Naked Watchmaker X Frederique Constant Perpetual Calendar Manufacture Watch Review
The Naked Watchmaker X Frederique Constant Perpetual Calendar Manufacture unites the ideas of the eponymous Genevan Manufacture and the specialist website known for showcasing watches both in an assembled and deconstructed form.
Image – ©Eric Rossier
Frederique Constant depuis 1988
Frederique Constant was founded in 1988 by a Dutch couple, Aletta Bax and Peter Staas. They selected Geneva as a suitable home for their new business. In 1992, the brand unveiled its inaugural collection. Fast forward to 2004, the company launched its first-ever in-house movement, the Heart Beat Manufacture Movement. It took over three years of research and development before the movement was released. Since then, the company has gone on to develop further movements with greater alacrity. Indeed, the firm’s rate of innovation has grown exponentially.
I recall speaking to a member of staff at the Manufacture in 2018 and being informed the brand made a total of 24 in-house movements. Based on past experience, I suspect this number has since increased.
Image – ©Eric Rossier
From the outset, the company’s ethos has always been based on the idea of ‘accessible luxury’. Indeed, throughout the watch firm’s history, this egalitarian approach to watchmaking has remained at the heart of what the brand stands for. At Baselworld 2016, Frederique Constant unveiled the Manufacture Perpetual Calendar, a wonderfully elegant model housed in a 42mm stainless steel case. At the time of its launch, the watch retailed for £7200, a remarkable figure for a watch of such complexity. Even now, some six years after its launch, the model still only costs a modest £8070 (RRP as of 29.6.2022).
This is remarkable value when contrasted with the price of perpetual calendars produced by watchmaking’s old guard, the hallowed ‘holy trinity’ (Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin), where you can expect to pay between £70K – £80K. These latter expressions of Haute Horlogerie are typically encased in noble metals and encompass some of the finest finishing you will ever see. Nevertheless, for a fiscally restricted horophile, Frederique Constant has provided a comparatively affordable route to owning a high complication.
Image – ©Eric Rossier
At this point, the story could easily have ended, however, Frederique Constant has collaborated with The Naked Watchmaker, creating an interesting derivative of the 2016 watch. For those readers who have not yet discovered the world of The Naked Watchmaker, it’s a website that transcends the run-of-the-mill watch blog. Described as an ‘educational resource’, the site reveals a myriad of watches ‘both in assembled and deconstructed form’ and is a must-visit website for all watchmaking devotees. The Naked Watchmaker was founded in 2017 by Peter Speake and Daniela Marin.
Image – ©Eric Rossier
Returning to the collaboration between Frederique Constant and The Naked Watchmaker, the two parties have brought together their respective knowledge and created ‘The Naked Watchmaker X Frederique Constant Slimline Perpetual Calendar Manufacture’. This limited edition model eschews a conventional dial favouring a brown skeleton dial with openworked hands and counters. Numerous parts, normally hidden from view, seduce the onlooker with their coquettish motion. While the 2016 original was formal and shunned luminescent treatment, this latest creation employs Super-LumiNova on various dial elements, aiding nocturnal legibility. Throughout the composition, liberal applications of blue enrich the appearance of the movement, both to the front and rear.
As with all NEWS stories, I have enclosed the brand’s own press release which details the various modifications to the standard model. The Naked Watchmaker X Frederique Constant Perpetual Calendar is limited to just 99 pieces, each priced at a keen €9,995. Apparently, The Naked Watchmaker has received numerous enquiries and the order books will close on the 5th July, so there’s no time to waste. Would-be owners need to pay a 50% deposit at the time of ordering and the balance prior to the watch being shipped.
The brand’s press release
TNW is proud to reveal its first watch collaboration.
In collaboration with the Frederique Constant team, Peter Speake and Daniela Marin have personalised the Frederique Constant Slimline Perpetual Calendar Manufacture, revealing the beauty of the mechanism for all to see and making some technical design alterations that give it The Naked Watchmaker touch.
Having had the pleasure to feature a deconstruction of the Frederique Constant Slimline Perpetual Calendar Manufacture, the idea came about to collaborate with Frederique Constant on a timepiece. The Slimline Perpetual Calendar Manufacture lends itself perfectly to the task. The dial enclosed the movement and the idea to physically reveal the movement and thus creating a Limited Edition that would give the watch a new identity and encompasses elements that personify the mission of The Naked Watchmaker platform in a timepiece.
From the choice of colours to more technical changes, there is a salute to the history of fine watchmaking. The result is an attractive technical Limited Edition timepiece of 99 watches. that remains accessible at an extraordinary price point for a watch of this complexity.
This Limited Edition is not only the first timepiece The Naked Watchmaker has ever embarked upon but it is the only project of its kind with Peter Speake as the platform’s technical expert and principal project designer. It is the last watch to be as a result of the work of both Peter Speake and Daniela Marin. Making this timepiece an important milestone.
The original watch
The original Slimline Perpetual Calendar Manufacture was developed in 2015 with the objectives of creating a beautiful watch starting with a balanced dial. True to its “Let more people enjoy luxury” mission, the module was developed with the objective of simplifying the use and number of components as well as positioning it as an accessible complication timepiece.
Image – ©Eric Rossier
Changes Made
The Original Slimline Perpetual Calendar Manufacture was the ideal candidate for this challenge as the solid dial concealed the movement and gave us the opportunity to fulfil The Naked Watchmaker mission and reveal the inner beauty of the watch. Due to the space that was available between the dial and the sapphire, we were able to add levels and thicken the dial and by cutting away at the dial, depth was added whilst simultaneously revealing the movement within.
The following changes were made.
– The Day and Date sub-dials and hands are much larger than the original Frederique Constant dials, giving greater visibility.
– The Moon phase was altered to be an animation reflecting the movement of time and shows the two moons when one is usually hidden. This created with the SLN moons gives a visually captivating and different use of the moon disk.
– The Months indications are altered to optimise their visibility. The year hand was removed and a colour indication has been placed between January and March.
– Leap year indication: so as to avoid the months indication being obstructed, the years are shown through an opening at February, each year is a different colour and the leap year is red.
– The Hands: were designed to be easily seen but not to block the visibility of the mechanics of the Perpetual Calendar and thus the reason for the cut outs and the wide design.
– Luminova: the use of luminova allows for reading the time at night but in particular accentuates the moons animation at night.
– Bridge colours: blue provides a strong contrast with the steel and gold coloured components accentuating the mechanics. Blue traditionally the colour blue also holds a special place in the world of horology and we see historically blued hands and screws, it is a nod to the history of fine watchmaking.
– Choice of brown – the brown used has a warm slight vintage feel for a classical watch. It also allows the indications in white to be strongly contrasted- Congruent with the choice of strap.
The Naked Watchmaker X Frederique Constant Slimline Perpetual Calendar Manufacture is available in a limited edition of 99 pieces exclusively on the dedicated website…. . https://bit.ly/FrederiqueConstant-NakedWatchmaker