Christopher Ward

Christopher Ward was founded in 2004 by Chris Ward, Mike France, and Peter Ellis during a brainstorming session on a boat on the River Thames. The company launched as the world's first exclusively online luxury watch brand, eliminating traditional retail markups by selling directly to consumers. Their first watch was released in 2005, and by December of that year, the brand was receiving more mentions than Rolex on TimeZone, a major online watch forum. In 2014, Christopher Ward merged with its Swiss manufacturing partner Synergies Horlogères SA to form Christopher Ward London Holdings Ltd. That same year, they released their first in-house movement, the Calibre SH21, developed by master watchmaker Johannes Jahnke. Co-founder Christopher Ward left the business in January 2020. The company has since grown significantly, with fiscal year 2024 turnover reaching £30.5 million and pre-tax profit of £3.9 million.