Concord C1 World Time Blue Dial Watch 01.6.39.1015

Over a century ago, five visionaries founded Concord Watch. Two master watchmakers — Walter Hugenin and Charles Bonny — and three financial partners set out to create the refined luxury watches for which they are known today and initially had their sights set squarely on discerning American consumers.

Established in 1908 in Biel, Switzerland, Concord has long been recognized for its sophisticated timepieces including its collections of what are widely known as jewelry watches, which, depending on the striking model, might feature 18-karat gold cases, an integration of rubies or emeralds or eye-catching rows of prong-set, single-cut diamonds adorning the bezel. Concord provided these timepieces to fine jewelry houses such as Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels in the early 20th century.

The brand’s innovation quickly outpaced its competitors, as Concord became one of the first watchmakers to produce private label watches set with precious metals and gemstones, and during the 1940s, the manufacture of its sleek modernist timepieces included models made from coins. An ad during the 1950s touted the brand's Coin Bracelet watch as a “Symbol of Elegance.” 

In 1970, the North American Watch Company — under the leadership of Gedalio Grinberg, a Cuban businessman who had relationships with Piaget, Omega and other manufacturers — purchased Concord as well as Movado.

With Grinberg at the helm, Concord debuted its revolutionary Delerium line in 1979 — which included the thinnest watch ever designed at less than 2 mm thick — just as the Swiss watchmaking industry found itself challenged by the quartz crisis. During the 1980s, the brand experimented with watches that were marked by a marriage of sportiness and dressiness, which yielded the Mariner as well as the Saratoga collection. In 2008, Concord was awarded the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève for its C1 Tourbillon Gravity.

Today Concord is a subsidiary of Movado.

Find vintage Concord Watch bracelets, brooches and watches on 1stDibs.