Frederique Constant Highlife Worldtimer Manufacture – The very best in design and engineering

What do you get when you combine the latest men’s collection from Frederique Constant with its globe-trotting Manufacture calibre? The answer is the Highlife Worldtimer Manufacture, a future icon. The globe engraved dial featured on this timepiece, combined to a contemporary 41 mm steel case, is sure to awaken the wanderlust in you.

For over 30 years, Frederique Constant has been progressing and breaking new grounds in watchmaking, becoming a fully-integrated manufacture and developing 30 calibres in-house, while refining its signature look. Advocating luxury Swiss watches at affordable prices, Frederique Constant has never deviated from its founding line.

Each year, the Manufacture finds increasingly inventive ways to offer sleeker, more sophisticated timepieces that are ever more accessible. The new Highlife Worldtimer Manufacture is the embodiment of the latter; the “Worldtimer” being the best positioned timepiece in the watch industry today.

Two stars united

Since its creation, Frederique Constant has capitalised on the expertise of its Geneva-based manufacture. It’s here, in the birthplace of watchmaking, that the brand’s FC-718 calibre was designed, produced and assembled. It has become a movement of its time: modern, precise and reliable, not to mention tried and tested. Being featured at the forefront of the Highlife collection is a first, and represents a major turning point for Frederique Constant.

Simple, accurate, intuitive

Combining the two is both natural and intuitive. Tech meets style. The highly contemporary design of the 41 mm steel case and dial with globe engraving is an ode to travel. The FC-718 manufacture calibre is designed exactly for that.

The self-winding mechanical movement has a power reserve of 38 hours. It is visible through the case back, water-resistant up to 50 metres. One can admire the typical Genevan finishes that Frederique Constant is so fond of, perlage and circular Côtes de Genève among them.

Highly user-friendly, its single crown can be used to set any function: hours, minutes, the date at 6 o’clock and the 24 cities disc that represents 24 time zones on Earth, itself engraved in the centre of the piece. There is no day / night indicator required; the inner disc has been engraved with 12 hours on the light area (cities where it is daytime) and 12 hours on the blue area (those where it is night-time).

One Earth, three straps!

Blue is the dominant colour of the Highlife Worldtimer Manufacture. It takes up the whole centre of the dial, as well as the date counter, for which Frederique Constant has used its unique sunray guilloché for improved legibility. This is skimmed by three central rhodium-plated hands, including luminescent hour and minute hands that are easy to read, even when travelling to the other side of the world at night.

To celebrate the arrival of this new model, the Manufacture has created not one, not two, but three straps for it – a rarity in watchmaking nowadays. The integrated interchangeable strap from the Highlife collection has become one of its characteristic features and Frederique Constant wanted to emphasise its importance. The first option is a polished and satin-brushed three-link steel bracelet with folding buckle, the second is a blue strap with silky nubuck finish and the third is a blue rubber strap to complement the urban feel of the watch.