Concord RE-Launches the Mariner

Baselworld 2014 marks an  historic milestone for Concord - the reintroduction of the Mariner.  Historic - since it seems Concord has a serious change of heart in regard to its older collections.  When Concord recently relaunched the Saratoga, I thought this sudden nostalgia was a once off deal, but a second relaunch proves Concord has renewed faith in its past.  Although the C1's , 2s  and Clabs are still quite hot, a brand of this size comprised entirely of one idea has limitations. The C hype has faded.  Its been five years ago since the Baselworld 2009 release of the QuantumGravity Tourbillon. An entire company - HYT - started by former Concord CEO Vincent Perriard - was built on its hydro mechanical concept.  

 Even though I blogged quite a bit about the C models - I could not fathom how a company could throw away all its previous and well loved collections.  I was terribly sad to see the production of Deliriums and La Scalas stopped.  La Scala is actually one of my favorite Ladies Watch.  The Delirium's and La Scala's ,still available on Ebay and on quite a few watch sites, have not lost their place in the watch world.  I personally think there is a definite market for new models of  old collections.
It seems Movado Group. owned Concord has finally realized that the C collections ,no matter how cutting edge and cool, is not enough for Concord.

 Of course the newer models of old collections are modernized.  In the words of Concord..
"This Iconic Collection has been updated to reflect a modern and beautiful sense of style"

The Mariner Collection is supposed to evoke an "ahoy there" feel; even engraved with the wind-rose logo on the case back. However, I think the watch collection can stand on its own as a really elegant  sporty timepiece without the Nautical nuances.
The mens 41mm models  have a really great automatic Sellita movement, beneath an engaging anthracite dial and housed in a stainless steel case.  A ETA quartz movement lies beneath a silver-toned dial. The watches are only water resistant to 50 meters which is not really ideal for waterways. The indices and hands are Rhodium plated and treated with Superluminova. 

The white mother of pearl dial upon the  30mm ladies timepiece is punctuated by 12 diamonds. A stainless steel case houses an ETA quartz movement.  An Anti-reflective treatment is applied to the scratch resistant sapphire crystal enabling read-out at high noon.

One collection I am eager to welcome is the Concord Delirium.
I suppose we will just have to wait and see.

The Effect of the Economy on Luxury Watches.

When the economy was great, my interest in finances was somewhat vague, but now it has become something of an obsession. I constantly check the Dow Jones to see whether the market is up or down - mostly down, and the minutes before 4pm ,when the market closes, my eyes are glued to the screen watching the numbers change. So naturally I am always scanning the net to find articles about the current economic situation and luxury watches. I came across an article on Portfolio. com titled "Tough times for Luxury Watches" which I found well written and a good read. Click on the title and you will be able to read the full article.

The article states quite a bit of statistics regarding the downturn of mid range luxury watches. The downturn in the economy left an entire army of watch buyers in a quandary, your stock brokers, your mortgage brokers, lawyers, real estate developers, construction workers suddenly found themselves scrambling to pay the bills, regular bills like the phone and electric. Who could think of buying a luxury watch?
But there are dreams and just because the bank balance is dwindling the dreams don't stop, as Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel designer, voiced in a January BBC interview.

"I can be interested in a $20m diamond I will never buy, without desiring the diamond. If you want only things you can afford, it's boring too."

"It's great to see things you may not buy - because you don't have the money - but it is very ugly to think they shouldn't exist because you can not buy them."

(Watch depicted Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Joaillerie Ladies' Manual Wind Watch 18K White Gold with Diamonds Q2673301)
People will not succumb to frivolous spending, but spending wisely, and although at this present moment the spenders have halted to rethink their past spending habits, they will reorganize and begin to set money aside for that which they want. The thrill of having a luxury watch strapped to ones wrist does not fade with the passage of time, but only increases so that when one purchases an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak or a Cartier Tank or a Concord La Scala the satisfaction is ten fold.

(Watch depicted Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Men's Watch Automatic 18K Rose Gold White Dial on Brown Leather Strap 15300OR-OO-D088CR-02)

Last week I took my son to the doctor to have his yearly shots. I noticed the Doctor had on an exquisite Cartier Tank. I admired it and she said, "I had wanted a Cartier Tank for the longest time, and finally I bought it."
In these troubling times with CEO's getting hammered for travelling by private jet, people are feeling guilty about spending large sums of money. However, there is no substitute for a good watch, especially a good Luxury Watch which will last a lifetime. The trick is to channel your money wisely and in doing so you will be able to afford a luxury watch. Buy a luxury watch and feel good about yourselves, feel that even in this economy you can gain self confidence, and confidence is a much needed trait around about now.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the above issues.