The is one of the BEST watches I ever reviewed! Christopher Ward The Twelve 660 is worth EVERY PENNY

When does a brand go from being considered a microbrand into being considered a real brand? Some will say it depends on the amount of watches made, and based on that Christopher Ward has gone from one to the other some time ago. To me, that is only part of the equation. Microbrands are something like tuners of the watch world. Not constrained by tradition, they can go wild with design, and it usually shows. No matter how well a microbrand watch is made or designed, they always have that aftermarket feel about them, with some details pushed over the top. I felt like that about Christopher Ward XII with every variant I reviewed, until now. This new 12660, for me, is the defining watch that pushed Christopher Ward from a microbrand to a serious watch brand. It took me some time to understand why this looks and feels so much more serious than the regular XII, and it is down to the dial. The XII is already full of bevels, edges and surfaces on the outside, that adding any kind of details or structures to the dial pushes it over the top and into that tuner or microbrand space, which is why I preferred Arsenale from Venezianico as an integrated bracelet watch, again until now. By going with a simpler dial on this and removing the seconds hand, the simplicity of the dial tones down the whole watch, giving it a more serious and mature look. It makes it look just right, and if it wasn't full of Christopher Ward DNA, it could easily pass as a model from any, and I mean any renowned watch brand with century-old tradition. That DNA or design language that Christopher Ward was so successful in developing over the years is seen on the hands and markers. Multi-faceted with a mix of finishes, they catch the light with every motion of your wrist, and make a lack of lume unnoticeable. It almost has grand Seiko levels of sparkliness in daily wear. The dial, however, is just the beginning. The name 660 reveals the thickness of just 6.6mm, which again would be impressive even if it came from a high horology brand, let alone a brand that I considered a microbrand until recently. There is a place and time for a chunky watch and I do like them, I mean I still own and enjoy my Emperor Tuna, but when it comes to something I want to wear daily, I want something thin and slim that sits low on my wrist. With integrated bracelet watches, thickness is the enemy, as you want the watch to be an extension of the bracelet, so you want it to be as close in thickness to the bracelet as possible. Again, Venezianico has made an impressive job with their thinner 8.9mm version of the Arsenale, but now Christopher Ward has gone full 2mm thinner than that. This not only made the watch look better and more integrated, but also made it wear better. Their 12 bracelet always looked weird on my small 6.5 inch wrist, because a thicker watch raises the bracelet off the wrist, and makes it break at a bigger angle before it goes down. But this sits so low, the bracelet starts at a much lower angle, giving it a nice gradual curvature. It also makes the crown easier to grip and use, as the case is so thin it is not in the way. And this being a manual wind watch, is something you will appreciate as winding it every day, which you will have to do, becomes pure joy instead of a chore, reminding me of my 60s Doxa. The movement, despite being based on the Salita SW210, has been so extensively modified, you would be forgiven to think it is in-house made. Every single bridge has been not only beautifully finished with brushing and polished chamfers, but also completely reshaped, giving it a bespoke look. That shows they really considered every detail when making this. They not only reworked the case and bezel to give it an even better dial bezel case ratio than the regular 12, but they also decided not to use the clasp they already have on the regular model, which would have been more cost efficient, and instead completely redesigned the clasp to make it as thin as possible, going for the integrated look even where one wouldn't expect it, and most wouldn't even notice. That level of dedication and attention to details is something you would expect from a Sirius watch brand making a Halo model. All these small improvements add up, making this, in my opinion at least, not only the best variant of the 12 so far, but also the best Christopher Ward watch ever made, and one of the best integrated bracelet sports watches currently on the market, established models from Sirius brands included. I have postponed recording and publishing this video as long as I possibly could, and wore this 24x7 all that time, just to try and find some flaw and some detail I hate about it, to avoid this video from looking like a feast of praise and promotion. After all that time, and I received the watch in late July, I ended up liking it even more, and I truly and honestly hate the fact I will be sending it back to them. This is the first time I'm actually considering ordering one for myself to keep it in the collection. It really is that good. Thank you for watching, I hope you enjoyed and found it useful. If you did, please like and subscribe, and until the next video, bye.