Concordia Automatic Watch by Charlie Paris
Charlie Paris is clearly brimming with ideas. After launching the automatic women’s watch Initial 36 on pre-order (as we discussed here), the French brand is introducing the Concordia, an automatic men’s watch, also available for pre-order.
A watch that can take anything?
This watch has a very particular story: even though it’s available for pre-order on the brand’s website, it has already been put through its paces. It was worn by a brand ambassador, Matthieu Tordeur, during his exceptional solo, unsupported crossing of Antarctica—making him the first Frenchman and the youngest explorer to reach the South Pole in this way.
The watch (and, incidentally, Matthieu Tordeur) covered 1,150 km over 51 days, enduring temperatures as low as -37 degrees.
Why Concordia?
Charlie Paris’ watch takes its name from the Concordia research station in Antarctica which, like the Concordia tool watch, operates year-round 🙂
The Concordia watch in detail
A sensible 40mm diameter and 12.7mm thickness for its 316L steel case means it will suit all wrist sizes.
The case houses an STP1-11 automatic movement produced by STP (Swiss Technology Production), based in the Swiss Jura.
And to protect it properly, the case is water-resistant to 300 metres (30 ATM). Power reserve is 44 hours. As for complications, it sticks to the classics to keep the dial highly legible: hours, minutes, seconds and date.
The case is topped by a unidirectional rotating bezel with 120 clicks and an anodised aluminium insert. But do you know what a unidirectional rotating bezel is for? Originally, it’s primarily a tool for divers, allowing them to track dive time, remaining air time, etc.—but not only that. You can also use it as a countdown timer for any activity.
For example, if you want to time a duration of 15 minutes: if the minute hand is at 30, you rotate the bezel so that the marker (the inverted triangle) lines up with 45.
It’s unidirectional, not bi-directional, to avoid handling errors during a dive that would throw off the calculation if the bezel could turn the other way.
Any adventure watch needs to be robust—especially when it comes to the crystal. The dial is protected by a domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment, 3mm thick.
And the price?
A pleasant surprise for a watch fitted with a Swiss movement and assembled in France: it’s offered at €595 on pre-order instead of €695.
