Not only is 2023 Frederique Constant’s 35th anniversary, it’s also the fifteenth anniversary of the brand’s first Manufacture tourbillon movement, released in 2008 – and celebrating two anniversaries calls for two creations.
The two pieces unveiled today offer variations in blue and silver, giving them a highly contemporary aspect. The first features a sun-brushed midnight blue dial in a fully-polished steel case mounted on a matte blue alligator strap.
The second strikes a different tone with a sun-brushed silver-coloured dial atop the same strap. The individual number of each piece is marked on the tourbillon cage and engraved on the caseback, through which discerning collectors can admire the finishings on the FC-980 Manufacture movement – bevelling, beading, circular graining, straight-grained flanks and mirror polishing, all applied in the finest Swiss tradition.
A new diameter
The two models share the same DNA, paying tribute to the noblest of watchmaking traditions – not least in their restrained diameter of 39 millimetres. This size has long been the collectors’ favourite, especially for classic Fine Watchmaking timepieces such as tourbillons. It’s also a very contemporary diameter, perfect on both men’s and women’s wrists, to which the Manufacture has returned after previously using a diameter of 42 millimetres for the model.
Minimalist, contemporary decoration has been adopted for the dial and its slim hour markers, they are diamond cut and applied by hand. The same technique has been used for the hands, resulting in a hand polished finish. Below the brand’s understated ‘Frederique Constant – Genève’ signature at 12 o’clock, an opening at 6 o’clock reveals the exquisite highlight of the timepiece: the tourbillon.
The tourbillon: an age-old complication for today
First devised in the late eighteenth century and patented in 1801, the tourbillon is designed to offset the effects of gravity on the watch movement by keeping the escapement in constant motion to preserve an ideal running rate. This meticulous procedure keeps timepieces more accurate; the accuracy of the Classic Tourbillon Manufacture is guaranteed for thirty-eight hours.
Frederique Constant has not simply copied a 220-year-old complication, though. Fifteen years ago, the Manufacture added a silicon escapement wheel and anchor. As a result, owners benefit from a movement that is more resistant to the adverse effects of magnetism and temperature variations – and thus even more precise, true to the tourbillon’s original vocation.
For the finishing touch in terms of precision, a central seconds hand complete with a stop seconds function glides over the tourbillon. The complication itself is visible through a window at 6 o’clock that offers an unparalleled and exhaustive view of the sophisticated escapement – with an additional perspective on its inner workings available from the reverse of the watch through a sapphire crystal.
