This week on The Business of Watches, we’re talking to the head of what’s now the largest U.K.-based watch brand, Christopher Ward. Under the direction of Chief Executive Officer Mike France, the Swiss-made, approachable-priced watchmaker has enjoyed outsized growth in recent years, due in part to popular and surprising releases like its Bel Canto chiming watch and its commitment to keeping prices in check.
Photo courtesy Christopher Ward.
Now Christopher Ward, which recently overhauled its core Sealander collection, is eyeing an ambitious retail expansion plan in its biggest market, the United States. France lays out the economics and business case for the brand’s unique retail approach, powered by deep community relationships built with customers over the past two decades.
The ambitions aren’t insignificant. From a handful of showrooms now, the company could have as many as 25 to 30 locations in the U.S. alone within half a decade, the CEO says. He sees Christopher Ward as a brand with the potential to reach £250 million in total annual sales, up from about £50 million today. France expects to hit £100 million in annual sales within three years. He’s also refreshingly candid about the threat that U.S. tariffs posed to the business and how the levies forced it to change the way its watches are shipped to and distributed in the country. Tariffs were also a significant drag on financial results in 2025, but the brand is forecasting a rebound in 2026 if import duties remain stable.
As always, Christopher Ward remains a bit of an outsider brand in the rest of the Swiss Watch industry, even though it made the Morgan Stanley annual Swiss Watchers report for the first time in 2026, ranking among the 50 largest brands.
But first, we’re joined by Hodinkee Senior Editor Mark Kauzlarich to talk about the Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop collaboration and its launch day, which certainly didn’t go according to plan at some locations where massive crowds overwhelmed staff and security and forced store closures.
There’s plenty of watch business and strategy to discuss, and we hope you enjoy the conversations. Be sure to leave any thoughts or questions in the comments section, and we’ll do our best to respond. Want to subscribe so you never miss an episode? This new show is being published to the original Hodinkee Podcasts feed, so you can subscribe wherever you find your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or TuneIn.
Show Notes
1:30 Mark Kauzlarich
1:50 Royal Pop (Swatch)
2:40 Hands-On: The Swatch x Audemars Piguet Royal Pop (Impressions, Live Photos, And More) (Hodinkee)
3:30 Sotheby’s Sale of the Audemars Piguet ‘Grosse Pièce’ Shatters Records, Becomes By Far Most Expensive Audemars Piguet At $7,736,000
8:00 Royal Pop Sales Resume After Launch Rush For Audemars Piguet X Swatch Collaboration Forced Store Closures (Hodinkee)
12:05 Watch Spotting: The Watches Of Super Bowl LX (Hodinkee)
16:48 Our Story (Christopher Ward)
17:28 Christopher Ward showrooms
20:39 Windup Watch Fair
22:10 Christopher Ward Forum
26:30 How Christopher Ward Became a £100m Watch Brand (Esquire)
28:29 Mike Pearson (Christopher Ward)
36:41 The Christopher Ward ‘C63 True GMT’ Adds A Local Jumping Hour Hand GMT To The Lineup (Hodinkee)
44:50 Business News: Christopher Ward To Roll Back U.S. Tariff Price Hit By 29% With Corporate Structure Shift (Hodinkee)
48:47 Business News: Rolex And Cartier Are In Another League – A Deep Dive On The Pains And Gains In Morgan Stanley’s “Swiss Watcher” Report (Hodinkee)
49:50 Introducing: The Christopher Ward C12 ‘Loco’ (Live Pics) (Hodinkee)
52:53 Introducing: Christopher Ward Overhauls The Sealander Line With Design Refinements And Upgrades
56:26 Trump tariff refunds begin but consumers likely to miss out (BBC)
1:01:57 In-Depth: How One Chiming Watch From Christopher Ward Turned The Watch World On Its Head
