Christopher Ward’s Souped-Up Sports Watch Looks Better Than Ever Dressed in All Black

Back in black.

Close-up of a black metal watch crown and part of the bracelet against an orange background.

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Published February 20, 2026

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In a short period of time, Christopher Ward’s integrated sports watch, the Twelve, has become a cornerstone of the genre, with more configurations available than almost any other option on the market.

First introduced as a 40mm model in steel and titanium less than three years ago, the line has since expanded to other sizes and materials, with a catalog that now boasts a whopping 39 references.

Sitting at the top of the Twelve line, priced even higher than the outrageous C12 Loco, is the Twelve X — a skeletonized version of the watch powered by the brand’s in-house Calibre CW-001 automatic movement.

Now, CW has debuted a new version of the Twelve X featuring a fully blacked-out finish — and it’s never looked better.

Black skeleton mechanical wristwatch with visible gears and purple jewel bearings, black metal bracelet. — Want to make a watch look cooler? Just black it out.

The Shadow knows

Rather than being made of titanium like the standard Twelve X, the new Twelve X Black Shadow crafts its 41mm case and integrated bracelet from stainless steel. We’ve previously seen a stainless steel Twelve X, but it was a limited edition of 250 pieces and has since sold out.

As indicated by the name, the case and bracelet of the Black Shadow have both been given a black finish courtesy of DLC coating. This not only gives the watch a cool, contemporary look, but also adds scratch protection to the steel (DLC stands for diamond-like carbon).

Close-up of a mechanical watch movement showing silver gears, screws, and purple jewel bearings under a clear crystal. — With many of the Cal. CW-001’s bridges already featuring a black finish, there was no need to do anything unique with the movement.

The in-house Cal. CW-001 movement is the exact same one you’ll find in the Twelve X (Ti), which already has several black-coated bridges, so it’s a nice aesthetic match for the newly blacked-out case. The movement, CW’s original in-house creation, is an impressive beast. It’s a COSC-certified chronometer and features twin mainspring barrels granting five days of power on a full wind.

Also, like the Twelve X (Ti), the movement here is machine-finished. It’s very nicely done, especially considering the multiple angles seen on some bridges. However, I would’ve liked to see the return of hand-finishing here, which is what set the previous steel Twelve X apart — especially since the Black Shadow is the most expensive CW watch ever, and the brand’s first, I believe, to cross the $6,000 mark.

Black skeleton watch face with glowing blue hour markers and hands in a dark setting. — The decidedly cool lume treatment, crowned by a solid Globolight index at 12:00, is the same as on the titanium Twelve X.

The dial and bracelet are also the same as on the Twelve X (Ti). There’s a Super-LumiNova-filled rhodium ring for the minute track that’s topped with a solid Globolight ceramic lume hour marker at 12:00. The handset is also filled with Super-LumiNova X1 BL C1.

There are sapphire box crystals front and back, offering an expansive view of the skeletonized movement. The bracelet is equipped with quick-release spring bars and a microadjustable butterfly clasp offering 3mm of travel. Last but not least, the crown screws down, aiding in the watch’s 100m water-resistance rating.

Black wristwatch with a skeleton dial showing internal gears and a black rubber strap on a gray surface. — The watch is also available on an integrated black rubber strap.

Availability and pricing

I think the Black Shadow looks fantastic — it’s the best-looking version of the Twelve X yet, and it has the most premium aesthetic. But they’ve kind of lost me on the price. This watch costs $6,275 on the bracelet or $5,715 on a black rubber strap, which makes it CW’s priciest watch ever.

The Black Shadow costs $615 more than the same watch in titanium. Even if you get it on the strap, it costs more than the Twelve X (Ti) does on a bracelet. Remember, all that’s different here is that one watch is made of DLC-coated steel and the other of titanium. I can’t think of another example of a DLC steel watch costing more than the same watch in titanium with nothing else changed. Typically, the titanium version would cost more.

Christopher Ward claims to have a price model where all of their watches are priced at three times their production cost. If that’s still the case, then the brand either has a sweetheart deal with their titanium supplier or they’re getting fleeced by whoever’s providing their DLC coating.

Still, this is a cool watch, and I have no doubt that it will sell out, especially given that it’s a limited edition of just 150 pieces. Depending on how quickly those 150 pieces disappear, it could tell us a lot about how CW feels moving into this higher price bracket in the future.

Black metal wristwatch with skeleton dial showing internal gears and a matching black metal link bracelet.

Christopher Ward Twelve X Black Shadow

Specs

Case Size	41mm
Movement	Christopher Ward Cal. CW-001 automatic
Water Resistance	100m

$6,275 at Christopher Ward

About the Author:

Johnny Brayson is an editor at Gear Patrol mostly covering watches. He enjoys watches that are packed with blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em details and believes nearly every watch could stand to be a tad smaller.

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