An incredible collaboration between Frederique Constant and artists Seconde/Seconde/ to demonstrate the extent of the Manufacture’s manual assembly with two Slimline Moonphase Date Manufacture Limited Editions imbued with a touch of humor and folly.
Posts filed under Frederique Constant
Introducing: Frederique Constant X Christian van der Klaauw Tourbillon Planétarium for ONLY Watch Auction
A friendship spanning 25 years, human endeavor, the summit of high-flying watchmaking expertise, and an unprecedented blend of talents have all come together in the Frederique Constant X Christiaan van der Klaauw Tourbillon Planétarium for ONLY Watch 2023 for the charity timepiece auction. This single piece features a Frederique Constant tourbillon and the brand’s remarkable manual finishings alongside Christiaan van der Klaauw’s planetarium —the smallest in the world and the first ever produced for a wristwatch.
News: Frederique Constant Highlife Perpetual Calendar 18K Gold
For over 30 years, Frederique Constant has developed luxury Swiss Made timepieces accessible to as many people as possible. Today, the brand presents the new Highlife Perpetual Calendar Manufacture in 18K rose gold. This very special timepiece is one for discerning collectors and will be limited to just 30 pieces. Created in 1999, the Highlife collection is making its comeback in 2020, having been entirely overhauled. Its distinctive redesigned case houses a dial decorated with a globe motif. Symbolizing the Earth, the perfection of the circle, it is also the icon of a new generation that shares the same ideal for saving the planet, sustainable and sensible living.
Baselworld 2016: Presenting the new Frederique Constant Manufacture Perpetual Calendar. Hands-on Review, Live Pictures & Pricing.
Perhaps, one of the most interesting and surprising releases this year at Baselworld 2016 and one that we were completely not expecting. Frederique Constant surprised everyone with what could quickly become the most popular in-house Perpetual Calendar considering its 'budget friendly' price tag. The new Frederique Constant Manufacture Perpetual Calendar was designed using classical watchmaking principles and entirely created to deliver on robustness, and reliability with an easy-to-adjust mechanism.
Pre-Baselworld 2015: Introducing the Frederique Constant and Alpina Swiss Horological Smartwatches. Finally Someone Had to Do It Right.
Finally, what everyone was expecting in the watch industry. The new Frederique Constant and Alpina Horological Smartwatches are 'wearable' smartwatches that you won't be ashamed of wearing and you will want to wear. There's no need to forfeit Swiss craftsmanship and a good decent looking timepiece, no more. Frederique Constant and Alpina are really setting the tune for what the future of Smartwatches should be like by launching two new timepieces that you really would care about wearing, instead of strapping the ridiculously looking Apple Watch. The two companies lead by Peter Stas are building the bridge between Silicon Valley and the Swiss Watch Industry by launching two Swiss Made timepieces powered by MotionX. These new watches are capable of bi-directional communication with iPhone and Android apps and are referred to as Horological Smartwatches.
Insider: Frédérique Constant Moontimer. An Inexpensive Swiss Made Mechanical Timepiece with In-House Movement.
If you are an avid reader of our watch blog, you know by now that we only feature watches that we deem worthy talking about. You then also know, that we will feature watches regardless of their price point as long as we like them and as long as we think that they meet certain criteria in terms of craftsmanship and design. One thing we can promise, is that we will never feature fashion watches from Gucci, Ralph Lauren or Burberry in this website. Because of this commitment, we have decided to feature this beautiful Frédérique Constant timepiece, a watch that comes from a 25 year old Swiss manufacture that offers great affordable timepieces fitted with in-house calibres, yes, it is not a typo we are talking about 'in-house calibres'.
Frédérique Constant was established in its current form in 1988. Aletta Bax and Peter Stas launched their first collection in 1992, comprising six models fitted with Swiss movements and assembled by a watchmaker in Geneva. Today, each Frédérique Constant watch is hand-assembled at their manufacture in Plan-les-Ouates in Geneva with an estimated production of 125,000 pieces a year. The name 'Frédérique Constant' comes from two names: Frédérique Schreiner—1881-1969— and Constant Stas—1880-1967. Peter Stas current Managing Director of Frédérique Constant S.A., is a 4th generation descendant of Mr. Constant Stas, who founded his company in 1904, making printed clock dials for the watch industry.
The Frédérique Constant Moontimer ref. FC-330B6B6 is a watch that we've always liked and one that offers a moon phase and date complication in a well balanced, well crafted timepiece. While many like to describe Frédérique Constant timepieces as mere copycats of Pateks or Jaeger-LeCoultres, we like to think of this manufacture as one that is a perfect point of entry into the Swiss made mechanical watches category with a product that follows horological design principles established centuries ago by the fathers of horology, rather than a company that offers watches that pretend to be a look-alike or wannabe of timepieces designed by the leading 'haute horlogerie' manufactures. After reviewing this timepiece, we can say with confidence that you are getting your money's worth, not more not less.
The Frédérique Constant Moontimer ref. FC-330B6B6 is fitted with a nice highly polished stainless steel case measuring 43mm in diameter and 11.4mm in thickness, a black 'calfcroc' strap with deployant buckle and a beautiful black dial with raised white Arabic numerals with luminescent material, central minute chapter ring, red date pointer indicator, moon phase aperture at 6 o'clock and a set of perfectly contrasting leaf-shaped white hands. The dial is nicely finished and the luminescent material on the numbers and hands is quite bright and long lasting. As you know, most watches with this type of design and classical look typically lack of luminescent material at all. The dial is very easy to read and the convex sapphire crystal provides good readability even in poor light conditions.
The Frédérique Constant Moontimer ref. FC-330B6B6 is powered by the in-house automatic calibre FC-330 with 26 jewels which provides a power reserve of 38 hours while beating at a frequency of 28,800 vph. The calibre is very nicely finished considering the inexpensive price point of this watch and even better finished than some calibres we've seen in more well established brands. Kudos to Frédérique Constant for this level of craftsmanship. To make this calibre even better, Frédérique Constant The watch is fitted with a display case back that allows for full view of the calibre and the watch is waterproof to a depth of a 100 meters. Opposed to what you see in some of the more inexpensive watch brands, this watch is individually numbered as it should be.
One great advantage of this watch over other moon phase watches, is that both the date and moon phase are set via the winding crown without the need for any push pieces around the case band. The crown is a screw-down that is easy to grip but somewhat stiff when pulled out to the winding position. Regardless of the stiffness, one positive thing on this movement, besides the fact that it is a hacking one, is that there's no play at all on the hands when setting the time and pushing the crown back in.
The FC Moontimer is fitted with a very nice handmade matte black calf strap that Frédérique Constant refers to as 'calfcroc' because of its apparent crocodile look with large scales. The strap is properly fitted with a very comfortable and well crafted deployant buckle. The buckle is beautifully engraved with the Frédérique Constant logo and features alternating bead-blasted and highly polished areas. The strap wraps very well around the wrist and is perfectly flushed against the edges of the case with a double spring bar system.
On the wrist the watch wears smaller than its actual size and more like a 40mm watch in a very comfortable and solid way. The watch has a nice weight and it's wrist presence is spectacular for the price. If you are ready to break the paradigm that only an expensive watch is worthy of your wrist, we suggest you give this brand a try and see for yourself. At the very least, you'll find this watch to be a nice 'play watch' for those days when the Patek, Vacheron or Jaeger-LeCoultre needs to stay at home or in the safe.
Sticker Price $2,225 USD. For more info on Frederique Constant click here.
Baselworld: Frédérique Constant. 25 Years with Classic Designs.
The name 'Frédérique Constant' has been created from two names: Frédérique Schreiner—1881-1969— and Constant Stas—1880-1967. Peter Stas current Managing Director of Frederique Constant S.A., is a 4th generation descendant of Mr. Constant Stas, who founded his company in 1904, making printed clock dials for the watch industry.
Frédérique Constant was established in its current form in 1988. Aletta Bax and Peter Stas launched their first collection in 1992, comprising six models fitted with Swiss movements and assembled by a watchmaker in Geneva. Today, each Frédérique Constant watch is hand-assembled at their manufacture in Plan-les-Ouates in the Canton of Geneva. By the end of 2013, the company aims to produce and sell over 125,000 pieces. With its slogan ‘Live your passion’, Frédérique Constant will continue with their passionate development and production of exciting new collections at very reasonable prices.
This year at Baselworld we were able to admire in real life the intricate details and beauty of the Manufacture World Timer Limited Edition watch. This watch offered in a limited edition of 1888 pieces in stainless steel or rose gold plated stainless steel and with two dial configurations, caught our wandering eyes as soon as we started walking around their pavilion.
Our favorite one is the stainless steel version ref. FC-718WM4H4 with a robust 42mm case with a gleaming silver dial featuring a stunning silver world map at the center, polished midnight blue hands, an extra-large date register at six o’clock and a 24-hour disc with day-night indicators that includes 24 of the world’s greatest cities. The watch is fitted with a blue alligator strap and a display case back. One of the greatest advantages of this watch is the fact that no push button or second crown is needed to operate the cities' disc as everything can be controlled with just one single crown. Pretty impressive and with a sticker price of $3,450 this is definitely a bargain for such a beautiful watch and complicated movement.
For more info click here.
