Among the watches released last week, two in particular caught our attention,
1. Christopher Ward C60 Pool Diver
Summer is finally here (at least here in Europe) and with it comes the anticipation of long-awaited holidays. For some, preparing for summer means getting the perfect beach-body ready. For others, it might involve buying a new pair of sunglasses or a colourful Hawaiian shirt to attract admiring glances. But since you are reading this website, I assume your preparations for the season may also include searching for a vacation watch. If that sounds like you, Christopher Ward may have just released something for you.
The British watchmaker’s latest collaboration with French designer seconde/seconde/ is the C60 Pool Diver, a playful yet cleverly designed, unconventional dive watch that perfectly captures the spirit of summer holidays. Unlike traditional dive watches, which often take themselves too seriously, the C60 Pool Diver embraces a more light-hearted and playful approach while remaining purpose-built as the ideal vacation companion.
To begin with, the dial’s bright colour palette immediately evokes the atmosphere of a summer time. In many ways, the colours alone announce that this is a watch designed for sunny days by the pool. What is particularly interesting is, Christopher Ward and seconde/seconde/ have imagined the ideal vacation day itinerary for you and translated it into the design itself. First, the dial features a scale outlining various activities one might enjoy throughout the day, from reading and sunbathing to relaxing by the pool, flexing for the camera, and even contemplating life or perhaps reconsidering one’s life choices altogether. This playful theme also extends on to the bezel. Rather than the conventional elapsed-time markings found on most dive watches, the white ceramic bezel is decorated with a series of icons corresponding to these various holiday activities. The fun continues with the date display. Instead of a standard date aperture, the watch features a date window shaped like a martini glass. This quirky detail perfectly complements the watch’s fun personality and further reinforces its vacation-inspired theme.
Apart from all that amusing details, the C60 Pool Diver remains a serious timepiece underneath. After all, Christopher Ward is a brand that has built a strong reputation for delivering impressive specifications, and this watch is no exception. The dial features applied indexes and both hands and indexes and are coated with lume to ensure legibility in low-light conditions. As one would expect from a proper dive styled watch, the stainless steel case is equipped with a screw-down crown and screw-down caseback and offers 200 metres of water resistance. The stainless steel case measures 41 mm in diameter, 11.45 mm in thickness, and 47.8 mm from lug to lug, dimensions that should make it suitable for a wide variety of wrists. Powering the watch is the Swiss-made Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement, which offers a power reserve of approximately 38-41 hours.
I can imagine, the C60 Pool Diver is unlikely to appeal to everyone. Some collectors may find the watch too playful, while others may simply prefer the more conventional aesthetics of a traditional dive watch. Nevertheless, Christopher Ward deserves credit for creating something genuinely different. In an industry that often takes itself very seriously, the C60 Pool Diver offers a refreshing reminder that watches can simply be fun. And that, perhaps, is precisely what makes the C60 Pool Diver so charming. It is not trying to be the most serious or technically impressive dive watch on the market. Instead, it embraces the cheerful spirit of summer holidays and succeeds in delivering a watch that feels playful, thoughtfully and intelligently designed and unmistakably vacation-ready.
The C60 Pool Diver is available on blue, white, or orange rubber straps, all of which complement the watch’s cheerful personality. Buyers who prefer a more traditional look can also opt for Christopher Ward’s stainless steel Bader bracelet. Pricing starts at €1,165 on rubber straps and rises to €1,375 on the bracelet. Although the C60 Pool Diver is not a numbered limited edition, it is limited by its ordering window. Orders are now open and will remain available until June 24, 2026, after which the order window will close.
2. Yema Granvelle Renaissance CMM.29
Yema’s latest addition to the Granvelle collection, the Granvelle Renaissance CMM.29, is a confident demonstration of how architectural heritage can be distilled into contemporary watchmaking. Drawing inspiration from the Granvelle Palace in Besançon – a city that is widely regarded as one of the symbolic centres of French horology – this new model translates the palace’s architectural language into a compact and ultra-refined 37.5 mm timepiece. From the case to the dial, the watch incorporates structural and decorative motifs inspired by the palace, resulting in a design that pays genuine tribute to its references while remaining distinctly contemporary and eminently practical.
The cushion-shaped case, crafted from 316L stainless steel, is a highlight in its own right. Inspired by the arches of the Granvelle Palace, its fairly complex construction combines polished and brushed surfaces with fluted sides that gives the watch a distinct character. Rather than opting for a conventional round crown, Yema has chosen a cushion-shaped crown that mirrors the geometry of the case itself. Engraved with the brand’s logo, the crown serves as a small but telling example of the attention to detail evident throughout this timepiece’s design. The case also provides 50 metres of water resistance, making it well suited as a practical daily companion rather than a delicate showpiece.
The dial adopts a layered design approach. At its centre lies an engraved geometric motif inspired by the patterns found on the roof of the Granvelle Palace, an intricate design that immediately catches the eye. The small-seconds subdial, whose shape echoes that of the cushion case, further reinforces the overall design coherence. Encircling the centre is a raised hour track featuring applied indices, followed by a railway-style minute track that neatly frames the entire composition. Both the hands and indexes are coated with Super‑LumiNova BGW9 Grade A, ensuring nighttime legibility without compromising the dial’s elegance.
Powering the watch is Yema’s in‑house CMM.29 micro‑rotor calibre, a movement that embodies the brand’s growing technical maturity. Operating at 28,800 vph the calibre offers an impressive 70 hours of power reserve. Thanks to its micro-rotor architecture, the movement enables the watch to retain its impressively slim profile (8.50mm thickness), while also offering strong resistance to shocks and magnetic fields. It is a movement that feels purpose-built for a watch defined by carefully considered proportions. The Granvelle Renaissance CMM.29 is equipped with an exhibition caseback, through which the wearer can admire the architecture and finishing of the movement within.
Yema offers the Granvelle Renaissance in three different dial colors — blue, black, and salmon — each paired with a newly developed leather strap that tapers from 18mm to 14mm. The strap’s stainless‑steel buckle, designed specifically for this collection resembles the cushion-shaped geometry of the case. Priced at €2,100 (approximately $2430 USD), the Granvelle Renaissance CMM.29 comes across as a strong expression of French watchmaking: design‑driven, technically ambitious, and culturally rooted.
