EXCLUSIVE: CEO Mike France on Christopher Ward’s annus mirabilis

The watch industry is more disjointed than ever, according to the latest research by Morgan Stanley and LuxeConsult, which showed that the top four watch brands (Rolex, Cartier, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet) account for 55% of the market.

But that said, independent watchmaking is still holding strong. One name on a winning streak is Christopher Ward, which just made its debut in Morgan Stanley’s 2025 top 50 watch brands index. The British watchmaker joins industry big hitters with a reported turnover of CHF 51 million last year. It slips onto the index in 48th place, just below another successful independent name, MB&F.

“Being recognised in Morgan Stanley’s Top 50 Swiss Watch Brands report for the first time is a significant milestone for Christopher Ward,” CEO Mike French exclusively tells Watch Insider.  

“In a turbulent year where industry sales have increasingly polarised around a small group of established giants, to see an Anglo-Swiss independent brand competing at this scale is hugely significant.”

The watchmaker was founded by Christopher Ward, the aforementioned Mike France, and Peter Ellis in 2004 with the aim of offering Swiss-made watches at accessible prices through a direct-to-consumer business model. It became one of the first modern watch brands to sell primarily online, cutting out traditional retail markups. Back in the early Noughties this was a revolutionary idea in the world of watchmaking.

Over the proceeding 20 years, the brand deepened its roots in the world of horology, proving its mettle as a ‘serious’ watchmaker. In 2014 it merged with Swiss manufacture Synergies Horlogères SA, releasing its first in-house movement, the Calibre SH21, that same year. It was a British watch brand’s first commercially viable mechanical movement in over half a century. Christopher Ward has since gone on to develop four more of its own in-house movements. 

In 2022, Christopher Ward’s C1 Bel Canto ‘sonnerie au passage’ complication, which chimes the hour automatically, won the ‘Petite Aiguille’ prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG). It was the first major award for the brand, which became the first British company to win at GPHG.

“When we founded the business, we were told that what we were attempting simply wasn’t realistic—that a young, British-led company could not operate meaningfully within a Swiss-dominated industry,” continues France. 

“This recognition [by the Morgan Stanley report] suggests otherwise. More importantly, it reflects the trust of our customers and the strength of a model that combines British creative leadership with Swiss mechanical depth.”

And what does the future have in store for Christopher Ward? 

“We see this not as an arrival, but as momentum,” says French. “We are continuing to expand our international showroom footprint, invest in product innovation that captures the imagination of our customers, and grow our presence in key global markets. There is still much to build—and that ambition remains undimmed.”