The Geneva-based brand reproduces on the face of this diamond-encrusted steel watch the sense of wonder felt when gazing up at the night sky and embracing a cloud of stars.

Born in 1999, Frederique Constant‘s Highlife collection was successfully redesigned three years ago, in 2020, then declined in a version with smaller dimensions in 2021. Its new model, the Highlife Ladies Automatic Sparkling, unveiled in early spring and limited to just 888 pieces, evokes with a subtle lyric touch the beauty of a starry night when the azure takes on a deeper hue, awakened by the silvery reflections of the stars. It’s a gentle reminder of how important it is to embrace nature, look up to the sky and let the magic happen.

Highlife is first and foremost a curvaceous, ergonomic silhouette, embodied by a steel body with measurements ideal for slim wrists (34mm in diameter and 9.80mm thick) that harmoniously integrates a bracelet made of three rows of links machined from the same metal. The latter can easily be replaced by two strands of white rubber for a sportier, more summery look.

Next, Frederique Constant has opted for a twilight blue face, delicately tinged with peacock blue and sprinkled with silver glitter. The stellar effect is accentuated by the presence of 8 diamonds interspersed with indexes. At the center of this poetic tableau, two luminescent baton-type hands display the hours and minutes, accompanied by a slender second hand. The date is indicated in black on a white background for optimum legibility in a window at 3 o’clock. The diamond-banded case of the Highlife Ladies Automatic Sparkling houses the FC-303 caliber, clocked at 4hz and providing 38 hours of power reserve when fully wound via its gilded oscillating weight.

The post HIGHLIFE LADIES AUTOMATIC SPARKLING appeared first on Watches News.

A double celebration for the young Geneva-based brand, which is simultaneously celebrating its 35th anniversary and its first participation in the Watches and Wonders trade show, and is presenting a contemporary interpretation of the tourbillon in a limited edition for the occasion.

In an industry dominated by major players that are often a hundred years old, and more rarely two hundred years old, being young has its advantages: the ability to forge one’s own path, to innovate with new models or to reinterpret watchmaking tradition with a contemporary vision. Frederique Constant excels in mastering these talents, while sticking to a realistic and accessible pricing strategy for a wide audience. The Geneva-based brand, founded in 1988, is celebrating a double event this year: its 35^th anniversary and its first participation in the exclusive Watches and Wonders exhibition. This celebration is reflected in the creation of the Classics Tourbillon Manufacture, a prestigious timepiece entirely designed, developed and assembled in its workshops.

Limited to 150 pieces only, the watch has a pink gold case measuring 39mm in diameter and 10.99mm thick, a size that will fit most wrists. Its transparent caseback reveals part of the cogs of its self-winding manufacture movement, the FC-980 caliber, which beats at the standard frequency of 4hz and provides a power reserve of 38 hours.

Produced since 2008, this engine gives rhythm to the traditional central display of hours and minutes by two golden lancine hands on the delicate anthracite dial circled with faceted drop-shaped hour markers, and the elegant dance of a tourbillon placed in an aperture at 6 o’clock and fitted with a small second hand. To perfect the timeless spirit of the Classics Tourbillon Manufacture, Frederique Constant suggests wearing it with a matte chocolate alligator leather strap and a rose gold folding clasp.

The post CLASSICS TOURBILLON MANUFACTURE appeared first on Watches News.

Perfectly identifiable thanks to its face engraved with a globe and its body with dynamic lines, the stylish watch from the Genevan watchmaker is now available as a compax chronograph presented in three versions.

Far from the image of a megalopolis whose sidewalks are constantly crowded by a compact human tide, in an atmosphere that is both electric and grayish, the urban style that Frédérique Constant imagines through its young Highlife collection is an invitation to set one’s own pace in a world that sometimes turns too fast. And to measure this time at its true value, the Geneva-based brand is now offering a new object with dynamic lines: the Highlife Chronograph Automatic, which comes in three versions, including a two-tone version in rose gold plating and one “panda” with blue  shades limited to 1,888 pieces.

The strength of character of the Highlife Chronograph Automatic lies in the harmony of its steel case, 41mm in diameter and 14.22 thick, with full lugs to better blend with the bracelet and delicately oblong pushers. It is confirmed by the engraved silhouette of a globe on the white, silver or black dial. The three counters rest on this finely carved Earth: the small seconds at 9 o’clock, which completes the display of the two central hands, and the totalizers for the minutes and hours of the chronograph, located at 3 and 6 o’clock respectively and powered by the large second hand. The date is discreetly displayed at 4:30.

These indications are provided by the FC-391 caliber, a 4hz automatic movement equipped with a rose gold oscillating weight that delivers 60 hours of power reserve when fully wound. Each watch, whether on a steel link bracelet or a leather strap, comes with a second rubber strap, except for the white and blue version which has all three options.

The post HIGHLIFE CHRONOGRAPH AUTOMATIC appeared first on Watches News.

A timeless color, navy blue, evoking the ocean’s waves, is the ideal hue for the dials of two new limited-edition chronographs from the Geneva-based brand.

Nature offers such beautiful, pure, and intense colors, it provides an infinite source of inspiration. Like blue, for example, borrowed from the ocean world, it immediately conjures up images of a calm sea, lulling waves and, why not, a beach to lounge on. This is the color Frédérique Constant selected to embellish the face of a new duo of Runabout Chronograph Automatic watches, two references available in 888 watches each.

Measuring 42mm in diameter, the case is water-resistant to 50m and is made of polished steel or plated in rose gold. It houses the F-392 caliber, an automatic movement running on 4hz, delivering 55 hours of power reserve when fully wound, 9 hours more than the previous models.

The dial features a center decorated with a Clous de Paris guilloche pattern on which are placed three azure counters. The small seconds are indicated at 9 o’clock and the minute and hour chronograph indicators are located at 12 and 6 o’clock respectively. In the center, two lancine-type hands, silver or gold, point to luminescent hour markers and Arabic numerals. There is a timer on the flange that is accompanied by the second hand that manages the measurement of short times. A black date window displayed on a white background at 6 o’clock completes the set of functions.

The Runabout Chronograph Automatic is worn on a navy-blue calfskin strap embossed with an alligator effect, edged with white stitching and fastened with a folding clasp.

Price: €2,695 (steel) – €2,895 (rose gold plated steel)

By Sharmila Bertin

The post RUNABOUT CHRONOGRAPH AUTOMATIC appeared first on Watches News.

The Geneva-based watchmakers have released two new models in their Classics collection featuring a 24-hour display to give a new look to time

On a watch dial, the time is traditionally shown over 12 hours with the help of hands moving around a series of hour markers or figures. But with this system, you cannot tell day from night, unless you look out the window, which is impossible if you are a diver in the ocean’s depths or an astronaut travelling through space. For these atypical customers, but also for anyone wishing to take a different look at time, Frédérique Constant has designed a new model named the Classics Automatic 24H and available in two different versions.

The watches are in a very attractive price segment, since they cost less than 1,000 Swiss francs. As their name suggests, they come with a 24-hour display. In the centre of the silver grey or anthracite dial with a Clou de Paris pattern, a satin ring displays the said function in black or white Arabic figures. “Regular” time, covering 12 hours, as well as the minutes, are shown by a couple of silver and luminous dauphine-style hands. There is also a central hand for the seconds.

The 43mm-wide steel case is water-resistant down to 100m and houses the calibre FC-332. This self-winding movement runs at the standard frequency of 4Hz and provides a power reserve of 38 hours.

A dark grey crocodile-style strap rounds off the timeless and elegant spirit of the Classics Automatic 24H watch.

Price: 995 CHF

By Sharmila Bertin

The post CLASSICS AUTOMATIC 24H appeared first on Watches News.