The French watchmaker Charlie Paris has been offering watches for nearly ten years, the most famous of which is the Concordia diver, which is a real bestseller. Just a few months after the release of the Initial Réserve de Marche Jour/Nuit, Charlie Paris is moving upmarket with its new Alliance collection available in two models: Alliance Phase de Lune and Alliance 68h, each of them available in two colors of dial: white or blue. Pre-orders begin today, March 15.
Already (almost) ten years of experience in watchmaking
Charlie Paris is not (yet?) necessarily the most famous French watch brand, and yet it has been around for almost ten years. It was in 2014 that two childhood friends, Adrien Sanglé-Ferrière and Ambroise Parlos, created their own French watchmaking company. Their objective ? Offer an alternative to the luxury watches that make them dream but don’t have the budget.
Interesting detail, one of the (other) very nice particularities of this “young” watchmaking house concerns its logo: a stork! Something to invite us to travel!
Alliance Collection: two even higher-end models
With the collection AllianceCharlie Paris is offering two new models of automatic watches equipped with a Swiss caliber: the Alliance Phase de Lune and the Alliance 68h.
They both have common technical characteristics with a case 39.5 mm in diameter, in polished and brushed 316L stainless steel, a water resistance of 3 ATM, a dial protected by a sapphire crystal (domed), a transparent caseback also protected by a sapphire crystal, and indexes (applied) and hands (leaves) equipped with luminescent material (Super-LumiNova) for better readability of the time at night.
The new Alliances are also very thin (< 9 mm thick), guaranteed for 3 years, designed and assembled in France, equipped with a notched crown (not screwed down) and bearing the brand's "C" logo, and therefore equipped of a Swiss movement. The perfect “Alliance” between France and Switzerland? Now let's move on to the differences between these two models available for pre-order and which will be delivered from next July.
Alliance Phase de Lune: the dress watch par excellence
Let’s not beat around the bush, it’s one of Mr Montre’s favorites at the start of the year. There Moon Phase Alliance has everything to please: the watch is thin (9 mm thick) despite its Moon Phase complication, the dial, blue or white, is sandblasted with an external flange cut out for the minute track, the polished and brushed indexes for the hours have grade A Super-LumiNova BL, and no less than three complications are offered.
We indeed find the Moon Phase at 9 o’clock, it is more precisely a perpetual moon phase (accurate over 122 years and 51 days) double hemisphere (South at 28° and North at 208°) at 9 o’clock. Its particularity is to integrate Super-LumiNova BL grade A on the moon and stars. There is also a small seconds complication at 6 o’clock as well as a date window with magnifying glass at 3 o’clock.
Last but not least, the Alliance Phase de Lune is powered by a bidirectional automatic winding Swiss caliber C105 from Soprod, which gives it 42 hours of power reserve thanks to its 33 jewels and its 28,800 vibrations per hour. And a tolerance of -0/+14 sec/d.
Two versions of the Phase de Lune are available: white dial or blue dial, both available with different straps. Indeed, the brand offers interchangeable straps for all tastes (leather, nylon and steel for some models). The pin buckle is made of steel.
In terms of price, the Moon Phase Alliances are available for pre-order at €1,895. This is a limited edition of 100 per model for 2023.
Moon Phase Alliance: pre-order now / €1,895
Alliance 68h: almost 3 days of power reserve
The Charlie Paris Alliance 68h is even thinner than the Moon Phase Alliance (8.5 mm thick vs. 9 mm) and stands out from the latter with a dial that gives way to a (single) complication at 6 o’clock: a date window.
There is also an additional hand, that of the seconds. This second hand, blue or silver depending on the color of the dial, is polished and has the most beautiful effect. The other difference compared to the Alliance Phase de Lune is the use of a caliber, still Swiss, but from another company, namely the Joux-Perret manufacture.
More specifically, the Alliance 68h is equipped with a G100 caliber from LJP, assembled and regulated by the watchmakers of Humbert-Droz in Besançon. This caliber offers 24 jewels, 28,800 vibrations per hour, a power reserve of 68 hours and a maximum rate drift of -0/+14 sec/d.
Charlie Paris’ Alliance 68h is available for pre-order at a price of €1,345. Two versions are available: blue dial and white dial. Several choices of leather straps (pin buckle) are available. This is also a limited edition of 100 per model for 2023.
