CHRISTOPHER WARD C600 TRI-TECH DIVER ELITE

Christopher Ward launched the C600 Tri-Tech Diver Elite a month before the Mk1 C60 in August 2009. The 300m-rated C60 cost £300, whereas the 500m-rated C600 with is Tritium gas tubes and Helium release valve cost £400 - making it CW’s flagship dive watch at the time (that honour is now held by the £2,000 C60 Abyss SH21). The current C60s, which use exactly the same Sellita SW200-1 movement, cost £740.

The C600 was available with three different face options: yellow, blue or black (with green hands and markers) which is the one you see here. While the C600 was never offered with a bracelet, the black bracelets from Mk2 C60 Vintage models will fit (as will the PVD Titanium bracelet if you can find one!).

The C600 was officially retired at the end of 2012, however this particular watch was sold as a ‘nearly new’ archive find in Jan 2014 - so it’s likely one of, if not the last C600 to leave Park Street - if you have a younger one, please let me know!

Condition
The watch is in fantastic condition. The protrusions on the bezel can be a magnet for knocks, so it’s common to see C600s looking rather sorry for themselves, but the bezel (and whole watch) on this one look perfect. It’s a used watch, so you may find tiny blemishes under magnified inspection, but from what I can see, it’s a minter - the original vinyl sticker is still there on the case back!

If the photos appear to show any marks, they’re just light reflections, not areas of damage or worn PVD coating.

It’s fitted with the original C600 silicone rubber strap which is in near new condition. The tang buckle has been upgraded from the plain steel C600 one to a far nicer black alloy Sport tang from C60/C11 models of that era - a tricky thing to find in black.

With the watch having been sold by CW over seven years ago and it having been manufactured several years before that, it’s probably actually over ten years old now, so unsurprisingly the Tritium gas tubes are no longer glowing. There are some areas of lume on the hands which can be charged as normal though.

It’s supplied as a ‘full set’ including: the original inner and outer CW cases, the user book with Certificate of Authenticity, covering letter and unused polishing cloth. In summary, it’s certainly the best condition C600 available for sale and likely one of the best ones left - a true collector’s piece.

Specifications

• Case size: 43mm

• Lug width: 22mm

• Height: 13mm

• Waterproof: 500m

• Movement: Sellita SW200-1

User Manual

Christopher Ward don’t have the PDF manual on their website, however the CW Archive does! It’s available here: https://cwarchive.knack.com/cwarchive/#model-search/view-model-details/5ca6133c6bc909096b0edcda/