An aerial bi-axial tourbillon mechanism. A vertical power reserve. Individualist
seconds. A stripped-down dial and spectacular volumes: the latest specimen
from the C Lab Series defies all theories. Even better, it creates its own rules:
emptiness is its core material, engineering its constancy; chemistry a dare and
transparency a must.
Designed and developed by the C Lab Series, the C1 QuantumGravity symbolizes
unrestricted and unconstrained time, where only impulse and intuition prevail. A
special unit dedicated to extreme watchmaking, the C Lab Series has a mission: to
push the boundaries of mechanical watch making by introducing it to new modes
of expression. Last year, the C1 Tourbillon Gravity timepiece inaugurated a new
watchmaking era, where time liberates itself without reserve.
In 2009, the C Lab Series is expanding this watchmaking metamorphosis to
embrace new horizons. Initially devised in the fall of 2008, the C1
QuantumGravity was born after a 5-month incubation period, nurtured by the
will and tireless energy of a team that works on instinct alone. BNB Concept was
entrusted with the creation of the movement, while Studio Bellon finalized the
design.
The result: a new species of watch that lives time as if it were an experiment and
space, a source of stimulation. The creation of the C1 QuantumGravity
constitutes a provocative act in itself, while its construction is an exploration
carried out at the brink of excess and defiance.
A perpendicular power reserve
First equation: Power reserve = verticality + fluidity
A cylindrical piston. A vertical back-and-forth movement. Liquid. These were the
three essential elements combined by the C Lab Series to create this astounding
equation involving mechanics and chemistry.
Traditional design and display codes have been demolished to make way for a
mobile glass column, located between 12 and 1 o’clock, which serves as the
power reserve with a vertical indicator. On the chemistry side of things, a liquid
featuring green phosphorescent nanoparticles fills a tube to assist in the
reading. Meanwhile, on the mechanical side, this energy gauge operates
perpendicularly to the caliber, rising up and down from its base to signal the
remaining energy of the movement in relation to its available three-day power
reserve. Its graduated outline corresponds to level indicators, which are
secured to the inner surface of the watch.
A stayed bi-axial tourbillon
Second equation: Tourbillon = suspension + axes2
Cables. A bi-axial movement. A lateral position. This collection of challenges
had to be taken on to erect a spectacular tourbillon carriage.
Exported to the timepiece’s Western border and literally suspended, it rotates in
a multi-dimensional manner on two axes – the main one being vertical. Its baffling
structure has adopted the rigid and light elevation of cable-stayed bridges: one
arm, extended from cables measuring just 2/10th of a mm-wide and fastened to the
plate, maintains the carriage vertically and thus reinforces the impression of an
independent arrangement. The suspension mechanism is supported by an
elastomeric self-tensing system, which enables the cable/arm hinge to be
precisely adjusted and the dilatation effects, compensated.
Levitating mechanics
Third equation: Time = space
48.5 mm in diameter and 22 mm in depth: the appearance of a Titan, whose
proportions reach a staggering 57.5 mm in breadth. Yet, the C1 QuantumGravity
remains easily wearable thanks to its lugless design which ensures a perfect fit
on the wrist. The use of Titanium for the case and Aluminum for the majority of
movement components bestows a lightness on this timepiece that is as astounding
as its size.
The build of this watch composed of 511 parts is also offset by an anatomy that
privileges space and transparency: the case, whose machining required 400
hours of fine adjustment, can be reduced to a structure that is literally
enveloped by 5 sapphire crystals. The mechanism is visible from all angles.
Although the case and movement share a genetic bond as they were made for each
other, they are flanked by other elements that seem to operate self-sufficiently:
to the West, a glass excrescence house the tourbillon carriage while to the
East, two symmetrical casings house the winding mechanism and the seconds, at 2
o’clock and 4 o’clock respectively.
Concealed entirely, the imposing time-setting key can be ejected from its armor by
simply pressing on the push button. As for the seconds, they evade the dial to
nestle on the side of the case. They are engraved in luminescent orange against a
black aluminum roll and can be seen through a window whose cut echoes the
push button of the crown. A lateral sapphire crystal reveals the rotating
orange blades of the seconds wheel.
The dial has also been contaminated by this urge for maximum openness.
Although it strives to display the flight of hours and minutes, its focus is on
empty spaces. The depth of its field of vision is dizzying, the feeling of levitation
exhilarating. Deconstruction, a concept so dear to Concord, has been magnified:
the C1 QuantumGravity apprehends time as a perspective, using emptiness as a
material on which time features are grafted.
Under the impressive sapphire crystal, the panorama, amplified to its utmost,
outlines time that has almost been dematerialized. And despite the exuding
madness, legibility has remained at the core of its construction. Just like a
suspended glass saucer, the off-centered hour-circle between 3 and 4 o’clock
dresses a part of the cavity at the bottom of which the movement is supported. A
spider-like structure acts as a scaffold under the transparent disc punctuated
by the luminescent orange markers. The 6.5 mm high hand-fitting is a technical
prowess in itself and adds to the feeling of dizziness.
Wedged at the bottom of the abyss, the mechanical manually wound movement
choreographs time with precision. An officer-style case-back which appears as an
air-lock at every opportunity reveals the geometric circuit, the right-angled
skeletonized bridges, the gear-trains that transmit energy to the tourbillon
carriage and the cable adjustment. The finishing touches highlight an industrial
design that is both methodical and futuristic: a black aluminum plate against
anthracite aluminum bridges, rubies against polished steel screws… They embody
the spirit of a watch made with high-tech materials, glass, emptiness and colored
luminescent materials.
The C1 QuantumGravity defends time that is inexorably linked to space.
Prophetic, its construction created in record time propels Concord into a
parallel world where intuition is a favored ally and its design and mechanics a
harbinger for the future of watchmaking. An addiction to breaking established
codes and extrapolating underlies Concord’s creative mettle. C1
QuantumGravity is its ultimate creation.
Technical Features:
Movement
•Mechanical manually wound movement
•Caliber Concord C104
•21,600 vibrations per hour
•3-day power reserve
•42 Jewels
Functions
•Hours, minutes
•Roll of seconds external to the case
•Vertical power-reserve indicator
•Bi-axial tourbillon
Case
•Titanium case with white gold elements
•Dimensions: 48.5 mm in diameter – 22 mm in depth
•5 sapphire crystals
•See through officer-style hinged case back
Dial
•Aerial skeletonized dial
Strap
•Black vulcanized rubber fixed to the case with 4 screws
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR-0sFpNmqc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNBfLcPBiHU
And the Tag Calibre 36 RS movement is actually a Zenith El Primero. Ask anyone on this board whether they would rather own a Tag or a Zenith, and everyone (myself included) will of course say, "Zenith!" But, really, if you buy a Chronomaster or a Grand Carrera 36 RS the cases and the movements were all manufactured, assembled, and tested by the same people. I don't know if anyone knows who actually makes Breitling's cases. It's possible that neither ESQ (the owner of Movado) nor Concord make their own cases. Certainly, in every Concord I have seen they don't make their own movements (obviously, this one here is different).