Labour Lens

Christopher Ward

Lacks transparency

Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.

Jewellery & watches

Partly verified: what this means

Last researched 1 November 2026 · 3 sources

British direct-to-consumer brand of Swiss-made mechanical watches.

Until Christopher Ward traces its gold and gemstones to the mine, it can't show that the miners who dig them are safe or fairly paid.

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Why it's graded Lacks transparency

  • Not met: Meets 2 of 6 Good requirements.
  • Holds the grade back: It relies on high-risk mined materials it can't trace. That alone means a poor grade until it takes steps to trace them.
  • It isn't Harm on record, because there's no serious confirmed problem on its record.
  • Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.

How grades are decided

Good requirements 2 of 6

  • Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
  • Not met: Respects worker rightsJudged on where its products are made: worker rights are poorly protected in India, China and Thailand.
  • Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
  • Met: No child or forced labour findings or links
  • Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listMakes its products in its own factories
  • Not met: Conflict-free: diamonds, gems and gold traced to the mine, lab-grown, recycled or Fairmined (the Kimberley Process alone isn't enough)

Red flags 2

  • Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
  • Red flag: Relies on high-risk mined materials it can't trace
  • Red flag: Fails its category's raw-material check (means Lacks transparency)

Stars it would earn as Good

None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars

Where it's made

From press and retailer reports. Christopher Ward makes its products in its own factories, but we haven't recorded its countries from it yet. The rest is shown as where jewellery and watches are usually made.

Where it's made, and conditions there
CountryWorker rightsLegal minimum wageForced labour risk
SwitzerlandRegular violationsAbout a living wageLow
IndiaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageHigh
ChinaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageModerate
ThailandUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageModerate
ItalyUsual for the industryStrong protectionsClose to a living wageLow

Evidence

What we found

  • Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: gold and gemstone mining are linked to child labour, forced labour and mercury poisoning.
  • Owns or runs its own production
  • Relies on gold and gemstones from artisanal mines where workers face mercury poisoning, silica dust and deadly collapses. It hasn't shown any steps to trace these materials to the mine, so it's graded Lacks transparency until it does.

Research notes Christopher Ward's watches are made at its own workshop in Biel, Switzerland (38 staff in 2025), run by Synergies Horlogères, which it fully merged with in 2015; it also holds a stake in a CNC machining workshop. Components are bought from subcontractors it does not name, and it does not say where cases, dials, straps or movements are made, so the earlier stages behind its Swiss Made label are unknown. It publishes no supplier list, modern slavery statement or audit information.

Sources and actions

Sources 3

Show all 3 sources
  1. Christopher Ward: the story behind a transformation (Europa Star, 2025) · search the archive · Production run from Biel, Switzerland via merged Synergies Horlogères; 38 staff in Biel, 100+ overall; subcontractors supply components; sells 100% direct to consumers
  2. Christopher Ward arrives in Australia (Time+Tide, 2025) · search the archive · Christopher Ward watches sold in AUD through Time+Tide's Melbourne studio and Australian online shop from April 2025

Published by Christopher Ward or its owner

  1. Delivery and returns - Christopher Ward · search the archive · Free delivery worldwide; Australian storefront in AUD

Company details

Headquarters
United Kingdom
Employees
About 100
Last researched
1 November 2026
Cite this page
Labour Lens, "Is Christopher Ward ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/christopher-ward, last researched 1 November 2026, accessed [date].
Method
Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means

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