Complications keep things interesting. Chronographs, perpetual calendars, minute repeaters, day/dates, moon phases, and many more mechanical wonders that do more than just tell the time – complications can be both the reason for a watch to exist, as well as to purchase them. But, new complications – developing complications – tend to be an art limited to the higher end, and understandably so. R & D for such things is expensive and daunting.
Yet, there?s a brand that has always firmly played in the approachable side of the pool, and still has managed over its history to develop some impressive complications in-house: Christopher Ward. With today?s launch of the Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto they?ve shown, once again, that ingenuity, horology, and a taste for the exotic aren?t limited to five and six-figure watches. It?s easy to overlook, or perhaps forget, that Christopher Ward has developed several of its own modules for complications over the years (and an in-house movement, but that?s a different story). There?s a huge, central moon phase, a criminally neglected Unitas-based mono-pusher chronograph, a couple of clever world timers, and a briefly used regulator (that might not count as a complication? but they still had to make it), but the complication that always stands out, and is relevant to today?s launch, is the jump hour.

Back in 2011 (yes, over a decade ago) Christopher Ward launched the C9 Harrison Jump Hour, developed in-house by th...