A dive watch designed for someone who'd rather be poolside than underwater
In a world where luxury watches have long carried the weight of tradition and seriousness, Christopher Ward and designer Romaric André offer a quiet provocation: what if a timepiece could make you smile? Their fourth collaboration, the C60 Pool Diver, arrives as a fully capable dive instrument dressed in the spirit of a vacation — a reminder that technical mastery and human delight need not be strangers to one another.
- The watch industry's reverence for heritage and gravitas is gently disrupted by a dial divided into poolside activity zones — sunbathing, selfies, contemplating life choices — where a martini glass stands in for the date window.
- The tension between novelty and credibility runs through every detail: a caseback engraving of a diver armed with flip-flops and a mocktail could easily tip into gimmick, yet the execution demands real craft.
- Christopher Ward resolves that tension by grounding the whimsy in serious specifications — 200m water resistance, a Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement, and a functional ceramic bezel that earns its place.
- The watch lands as something genuinely rare: a luxury object that invites joy rather than demanding admiration, available on blue, white, or orange Aquaflex rubber straps that let the wearer choose their own version of escape.
Christopher Ward and designer Romaric André have built a small tradition out of refusing to let watches take themselves too seriously. Their fourth collaboration, the C60 Pool Diver, is the furthest that impulse has traveled — a dive watch conceived not for the deep sea but for the sun lounger.
The foundation is the C60 Trident Reef, a legitimate dive platform. But André has transformed it into something else entirely. The 41mm stainless steel case houses a matte white sandblasted dial split into five color-coded zones, each one labeled for a different poolside pursuit: reading, sunbathing, relaxing, taking selfies, contemplating life choices. Where a date window would normally sit, a martini glass appears instead. Flip the watch over and the caseback engraving shows a diver outfitted not with tanks and weights but with flip-flops, sunscreen, and a mocktail. Even the helium escape valve is decorated with a tropical island.
What keeps this from becoming a novelty item is that none of the humor touches the mechanics. The Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement is a proven caliber with a 38-hour power reserve. The case holds a genuine 200-metre water resistance rating. The ceramic bezel functions exactly as it should. Christopher Ward has made a watch that could handle real diving if its owner ever felt the urge.
The C60 Pool Diver arrives on three Aquaflex rubber straps — blue, white, or orange — each one an invitation to choose a mood. Together, the details point toward something shifting in the luxury watch world: a growing willingness to ask whether a timepiece might earn its place on a wrist not by proving something, but simply by making its wearer happy.
Christopher Ward and designer Romaric André have spent years finding ways to make watches that don't take themselves too seriously. Their fourth collaboration together, the C60 Pool Diver, pushes that impulse further than ever—a dive watch that looks like it was designed for someone who'd rather be poolside than underwater.
The watch starts with a familiar foundation: the C60 Trident Reef platform, a legitimate dive instrument. But André has reimagined what a dive watch could mean when vacation is the actual mission. The 41mm stainless steel case holds a matte white sandblasted dial divided into five color-coded zones, each labeled for a different poolside activity—reading, sunbathing, relaxing, taking selfies, contemplating life choices. It's the kind of thing that makes you smile when you look at it, which is not something most dive watches accomplish. A ceramic bezel frames the dial, and where you'd normally find a date window, there's a martini glass instead.
The joke doesn't stop at the dial. Flip the watch over and the caseback tells its own story: an engraving of a diver equipped not with tanks and weights but with flip-flops, sunscreen, and a mocktail in hand. Even the helium escape valve gets the treatment, decorated with a tropical island. These are the kinds of details that suggest the designers were having fun, but they're also details that require actual craftsmanship to execute.
What makes this watch genuinely interesting is that the playfulness never compromises the mechanics. Inside sits a Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement—a proven, reliable caliber—with a 38-hour power reserve. The case is rated for 200 metres of water resistance, which means this is a watch that could actually handle real diving if its owner ever got serious about it. The ceramic bezel is there to do its job, not just to look good. Christopher Ward hasn't made a novelty item; they've made a functional watch that happens to be funny.
The brand offers the C60 Pool Diver on three Aquaflex rubber straps—blue, white, or orange—each one designed to feel at home on a wrist at the beach or by the pool. The choice of strap color becomes part of the watch's personality, a way for the wearer to signal which version of vacation they're imagining.
This collaboration represents something worth noticing in the watch world right now. Luxury timepieces have traditionally been about seriousness—precision, heritage, the weight of tradition on your wrist. But there's a growing recognition that a watch can be both technically accomplished and genuinely fun to own. The C60 Pool Diver suggests that the future of luxury watches might include more designers willing to ask: what if we made something people actually wanted to wear because it made them happy, not just because it proved something about their taste or their bank account?
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does a dive watch need a vacation theme? Isn't that contradictory?
Not really. A dive watch is built to handle extreme conditions, but most people who own them never go deeper than a swimming pool. André and Christopher Ward are acknowledging that reality and having fun with it instead of pretending otherwise.
But doesn't the humor undermine the technical credibility?
That's the clever part—it doesn't. The movement is genuine, the water resistance is real, the bezel works. The humor is in the dial and the caseback, not in the engineering. You get a fully capable watch that also makes you smile.
What's the point of the color-coded dial sections? Are they actually functional?
They're more poetic than functional. They're inviting you to think about how you spend your time, what matters to you on vacation. It's a different kind of watch function—not measuring depth or time underwater, but time spent living.
Who is this watch actually for?
Someone who appreciates craftsmanship and doesn't need their luxury goods to be serious all the time. Someone who can afford a real dive watch and wants one that reflects how they actually live—which for most people means more pool days than dive expeditions.
Is this a trend, or just a one-off collaboration?
It's the fourth collaboration between these two designers, so there's clearly momentum. I think we're seeing a shift in what luxury watch owners want—technical excellence paired with personality and humor.