Concord was established in 1908 in the city of Biel, Switzerland. Concord was established to design Swiss made watches for an American market. The watch firm opened one of their first boutiques in New York City in 1908, and by 1968 Concord was named the sixth most popular brand in America. Currently, Concord is part of the Movado group, which also owns Juicy Couture, Hugo Boss, Ebel, ESQ, and Coach watches.
Following World War I, Concord watches were known for not only being high-quality timepieces but also for being breathtaking works of art. Concord was the first privately labeled watch firm to design and use precious metals and jewels in their watches such as rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and sapphires.
In 1945, President Harry Truman presented Concord watches to Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. The watches were a representation of the union of the three. In 1946, the watch company the released world’s first watch that was made of coins.
The watch manufacturer was acquired by G. Greenberg, from The North American Watch Corporation, in 1969, which was also known as Waltham Watch Company. The Waltham Watch Company manufactured an estimated 40 million timepieces between 1850 and 1957.
In 1979, Concord developed the Delirium, which is one of the thinnest quarts watches available at only 1.98mm. The Delirium II was later released, and this model measured even thinner at 1.5mm. There was also a Delirium III produced, which was developed for ladies.
1980 marked the release of the Mariner sports watch. The popularity of this model sparked the company to launch a line of sports watches. In 1986, the watch firm launched the first watch in their sports collection known as the Saratoga Exor.
The luxurious Exor watches were produced in three versions. Each version included a perpetual calendar, minute repeater, and tourbillion. The Exor watches featured so many gemstones that they are considered some of the world’s most expensive and luxurious jeweled watches.
In 1992, the company launched the Concord Mariner V Centenario. This was a collection of limited edition watches that featured extremely complex mechanisms. The collection was released at an exhibit, and shortly after the exhibit the entire collection was sold for an estimated 3.2 million.
To celebrate the company’s 90th anniversary, the company released a new edition of the Delirium and the Impresario Minute Repeater in 1998. These two models are considered some of the most sought after timepieces in the world. There were only 90 models that were ever manufactured.
In 2007, the watch firm released the C1, which was developed for the sports market. The C1 was manufactured to compete with watch brands such as Audemars Piguet and Hublot. One year later, Concord launched two new C1 models. The C1 Gravity Tourbillion and the C1 Worldtimer. The C1 Gravity Tourbillion was the Grand Prix d’Horlogere de Geneve best design of the year in 2008.
The La Scala collection features a timepiece that is available with 122 diamonds weighing a little over one carat, or a timepiece that is available with 328 diamonds that weigh a total of three carats. The La Scala Fashion Manchette model is white-gold and is designed to be worn as a cuff bracelet.