Frederique Constant’s showcase collection is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary this year and unveiling brand new variations of its sports model, the 41-millimetre Chronograph Automatic, to mark the occasion. The first two releases feature highly complementary approaches: one is a non-limited edition featuring the exquisitely elegant combination of a rose gold-plated case and a midnight blue dial; the other is a limited edition of 1888 pieces housed in a steel case and offering the unusual combination of an opaline dial with green counters, setting a contemporary, sportier tone. Powered by the FC-391 calibre with its 60-hour power reserve, the two pieces will come with two and three interchangeable straps respectively, as is the custom.
Frederique Constant’s Highlife collection was very much ahead of its time when it emerged on the watchmaking scene in 1999 with an interchangeable, integrated strap, a design in keeping with the best traditions of Swiss fine watchmaking, high-level finishings, and careful attention to detail – all at affordable prices making Swiss Made luxury as widely available as possible.
The relaunch of the collection in 2022, accompanied by musician, producer and brand ambassador The Avener, immediately proved to be one of the Manufacture’s greatest successes. The long-awaited chronograph came out that same year, with two models that have since become iconic: a classic panda chronograph and a variation on which blue replaces the more conventional black.
The launch of two more new references is thus a major event, doubling the size of the collection at a stroke; above all, it provides collectors with two completely different alternatives. The first now enters the standard collection and introduces a new variation on the Highlife Chronograph Automatic with the very first edition in plated rose gold. This luxurious choice delivers a model that’s still affordable whilst adding a touch of gold – a key component of the traditional, classy ethos of fine watchmaking. The piece’s blue dial and strap and snailed silver subdials assert its unashamedly modern style. The finely worked details will be especially appreciated: hand-polished hands, alternating polished and satin surfaces and the option of a blue suede strap with crocodile pattern embossing alongside the rubber strap alternative.
The second piece takes a very different direction; rather than being a part of the collection, it will be strictly limited to just 1888 watches, making it a rare collector’s item. It’s only the second time in three years that Frederique Constant has produced a limited-edition steel Highlife Chronograph Automatic.
The steel case heralds a sporty temperament; the choice of straps and the fir green counters further assert the piece’s outdoor vocation. This variation remains subtly understated when combined with its green suede strap for city wear, while the other two straps (one in brushed polished steel, the other made from rubber) establish it as ready to explore the planet; the globe outline engraved on the surface of the opaline dial offers further confirmation of this calling.
The two sisters, each with their own temperament, share the same beating heart: the FC-391 calibre, powering an hours/minutes/seconds tricompax display and a date window at half past four. This reliable, tried and tested movement is already present in the collection’s two existing Frederique Constant Highlife Chronograph Automatics and offers a 60-hour power reserve, taking the timepiece comfortably through the weekend so that those who remove their watch on a Friday evening will find it still faithfully telling the time on Monday morning. Visible through a sapphire crystal caseback, the calibre features Côtes de Genève decoration and is fittingly housed in a 41-millimetre case, guaranteed water resistant to 10 ATM.
Frederique Constant Highlife Chronograph Automatic Technical Specifications
Reference
- FC-391NS4NH4 – RRP 3’995€
- FC-391SGR4NH6 – RRP 3’495€
Functions
- Hours, minutes, seconds, mechanical chronograph,
- Date
Movement
- FC-391 caliber, automatic
- Côte de Genève decoration
- 60-hour power reserve,
- 28’800 alt/h,
- 26 jewels
Case
- Brushed and polished stainless steel rose gold-plated / stainless steel 3-part case
- Diameter of 41 mm
- Height of 14,22 mm
- Anti-reflective convex sapphire crystal
- Water-resistant up to 10 ATM/100m/328ft
- See-through screwed case back
Dial
- FC-391NS4NH4
- Navy blue dial with matt finishing and globe pattern embossed in the centre
- Silver colour outer ring with black graduation
- Applied rose gold-plated indexes filled with white luminous treatment
- Hand-polished rose gold-plated hour and minute hands filled with white luminous treatment
- Hand-polished rose gold-plated chronograph second hand in the centre
- Silver colour 60 seconds counter at 9 o’clock with rose gold-plated hand and black printing
- Silver colour chronograph 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock with rose gold-plated hand and black printing
- Silver colour chronograph 12 hours counter at 6 o’clock with rose gold-plated hand and black printing
- Silver colour dial with matt finishing and globe pattern embossed in the centre
- FC-391SGR4NH6
- Dark green outer ring with white graduation
- Applied silver colour indexes filled with white luminous treatment
- Hand-polished silver colour hour and minute hands filled with white luminous treatment
- Hand-polished silver colour chronograph second hand in the centre
- Dark green 60 seconds counter at 9 o’clock with silver colour hand and white printing
- Dark green chronograph 30 minutes counter at 3 o’clock with silver color hand and white printing
- Dark green chronograph 12 hours counter at 6 o’clock with silver colour hand and white printing
- Date window between 4/5 o‘clock
Strap
- Navy blue / Dark green calf leather strap with nubuck finishing and crocodile pattern embossing
- Tone-on-tone stitching
- Pin buckle
- FC-391NS4NH4
- Including an additional navy blue rubber strap with a pin buckle
- FC-391SGR4NH6
- Including an additional dark green rubber strap with a pin buckle
- Including an additional stainless steel bracelet with a folding buckle
ABOUT FREDERIQUE CONSTANT – LIVE YOUR PASSION!
Founded in 1988, Frederique Constant is a Swiss watchmaking manufacture based in Geneva. Having celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2023, the brand continues to showcase its ever-advancing watchmaking expertise as it pursues its aim: providing Swiss Made luxury watches at accessible prices. Through the decades, Frederique Constant has been characterised by creativity and inventiveness – and even more so by mechanical ingenuity and pragmatism.
Born out of the shared passion of an independent entrepreneurial couple, Aletta and Peter Stas, Frederique Constant has written its own rules, blazing a trail into territory where none had dared venture before. Today the brand proudly offers a range of quartz and mechanical models – and most importantly, a collection of 33 calibres designed, developed, and assembled in its own Manufacture at Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva. These movements include Tourbillon, Perpetual Calendar, Flyback Chronograph, Worldtimer, Power Reserve and Big Date complications as well as the Monolithic escapement, made from a single piece of silicon and beating at a rate of 40Hz.
Frederique Constant presently has close to 3,000 points of sale in 120 countries. To pursue its international expansion and develop new synergies, the Frederique Constant Group (Frederique Constant, Alpina Watches, Ateliers deMonaco) joined the Japanese group Citizen since 2016.