When it comes to dive watches, Trident isn't just a collection. It's a family. And like any family, there's a line of ancestors that inspired and influenced everything that came after – some distinguished, some rebellious, all of them worth knowing about.

So on the countdown to Father's Day, while you contemplate how many carrots can fit in a small child's fist, here's the hidden history of the watch that sits halfway between a professional timing instrument and Brazilian soap opera.

The OG Trident is born

Some say the C60 Trident Automatic was the love-child of a Rolex Submariner and a very good idea. Others that it arrived fully formed and attached itself to Mike France's wrist somewhere near Birmingham's canals. What we know for certain: it appeared in 2009 with a teardrop hour hand, a date window at 4 o'clock, and the now-iconic Trident counter-balance on the seconds hand. Today, the OG is a proud grandfather to countless younger Tridents – occasionally reminiscing, occasionally insufferable about it.

The second generation

If you're a dad, you'll know the second child can be complicated. Same goes for dive watches. In 2015, the Trident Mk II arrived – better-looking, better-equipped, and quietly convinced it knew best. Ceramic bezels. Upgraded dials. Water resistance to 600m, for dads whose idea of Sunday relaxation involves considerably more pressure than everyone else's. Difficult? Maybe. Worth it? Absolutely.

The second-best bezel in the world

The third iteration began with an obsession. CEO Mike France and senior designer Adrian Buchmann toured London's upmarket watch shops comparing bezels – looking, by all accounts, like a pair of extremely well-dressed and faintly suspicious enthusiasts. The result: a unidirectional bezel with what Mike calls "the second-best click in watchmaking." The best? He'd rather not say. The bezel is still very good. Mike is still very competitive.

The slim-down

Self-improvement is a big thing among dads. Leading the charge: the Trident Pro 300. When CW's forum asked for a slimmer, lighter Trident, we listened. The result was 11.5mm thin, 68g light, and the springboard for some of Trident's most adventurous offshoots – Sapphire Edge, Trident Reef, the gloriously tropical Atoll 300. Knowing your audience pays off. Dads everywhere, take note.

Bronze age

Not every watch looks better with time. This one insists on it. Bronze joined the family – a metal with serious sea‑legs, built to handle saltwater and slowly develop a patina that’s entirely its own. Scratches? Character. Colour shifts? Also character.

Enter the C60 Pro 300 Bronze chronometer: our first bronze take on the Trident Pro 300. Same dive-ready credentials, same unmistakable Trident dial – just with a little more warmth, and a lot more personality.

The king of lume

Some people will never have enough luminosity. You know who you are. For those souls, the C60 Trident Lumière: Globolight® indexes delivering five times the lume of any previous Trident, Grade 2 titanium construction, and a helium-release valve for the occasions that demand one. Visible at 3am. Visible at the bottom of the ocean. Possibly visible from space. We haven't checked.

2024 also saw the much-anticipated return of the GMT complication to our signature Trident series with the Trident Pro 300 GMT, later expanding the GMT range up to a bigger, bolder 44mm.

And the family isn't done yet.

Seventeen years. Three generations. And if there's one thing families are good at – it's growing. Watch this space.

Find your Trident

C60 Trident Pro 300

38mm

White

Automatic

Bader Bracelet

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C60 Trident GMT 300

40mm

Black

Automatic GMT

Consort Bracelet

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C60 Trident Lumière

41mm

Blue

Automatic

Orange Aquaflex Rubber

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