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Old 8 August 2011, 06:06 AM   #1
thewatchguy93
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Anybody know Frederique Constant?

I went to a buying meeting with work today looking at new brands to expand the store..


Frederique Constant were there, the friendly chap gave us a huge talk about the brand and showed us the range... He kept throwing in every sentence "Affordable Luxury".


I agree with him, I tryed on many of the pieces and was actually very impressed The brand has a very Mont Blanc esque styling to it and I like that very much.


A luxury swiss (in house movement) timepiece with a starting RRP of £600 all the way through to £3000(ish) I'm impressed!! If any of you folks have heard of the brand, know about the brand or even own one... Please do comment and give me your opinion on them. Pics would be great too!



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Old 8 August 2011, 07:09 AM   #2
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Old 8 August 2011, 07:22 AM   #3
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This brand has been all over in WatchTime magazine. Several issues have features on their watches (probably because they advertise there).

They cater to the traditional styles. They are very affordable as well.

WT has a pic of their new chrono line which is 43mm, I believe, but no date.
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Old 8 August 2011, 08:02 AM   #4
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I have a nice FC moon phase with open dial showing the movement

A pix in this thread: http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=188545
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Old 8 August 2011, 09:34 AM   #5
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A friend of mine who is a watch nut thinks highly of them as an entry level watch. Nicely finished for the price point. For the money I'd be more inclined to buy a used Omega v. a new FC but that is me.
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Old 8 August 2011, 10:36 AM   #6
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I was on the Seabourne legend a couple of years ago and they had a few fred Constants in the gift shop...

Have to say - unimpressed.
Gold plating - the sales gal said 5 microns - Which is pretty thin, but I'm not sure she had any Idea what she was talking about

unremarkable movement - That pricepoint is a tricky one -
I would be inclined to go Vintage full gold Omega for that price range...

Non-Wis buyers, I imagine would go for a Tag - something with more brand recognition..

In any case, If I were going to spend >$1000usd on a watch, it sure as hell wouldn't be gold plated...
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Old 8 August 2011, 07:00 PM   #7
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Frederique Constant...... apparently the names of the grandfathers of the two founders.

I'd love to do some digging but I bet the claim would not be substantiated. The brand name sounds like the concatenation of two of haute hologerie's two finest names

Frederique (patek PHILIPPE?) Constant (vacheron CONSTANTIN?) Coincidence? Really?

Shameless marketing aside I actually really like their watches.

I came so close to pulling the trigger ona FC Chopin watch and may well pick one up in the future. I agree with the comments on the gold plated stuff. Why you would pay $1,000 dollars for a watch that will look cheap when the plating scratches off in 12 months time is beyond me.

The fit and finish of the watches looked excellent especially at their price. It's actually surpringly hard to get a nice non-dinner plate sized guilloche (albeit stamped not engine turned) watch at less than Breguet prices.
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Old 9 August 2011, 01:13 AM   #8
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I really like the dressier styling of FC, but that's about it. After the syling, it becomes a matter of the cost vs value. I'd be inclined to look at Maurice Lacroix, first.
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Old 13 August 2011, 03:56 AM   #9
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I have a number of these. I have been picking them up off eBay for about the last 10 years. You can get them for 10-20% retail if you are patient although prices are increasing a little lately. I only have the cheaper models but have 3 or 4 mechanical ones. Have about 15 in total. My favourite is a quartz yacht timer.


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Old 13 August 2011, 04:05 AM   #10
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I have a number of these. I have been picking them up off eBay for about the last 10 years. You can get them for 10-20% retail if you are patient although prices are increasing a little lately. I only have the cheaper models but have 3 or 4 mechanical ones. Have about 15 in total. My favourite is a quartz yacht timer.
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Old 13 August 2011, 04:10 AM   #11
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I bought this one, because I'm trying to decide if I really like wearing a moonphase (I do), I'll probably sell it, but it is a very nicely done watch for the price point. It seems to be and up and coming middle-brand.
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Old 13 August 2011, 05:00 AM   #12
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A friend who sells this brand told me that this company is owned by a dedicated team - husband and wife. Yes. These watches are nice and available here. Sensibly priced and certainly value for money. Another friend of mine wears one as a dress watch.
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Old 5 October 2011, 07:02 PM   #13
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Hi there,

I personally own a Chopin Limited Edition Frederique Constant and am very impressed with the quality and style for the price. They are dedicated to making timeless classics type watches that do not lose its appeal even for a long time. Wholly hand made in Geneva and manufacturing their own movements adds value to the watch to me.

All in all, I think it is a relatively new brand which have just broken into the luxury range and if they continue to come up with more of these designs, their watches' values may go up one day.

A really great starter watch for classics fans!
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Old 6 October 2011, 01:37 AM   #14
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Sorry, a little late on this thread but here you go.

Frederique Constant was founded in 1904, it was brought back to life in 1988.

They sell about 80,000 watches per year.

They really advertise quite a bit!

My local Rolex, Cartier, IWC, Tag, Panerai AD also carries FQ. It is not a big seller for them but it is often a watch purchased by young professionals just getting started or by a mans wife as a gift when she is tired of seeing that old digital watch or Timex on his wrist.
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Old 6 October 2011, 07:08 AM   #15
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In-house movements? Yes, but for about 3K+ and in few of their watches. Their entry level watches use ETAs.
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Old 6 October 2011, 07:11 AM   #16
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I just ordered a FC. Was supposed to be delivered today but apparently nobody in my building was around to sign for it. I will post some pics when it arrives.

I researched the brand quite a bit and while it is still a very young brand, the pieces I tried on were all really solid and well made. I also like that they use their own movement in certain lines and don't just throw a standard ETA movement in a case, throw a strap on it and ship it out.

IMO - they seem to have accomplished a lot in their short existence.
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Old 6 October 2011, 07:16 AM   #17
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Also, I forgot to mention that they seem to be just "coming on" in a sense in the US. They seem much more readily available in Europe.

I was in Vegas recently though and saw them in a few watch shops. Actually even saw someone buy one at Tourneau in Caeser's and at Wynn's watch store.

I ended up pulling the trigger when I got back home since getting a discount in Vegas on anything seems to be next to impossible.
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Old 6 October 2011, 07:21 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Numismatist View Post
I bought this one, because I'm trying to decide if I really like wearing a moonphase (I do), I'll probably sell it, but it is a very nicely done watch for the price point. It seems to be and up and coming middle-brand.
I'm very impressed with the level of attention to detail and overall solidness of the watch. But, alas, I'm on to my A. Lange...
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Old 6 October 2011, 07:23 AM   #19
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they have some nice watches but I don't think they use in house movements, its a eta with a custom rotor.
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Old 6 October 2011, 08:04 AM   #20
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they have some nice watches but I don't think they use in house movements, its a eta with a custom rotor.
They have their own in house movements in the "Manufacture" line. Completely in house as far as I can tell and the lowest MSRP is around $3,600.

They do use modified movements in other lines and just plain old stock movements in the lower tier lines.

This is what I could tell from reading their website and talking to an AD who seemed to know the ins and outs of the brand far passed what I could read on my own on the web.
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Old 6 October 2011, 11:23 AM   #21
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Quote:
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They have their own in house movements in the "Manufacture" line. Completely in house as far as I can tell and the lowest MSRP is around $3,600.

They do use modified movements in other lines and just plain old stock movements in the lower tier lines.

This is what I could tell from reading their website and talking to an AD who seemed to know the ins and outs of the brand far passed what I could read on my own on the web.
I have been doing a bit of research before buying as well and from what I have found out, they do manufacture in-house movements (PS: this was what propelled them to manufacture status in 2004). Do look at their FC-700 and above calibres where they use make their in-house movements. And best thing is, they do not cost an arm and a leg for them.

As for the lower tiers, it is true they use the ETAs but they also modify them on their own to bring about a different look (eg. the round date dial at the bottom of the main dial).

You may also youtube FC and take a look at their manufacture workshop (looks impressive).
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Old 14 October 2011, 05:53 PM   #22
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Hello All!

Exciting and interesting to read your feedback and questions about Frederique Constant here on this forum!

Please allow me to respond to some of the things I'm reading.

Frederique Constant was established in 1988 by a Dutch couple: Peter Constant Stas and Aletta Frederique Stas-Bax. Through their middle names they have been named after both their great grandparents: Constant Stas and Frederique Schreiner. When they established their own watch brand, it felt only logical to merge their middle names to form the brand name.

The philosophy behind the brand was - and continues to be - to create Swiss made, high quality, classical timepieces, at sensible prices. Or in other words: Accessible Luxury. We have never deluted from this strategy, and with success: in 23 years time we grew from 350 watches in the first year, to an expected 120'000 pieces sold this year.

Frederique Constant is currently available in over 100 countries worldwide, often in high-end stores such as Westime, Wempe, The Hour Glass, Harrods, Seddiqi and many, many others.

In regards to in-house movements: we have launched the project to develop our movements in-house in 2001 and have introduced our first caliber in 2004. There are currently more than 10 proprietary calibers that we proudly produce in-house such as the FC-700 (automatic, date-hand at 6h) for the Maxime Manufacture, FC-935 (Heart Beat Manufacture Moonphase & Date), FC-938 (New Heart Beat Manufacture GMT), FC-980 and FC-985 (both Manufacture Tourbillon). Our own R&D team develops these movement with CAD-CAM software and many of the parts are produced on CNC machines in our building in Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva.

Calibers FC-980 and FC-985 are our pride and joy, as they incorporate an in-house developed tourbillon mechanism, with silicon escapement wheel and lever. Several features in these movements have a Patent Pending, such as the Smart Weight Balance system that helps our Master Watchmakers to adjust the balance of the tourbillon-cage.

The starting price of our Manufacture Collection (Maxime Manufacture Automatic in steel, on a genuine alligator strap with folding buckle) is around EUR 2'000/USD 2'600). By far the most affordable Swiss Made watch, equipped with an in-house movement on the market today! For other products we utilize ETA, Selitta, Valjoux and Ronda (battery-operated) movements, with prices starting around EUR 795/USD 995 for the entry-level Classics Automatic piece, and around EUR 2'200/USD2'700 for a limited edition Automatic Chronograph from the Runabout or Vintage Rally collections.

Feedback we often hear is that Frederique Constant can be scaled in to two different segments: price-wise in the middle segment, quality-wise more towards the higher end. We consider this the best compliment we could receive, and a confirmation of what we have been -and will be- aiming to achieve, with a team of dedicated and passionate people!

I hope the above has clarified a bit more what Frederique Constant stands for. If you have any additonal questions, please do not hesitate!

Many thanks for reading!

Ralph Simons
Commercial Director
Frederique Constant SA
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Old 14 October 2011, 09:27 PM   #23
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Thanks for posting and welcome to TRF

I have enjoyed my FC and have found it to be very well made and finished quite well for its price point.

Stick around, its nice to have a manufacturer on our boards. We're all a very friendly bunch of watch enthusiasts
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Old 14 October 2011, 09:43 PM   #24
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Thank you for the information Ralph and welcome to the Forum.
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Old 14 October 2011, 10:04 PM   #25
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Thanks for the explanation Ralph. It is always good to have a manufacturer on board!
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Old 14 October 2011, 10:11 PM   #26
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Mr Simons, thank you very much for the insight into Frederique Constant SA.

I will take closer interest in FC watches as a result of you posting.

Thank you, and all the best for the future...
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Old 14 October 2011, 11:13 PM   #27
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I was just at my local watch store looking for a Baume and Mercier. The SA decided to show me the Frederique Constant collection at the same time. I ended up walking out with an FC-303B4B26 for my wife to wear daily. I was really impressed with the designs, feel and value of their watches, and will probably get one for my collection.
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Old 5 August 2015, 03:45 PM   #28
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Friendly tip -- use the "Search this forum" box before posting a question, you'll find a treasure awaits you...

This thread was popping recently, about FC:

http://rolexforums.com/showthread.ph...ght=frederique
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Old 5 August 2015, 04:47 PM   #29
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This thread pre-dates your link by 4 years!
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Old 12 February 2017, 08:07 PM   #30
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Too delicate - Good mechanism though

Did some research on FC - good mechanism etc. So picked up a moonphase automatic - loved the watch till a month down the line it slipped from my hand putting it on. The glass cracked. Was even sitting down while putting it on so quite shocked that the glass could not take the impact. Warranty doesn't cover this and the cost is more the half the value of the watch - ain't going to bother.

Good looking watches but extremely delicate. Wouldn't buy one again.

[IMG][/IMG]

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