Wow Watch Wednesday: Concord’s C1 Quantum Gravity
This week’s watch provides us with an excellent example of taking things one step too far. Or in the case of the Concord C1 Quantum Gravity, several steps too far. I am a huge supporter of pushing boundaries in high-end watch design and challenging conventional thinking, especially when it is done successfully. Think MB&F’s HM No.2.2 or Manufacture Contemporaine du Temps’ Sequential One. However, to me the C1 Quantum Gravity is the answer to a question no one asked.
Defying Gravity (And Good Taste)
Before I launch any further into this article I just want to clarify that I do not in anyway dispute the technical genius involved in the creation of this timepiece. The concept of itself is truly unique and ambitious to say the least. Designed to be provocative and defiant, this new species of watch supposedly lives time as if it were an experiment, a source of stimulation. The question is, who is Concord defying? Good taste perhaps?
As advanced and complex as this piece is, the simple fact is that I would not wear it. It is large, unattractive and seems as though it has had as many high-end complications shoved in, excuse my crassness, wherever they will fit. Yes, it does feature a ground-breaking aerial bi-axial tourbillon mechanism and a vertical power reserve but I ask you, what is brains without beauty?
I would put forth the argument here (and please if you disagree do tell me below in the comments section) that the C1 Quantum Gravity has committed the cardinal sin of forsaking design and aesthetics in the name of technical complexity. Watch making is a form of artwork as much as it is a form of engineering, the two must be married and blended together as one to form a finished piece of mechanically brilliant art. You simply cannot have one without the other.
The Final Word
It is undeniable that the C1 Quantum Gravity has crossed over into a new realm of watch making altogether and perhaps this is where my issue lays. Maybe the fault is not with the visionaries at the C Lab Series but rather with me, as a purist watch lover. Maybe I have not yet evolved to a point where I am ready, nay capable of accepting and understanding this piece. Or maybe the C1 Quantum Gravity has just moved too far away from the roots of traditional watch making to be considered in the same category of other high-end horological masterpieces.
After all, boundaries can only be pushed so far before they are irreversibly broken.
Category: Wow Watch Wednesday
An amazing feat of art and engineering, imho.
I certainly don’t doubt the mechanical brilliance of this piece but I just question whether it has gone too far away from the true nature of watch making?
Just my $0.02.
How is it any different than the Tag Heuer V4 Monaco and other watches looking to alternative means for powering movements or other out of the box features? There are chain driven watches (Cabestan Winch Tourbillion ), chrono’s that are activated by pressing the crystal of the watch(Jaeger-LeCoultre’s AMVOX2 Chronograph Racing), hell, even watches with moon dust on the dial(Romain Jerome DNA moon dust), etc. While I agree that this is targeting a certain client and lifestyle, I encourage more out of the box (wayyyyyy out of the box) thinking like this in watch making. Look at Ulysse Nardin powering cell phones with watch technology. The future has a lot in store as watch brands continue to find methods to differentiate themselves from other brands. Thanks
Hi Ryan,
Thanks for your comment, I think you make some very good points. I agree, out of the box thinking is definitely the way to go and I am a big supporter of it, but in my mind watchmaking is as much about craftsmanship and design as it is about technical ingenuity and I feel that this piece simply ignores that fact. Brands do have to work considerably harder to differentiate themselves but at the time I think wearability will always remain a factor and in my opinion this watch is simply not wearable.
However, as I mentioned in the article I certainly do recognise and applaud the technical complexity of this piece and what has been achieved here. Although in my mind maybe they’ve tried to fit just a little too much in one watch?