The COSC-certified Concord C1 Chronograph marks the launch of a truly new construction born of an unusually sophisticated concept drawn from advanced technological research and innovation. This powerful timepiece asserts its exceptional personality through an ambitious watch case 44 mm in diameter and 16.7 mm from front to back – a study in sturdiness at its best.

Assembled to absorb and dampen blows and jarring, 53 components make up a case water-resistant to a pressure of 20 ATM. A rubber-coated protective metal ring featuring eight decorative tabs that extend over the bezel, is fitted over the middle case and secured by seven self-blocking side screws. The system protects an impressive, 3.3. mm-thick anti-reflective sapphire crystal that seems to emerge from the case. The setting crown is composed of steel, rubber and composite materials, enduringly interlocked for greater compactness and resistance. A raised C1 logo on the rubber end-piece adds a final touch to the design.

The case’s open case back reveals the watch’s self-winding movement, which runs at 28,800 vibrations per hour and offers 48 hours of power reserve. Finished in black rhodium for dramatic contrast, the oscillating weight achieves an assertive elegance with its cut-out of the C1 logo silhouetted through a ribbed Côtes de Genève decorative pattern executed in the finest horological tradition.

Made of carbon fiber and finely milled metal, the dial is a complex multilevel creation designed to accentuate visual depth and perspective. Enhanced with black trim and luminescent material, the hour and minute hands sweep over a dial rimmed with hollowed-out markers filled with a luminescent compound. As the hands’ asymmetrical cut-outs create a play of forces on the center axis, fitting and poising them requires exceptionally deft hands. At 9 o’clock, the ingeniously engineered running seconds subdial features a rotating disk barely 0.1 mm thick. At 3 o’clock, the date seems to fade in and out of the dial aperture. The 30-minute and 12-hour counters are positioned at 12 and at 6 o’clock respectively. Finally, the first quarter of the minute circle is color-matched to the sweep seconds hand’s vibrant Concord blue color.

With its velvety matte finish, the C1’s vulcanized rubber strap features titanium end-pieces that secure it to the case by two pairs of self-blocking screws. Devoid of case horns, a world-first in chronograph design, the C1’s strap-to-case attachments ensure a comfortable wrist-hugging fit. Custom-made for Concord, the strap’s double deployment clasp features the brand’s engraved logo. The C1 chronograph is alternately offered equipped with a stainless steel bracelet connected to the case by an original articulated link system.

The C1 owes its instant visual appeal to the play of light on its volumes and textures. Brush- or satin-finished and gloss-polished surfaces along with chamfered angles and edges demonstrate the designers’ inspired sense of style. Each and every element is finished and decorated as part of a harmoniously balanced composition : brush-finished flange and bezel, vertically satin-finished middle case, shot-blasted case-back and hands, snail pattern and Côtes de Genève ribbing on the rotor, mirror-polished screw heads and clasp — each a unique styling touch, collectively giving an outstanding timepiece its exceptional character.

Photographer Russel Porcas

Shot by the reputed photographer Russell Porcas, the COSC-certified C1 chronograph clearly radiates a magnetic personality in an intensely masculine atmosphere. Light and shadow play over the watch’s features, accentuating the technical excellence of its construction. “The Watch. Reconstructed.” theme line reflects Concord’s original, demanding approach to design and construction. The watch was stripped down and entirely deconstructed so that every part and component could be totally reconsidered from a perspective of reliability and sturdiness.

The exercise went even further. Logical, methodical and exacting, the basic premise behind each design was born on a Cambridge University blackboard where a professor of mathematical science developed a unique algebraic formula encompassing the variables of the new chronograph’s specifications: case diameter and thickness, number of side screws, dimensions of the sapphire crystal and more. Taken together, the data produced an equation that served as the very matrix of the C1 chronograph. It also contains the genes of Concord’s identity.

Featuring a battery of “What other watch has...” questions, the new ad copy reflects the ambitions behind the C1’s market drive as it challenges the established order at the upper end of the market, reinterpreting the chronograph’s own visual codes. 3.3 mm-thick sapphire crystal, 7 side screws, three-level dial and 16.7 mm-thick case composed of 53 components — all these and other elements make the Concord C1 an innovative out-performer.

Created by the London communication agency Spirit, Concord’s “The Watch. Reconstructed.” campaign will debut worldwide in late October 2007. It will initially appear in trade publications in a bid to introduce the C1 and its novel design to connoisseurs and collectors of fine timepieces and aficionados of Haute Horlogerie.