A trend I have seen grow over the past few years is smaller watch brands creating a family of watches and releasing multiple designs within that family. More prominent brands have been doing this for a long time, but it is something that smaller brands have struggled to do. The most significant part of that struggle is likely because you need to build a solid repertoire of watches before your fans consider purchasing multiple watches from the same family. Some of the smaller brands pulling this off successfully are Nodus and (albeit a bit larger) Christopher Ward.
Another brand that recently caught my attention by creating a family of watches with different designs is Charlie Paris. They recently released the Concordia family, which has a little bit of something for everyone who is a fan of tool watches.
The Charlie Paris Concordia dive lineup is called Automatic and is split into a few dial colors and bezel options. The standard set of black, blue, and white dials are available in addition to a few others with more contemporary dial colors. Gradient blue, black, and brown dials round out the rest of the options available. If you’re a textured dial fan and feel left out, do not fret, as they have a tundra dial that is textured white.
The dive watches are sized well, and the proportions seem spot-on from a quick look at the dimensions. They come at 40mm wide, 47.5mm lug-to-lug, and 12.5mm thick. The Tudor-inspired cases have broad, sweeping lugs that should bring the wrist-to-crystal down to around 11mm. They will carry plenty of wrist presence as the bezel is thin, giving the dial lots of room to breathe.
At first glance, the dials can appear a touch busy, but Charlie Paris has done an excellent job of letting some elements sink into the background so the things you care about can shine. Their branding at 12 o’clock is prominent but well-proportioned to the rest of the dial, and most of the text at 6 o’clock is set in a coordinating color that blends in with the dial color. Applied markers and a simple yet legible handset round out the dial layout.
The Automatic can be had on a nylon strap or a bracelet (with female endlinks for the win) and will come in just under $800, depending on the configuration chosen.
If dive watches aren’t your thing and you don’t want to drop $800 on a dive watch, the Concordia family has you covered. 3 hand, no date, fixed bezel sports watches are all the rage right now, but aside from a few brands like Vaer, quartz options are few and far between.
Charlie Paris offers these 38mm sports watches with a Seiko VH31 movement, which is cool for several reasons. Usually, brands slap a Rhonda or Miyota quartz movement in their 3 hand watches and call it a day. It’s a nice change of pace to see a Seiko quartz being offered, especially one with a semi-smooth sweep. The VH31 beats 4 times per second, so you will get that automatic-esque feeling without winding your watch. I dig it.
The fixed bezel lineup carries the same styling as the dive lineup but is smaller in all dimensions. 38mm wide, 45.5 lug-to-lug, and 11mm thick will make almost any wrist happy. The fixed bezel lineup averages around $325, making it a great affordable option.
We’re planning to review the Concordia family in the coming months once the entire range is in production. On paper, these watches look great, and excellent dimensions and price tags that don’t scare you away make for an exciting entry in the tool watch segment.
For more information on the Concordia collection, check out Charlie Paris’ website here
Bringing light to an aspect of horology that is often overlooked
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