Frederique Constant Tackles Affordable High Complication Again with Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture

Since its founding in 1998, Geneva-based Frederique Constant has forged an identity as a watchmaker that consistently hits an elusive and very narrow target: making complicated watches that somehow, some way, come in at prices that most any enthusiast would describe as accessible. Perhaps the brand’s most impressive coup in this area came in 2016, with the launch of its first Manufacture Perpetual Calendar, outfitted with an in-house movement and priced at a head-turning $8,800. Nearly a decade later, at this year’s Watches & Wonders Salon, Frederique Constant builds on the groundbreaking timepiece’s success with a new, more streamlined case design, a crowd-pleasing dial colorway, and — lest it be overlooked — a new in-house caliber, the 34th that the brand has produced in its relatively youthful existence.

The noteworthy aspects of the new Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture begin with its smaller case dimensions — 40mm in diameter and 12.1mm high, reduced from the 42mm of its predecessor and also from the 41mm of the Highlife Perpetual Calendar Manufacture, a sportier-designed timepiece that used that same original movement, Caliber FC-775. The three-part case is in stainless steel,  with a polished finish, with a nonreflective convex sapphire crystal over the dial and 50 meters of water resistance. Frederique Constant refers to this case, with its slimmer lugs, smoother lines, and more modest dimensions, as its “Classic” design, not to be confused with its “Classics” collection of watches, which uses this style of case as well as others.

The subtle streamlining of elements continues on the dial, which comes in a salmon hue with a sunray finish. The silver-colored Dauphine hour and minute hands are hand-assembled and hand-polished; the applied, diamond-cut hour markers, also silver-colored and hand polished, are slightly more slender than their predecessors for a more minimalist look. The “sector dial” minute track, a visual reference to vintage timepieces of the early 20th Century, is a new element for the model. The design leaves the perpetual calendar displays ample room to breathe: the month and leap year at 12 o’clock, day of the week at 9 o’clock, date at 3 o’clock, and the moon-phase at 6 o’clock. All these subdials and apertures have a slightly stepped design that adds a hint of depth.

The new, self-winding Caliber FC-776, which supersedes the impressive Caliber FC-775 introduced in the original model in 2016, is on display behind a sapphire window in the caseback. Its main notable revamp is a three-day power reserve, amped up from the relatively pedestrian 38-hour running autonomy of its predecessor. With a balance beating at 4 Hz and carrying 26 jewels, Caliber FC-776 is also graced with an array of high-horology finishes that speak to its elite pedigree, including circular côtes de Genève and perlage on the plates and bridges and a gold, skeletonized rotor. Like the Caliber FC-775, with which it shares a base, the FC-776 movement makes all of its calendar functions operable through inset push-buttons on the case while the time can be adjusted via the crown.

As we’ve all likely experienced, or at least heard about, there’s been some inflation in the market since Frederique Constant unveiled its first Perpetual Calendar in 2016, so this next-generation model comes in at a slightly higher price tag, with an MSRP of $9,995 before taxes — still shy of that intimidating $10,000 mark, and thus, still one of the absolute best price-to-value ratios you’ll find in the watch industry today.