Concord has recently lost its CEO in a ballsy move where Vincent Perriard jumped ship and left for greener pastures as TechnoMarine. Likely suffering an identity crisis, it remains to be seen where Concord will end up in a year from now. A new release from the Movado Group-owned watch maker is this C1 BiRetrograde watch. It is an amicable attempt to spruce up the quickly aging C1 design (that I was never fond of), but you'd not likely realize it was a new model unless that fact was pointed out to you.

The dial features two retrograde ("BiRetrograde") indicators for the day of the week and the date. The long arms frame the rear of the appropriate day or number of the transparent dials. The effect is nice, but not luxury watch nice. You can see that the entire face is partially transparent with a view to the Concord C101 automatic movement below with some nice Cotes de Geneve engraving on it. Oddly enough, this watch will be offered only in 18k rose gold or platinum (44mm wide case). An odd choice of high-luxury materials for this watch that doesn't have THAT high a luxury character - as the complications are nothing to hold a press conference about. You still have the "generous" amounts of rubber on the case and bezel. Seen above is the C1 BiRetrograde in platinum - and it is attached to the rubber strap. The look of the timepiece will either suit you or not. Regular readers will know that I am less than enthused by the overall Concord C1 design, though this watch isn't the flagrant "look how cool Concord is" timepiece that some in the past have been. The best part of the watch is the simple asymmetric watch dial with applied lume covered hour markers. Look for the watch to be available soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Concord and I have had a funny little brief history as I have not been as kind to their watch designs as they would have hoped for. I reviewed such watches at their "$$$,$$$" priced Quantum Gravity Tourbillon with less than jovial enthusiasm. Concord even responded to me via their CEO Vincent Perriard who admirably defended the brand, and his ideas. It was a sign of his dedication to his position and the brand that he helped rebuild. Now that dedication has waned and Mr. Perriard has resigned from Concord, to be effective as soon as possible. He will now take the helm at TechnoMarine, a wholly different type of watch company fitting into a lower end segment with much higher volume production.

I have to ask myself whether this move was prompted by Mr. Perriard's outgrowing of Concord, or vice versa. There have been many critics (such as myself) of where Concord strayed during its "re-birth." Others seemingly loved it as a few of the watches even received design awards. Though I suppose not all was well, and now the critics may have prevailed as Concord might have the possibility to offer arguably more "marketable" watches under new leadership (as of now still undecided). I can't speak as to the sentiments on each side of the table, but I sense a degree of "bad blood" as it appears Perriard ditched camp before his time was due - leaving Concord floundering to fill the position and delicately plan its future. We will see what types of new ideas Perriard can breathe into TechnoMarine that has traditionally enjoyed a fair amount of market success.

Via WorldTempus (in French).

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

As long as I can remember I've loved watching science fiction movies. Hollywood has an impeccable way of creating realistic looking models that give the visual impression of doing more than they actually do. Consider your 'average' movie version of the sci-fi space ship, computer laboratory, or mechanical man – and you'll know what I mean. This concept has been adopted by some of today's luxury watch makers.

Which brings me to the this new Concord C1 QuantumGravity Tourbillon watch, a device which does something simple in the most complex appearing of manners. You'd think a mad scientist (or moderately eccentric one at the least) has invested a lot into creating and wearing this 'new kind of watch' watch - when it is in the end just a watch - that tells the time and has a power reserve indicator. The point of the watch is to be a novelty, and in that I would consider it a resounding success. The large 48.5mm wide titanium case is a massive 22mm deep, which is needed for the rich panoramic display of colors and complexities. The overall wrist footprint of This Concord watch is over 57mm, but it is still wearable thanks to the flexibility of the rubber strap. The best way of understanding the QuantumGravity watch (which is not quantum in weight because it is mostly titanium and aluminum) is by looking at the two major areas of interest aside from the case itself.

The Concord C1 watch made its debut at Baselworld 2007. The C1 has a 44 mm case with a very rugged look. The rubber on the watch helps absorb shocks and make the watch sturdier. There is a 3.30 mm thick sapphire crystal and a crown of rubber, composite and steel. It has an official Swiss chronometer. The movement is the automatic ETA Valgranges A07.211 with 25 jewels, beating at 28,800 bph and with a 48 hour power reserve. The dials is made of carbon fiber and machined metal with sunken applied hour-markers filled with luminescent material. It also has a transparent case-back that reveals a decorated oscillating weight. The watch comes in either steel or 18K rose gold. Too much rubber for my taste but you'll never accuse this watch of being too girly.

[via Time Zone]