Birthdays are certainly in the air this year. Panerai celebrates its tenth anniversary, along with Bédat who has also hit the one zero, Rado is 50, and not forgetting our own Europa Star at 80 years old. But Concord beats all of us at the grand old age of 100.





Historical highlights
It has been an eventful 100 years for Concord watches, which were once prized as the official gift of United States Presidents to Heads-of-State. In 1979 the company broke the record for producing the flattest analogue watch in the world, the Delirium, at 1.98 mm, and a year later broke its own record with the Delirium IV, which reduced the watch to under 1 mm, a record that it still holds today. However, for its 100th anniversary, the brand is looking to the future with a new team, a repositioning strategy and the unveiling of a daring new COSC-certified chronograph.

The new team
The new Concord management team includes Vincent Perriard, President, (from Audemars Piguet, Swatch Group and his own company ‘Brand DNA’) and Stefan Feltgen, Marketing Director, (from Cartier, Jaeger-LeCoutre and Nestlé) whose backgrounds ensure that there is certainly no lack of experience or bright ideas. “The chance to revive Concord presents an exciting opportunity and a thrilling adventure”, said Perriard. “After successfully re-launching Ebel only three years ago, Movado Group is committed to repositioning Concord in its portfolio and to restoring the importance of this historic brand in the watch industry.”

Repositioning
From its new international headquarters in Bienne, Concord has been implementing a repositioning strategy that has, for the time being, been kept largely under wraps. Leading the new collection will be a COSC-certified chronograph that the company announces as “imposing, sophisticated and eminently masculine.” Unfortunately, we had only been offered a glimpse of a new case at the time of print, and a teaser – ‘Basel World 2007 - expect the unexpected’. When you reach 100 years old, patience perhaps comes easier.


Source: Europa Star April-May 2007 Magazine Issue