C1 Tourbillon
C1 tourbillon: Concord introduces its horological oxymoron
Concord has pulled off an amazing combination of contrasts and has blended carbon fiber with alligator on black titanium in this simple but complex, monochromatic but contrasting piece.
By Marco Cattaneo
Journalist
Concord’s C1 tourbillon is a true oxymoron. Just like the figure of speech, in which seemingly contradictory terms are joined to create a new and deeper meaning, this horological oxymoron blends several contrasts harmoniously. One example would be the “bright obscurity” of the monochromatic watch, which manages to highlight the contrasts of its treatments and materials whilst being completely black from the bezel to the alligator strap. Another example is the “complex simplicity” of its open worked dial. In actual fact, whilst its mechanical movement Concepto 8905 can be admired through its layers, this does not in any way dim its overall brightness.
The rhodium-plated and polished indexes – and especially the superluminova-coated hands – provide maximum readability. This is in part due to them being open worked, in a rectangular design near the center for the minutes and on the rim for the hours.
The former queen of extra-thinness
The piece is large, perfectly angular and sports all the characteristic codes of the C1 range, launched on the occasion of the brand’s hundredth anniversary in 2007. Concord was founded a century ago in Biel to provide the American market with quality watches. In the late 1970s, the brand produced a 2-mm piece: the world’s thinnest watch and an unprecedented achievement at the time. Since then, the brand has continued to innovate and has developed a certain ability to decipher current trends even when they require some important changes. The C1, thus, means for the former holder of the world’s extra-thinness record, a step towards new territories: those of large cases that cannot be hidden by cuffs.
The C1 Tourbillon follows the trend set by the slender version introduced in 2013. The bezel is tightly surrounded by eight carbon fiber parts interlinked with a sub-bezel of the same material that stick out of the grade 5 titanium and black PVD-treated case. The amazing design of the black dial features a flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock and seems to dissolve at 10 o’clock into an irregular shape that reveals part of the mechanism, much to the delight of experts.
Black symphony
The watch seems to feature a succession of levels and contrasts, even in terms of the crown. The latter is engraved with the C1 logo made of grade 5 titanium that contrasts with the black ceramic decorations. It is screwed over the 47-mm and 50-meter water-resistant case whose open-worked back, treated in black PVD, features Concord’s motto: “Daring – Know-how – Avant-Garde”. The alligator strap, stitched on black rubber, reinforces the monochromatic-yet-contrasting theme. The topstitching as well as the titanium and PVD-treated deployment buckle are also black.
