On the occasion of the opening of its first dedidated store on the 13th November at the Macao Centre, Corum unveiled the Heritage Corum Lab 01, a new limited series reflecting the brand's vision of watchmaking. “These are two models which embody our disruptive approach to watchmaking, as evidenced by the juxtaposition of ‘Heritage’ and ‘Lab’. In traditional Fine Watchmaking, the two concepts are never associated with one another. Heritage looks to the past, the lab to the future,” explains Jérôme Biard. “The underlying principle that we are establishing with the Heritage Corum Lab 01 is precisely to create a dialogue between these two. What would René Bannwart or Severin Wunderman have made of Corum heritage today? Progressives, even avant-gardists, certainly wouldn’t simply have just reissued pieces. The Heritage Corum Lab 01 is our response to this vision which drives us, today more than ever.”
The opening of a store in the heart of Beijing highlights the importance of the Chinese market for Corum. This new address confirms the brand's commercial strength and its successful redeployment in the world’s greatest capitals, opened with the assured presidency of Jérôme Biard since summer 2017.
The first two “Heritage Corum Lab 01” models feature a barrel-shaped case made entirely of black DLC. Rare occurrence in modern watchmaking, the calibre that drives these two Heritage Corum Lab 01 watches is a “shape movement”, that is to say a movement that has been made to measure for the case, in contrast to a round movement that is placed in a differently-shaped case. These second option is used for the majority of watches for technical ease. Here, the calibre and the case are closely intertwined, one moulding to the contours of the other.
Corum has opted for an openworked dial which allows for the CO 410 skeleton calibre that fits snugly in the case to be admired. Reduced to its simplest expression, the dial comes in grey anthracite enhanced with either red or white, depending on the version. The micro-rotor, visible from the dial side, features a contemporary spiral finish to accentuate the “speed” effect when it begins to rotate.
