See also: 2013 Alpina Extreme Diver 300M
Photos: Chr. Ward
WWR verdict:
Originality 2.5/5
Build quality: 4/5
Usability: 4.5/5
Legibility: 4.5/5
Value for money: 4.5/5
Overall rating 4.5/5
Chr. Ward C61 Trident-Pro specification
Price: $550 / $630
Movement: Automatic, caliber ETA 2824-2 / Sellita SW200-1, Swiss Made
Number of jewels: 25/26
Movement frequency: 28,800 vph
Power reserve: 38 hours
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date
Case: Stainless steel
Shape: Round
Size: 38.00 mm
Case height: 13.00 mm
Dial: Black
Hour markers: Luminous
Hands: Luminous
Water resistance: 300 meters
Strap: Adjustable leather strap in black or orange with butterfly clasp / Stainless steel bracelet, micro-adjustable
Crystal: Sapphire, antireflective, 4 mm thick
Back: Screw-in, solid