New for 2023: The Frederique Constant Highlife Worldtimer Manufacture Watches
Tuesday - 04 April 2023
Happy birthday to Frederique Constant, who is celebrating 35 years this year with the release of yet another exquisite Worldtimer watch from the Highlife collection. The Genevan-based Masion represents affordable luxury that can be matched with no other manufacturer. Frederique Constant has become an expert in designing stylish vessels for the perpetual calendar and tourbillon type, yet the Highlife Worldtimer watch combines indisputable practicality whilst on the go, with a complication that can track the time in all the major cities of the world. The new Frederique Constant Highlife Worldtimer Manufacture for 2023 comes in a case crafted from 18ct rose gold or stainless steel and comes fitted on a comfortable alligator leather strap for exuding a sense of casual elegance.
When husband and wife team, Aletta and Peter Stas founded the Frederique Constant company, little did they know that in 35 years they would be celebrating its success having developed some of the most technically sophisticated watches on the market, like its own Smartwatch, for example. Most importantly though, the company has remained true to its promise of creating affordable luxury watches and these qualities have never been more evident than in a design like the new Frederique Constant Highlife Worldtimer Manufacture. It comes in two iterations, one in stainless steel and one in 18ct rose gold, yet both come in sizes at 41mm with a height of 12.90mm. The rose gold version is limited to just 35 pieces – a nod to Frederique Constant’s 35th birthday, whilst the stainless steel model will become part of the brand’s core line.
Why ask Alexa when you can look to the Frederique Constant Highlife Worldtimer Manufacture?
Modern technology can indeed offer us pretty much everything we desire with a quick click of a button. Nothing is faster, however than a quick glance at a mechanical masterpiece that dresses the wrist with an air of sophistication. The Frederique Constant Highlife Worldtimer Manufacture watch does just that with its stunning tonneau-shaped case and indulgently polished bezel that frames a deep blue dial in the rose gold version reference FC-718BL4NH and a rich chocolate dial in the reference FC-718C4NH6. The concept of tracking time globally was conceptualised by watchmaker Emmanuel Cottier. He presented the world time system to the Société des Arts when, in 1876, the Chief Engineer of the Canadian Railway Sir Sanford Fleming raised the issue of missing train journeys due to the difficulties in coordinating different time zones. The concept was improved upon for another 47 years until Cottier’s son, Louis invented a revolutionary mechanism that would track time zones accurately on a single watch face. The hour hand on the centre of the dial was linked to a rotating inner ring bearing all 24 major cities of the world in a design that has been adopted by the modern world ever since.
The new Frederique Constant Highlife Worldtimer Manufacture watches feature a brushed multifaceted case and a polished bezel. The bluish-grey dial of the limited edition rose gold version is adorned with lines of latitude and longitude upon its surface, along with a sunray finished date at 6 o’clock and gold-coloured hour markers and hands that tell the time perfectly. The cities of the world around the ring are accentuated in a white hue, contrasting against the deep blue nuances of the dial, whilst the 24-hour scale highlights the difference between nighttime hours and daytime hours with a colour variation. Although it comes on a blue alligator leather strap with a nubuck finish and a matching 18ct rose gold buckle, the watch can also be switched over to a blue rubber strap.
The Frederique Constant Highlife Worldtimer Manufacture stainless steel and chocolate brown dial version, designed in the same way, features a light latte-coloured daylight section on the 24-hour track, combined with a deep brown colour for the evening hours. The dial is a mix of different shades of brown with luminescent material applied, once again, to the pill-shaped hour markers and straight hands. The watch is available on a deep brown alligator leather strap with a nubuck finish but comes with two additional straps; one brown rubber band and one brushed stainless steel three-link bracelet. Both of the new Frederique Constant Highlife Worldtimer Manufacture watches are powered by the same movement -the self-winding Calibre FC-718, which performs at a rate of 28,800 vibrations per hour and produces a power reserve of 38 hours once fully wound.
If you’d like to learn more about the limited edition and non-limited edition versions of the 2023 Highlife Worldtimer Manufacture watch by Frederique Constant, you can call our Jura Watches sales team who are on hand to answer all your questions on 01335 453453
