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Frederique Constant Celebrates 35 Years and 31 Calibers

To celebrate a manufacturing milestone and its own 35th anniversary, Frederique Constant during Geneva Watch Days is launching the Classic Power Reserve Big Date Manufacture, a 40mm watch powered by Caliber FC-735, the watchmaker’s thirty-first manufacture caliber.

The new Frederique Constant Classic Power Reserve Big Date Manufacture, here pictured in a steel case.

And to spread the self-love, Frederique Constant is making the watch available in four versions, all of which feature displays indicating power reserve, date and moon phase.

One model features a rose gold case and a grey anthracite dial and will be a limited edition of 350. It will be offered on a brown alligator strap.

Two additional models, cased in steel with either a blue or silver dial, will join the watchmaker’s ongoing Manufacture collection.

These non-limited versions share the same polished steel case and blue alligator leather strap. (At $4,995 the steel edition with an in-house movement is a particularly strong example of this watchmaker’s goal to remain a manufacturer of ‘affordable’ luxury watches.)

A version in a platinum case and a meteorite dial (above) on a navy blue alligator strap will be issued as a limited edition of thirty-five and will be available later this fall.

Frederique Constant notes that the FC-735 is the watchmaker’s first caliber to offer a big date, a moon phase and a power reserve indicator together in one watch. 

Also notable is the fairly long fifty-hour power reserve built in to the watch and indicated at 9 o’clock. The dial is balanced out with the big date display between the 2 o’clock position and the 3 o’clock position and the bright moon phase display at the 6 o’clock position.

Frederique Constant again makes it a simple task to adjust and set all three of these displays. The time-set function and winding mechanism are all adjusted via the crown.

And as is typical of Frederique Constant Manufacture pieces, the caseback is fitted with clear sapphire, here allowing a view into the new FC-735 Manufacture caliber. 

Prices: $27,995 (platinum case–to debut later this year), $19,995 (rose gold case) and $4,995 (steel case). 

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MB&F Expands HM9-SV  

MB&F adds two new versions of its aerodynamic Horological Machine No.9 Sapphire Vision (HM9-SV), now offering models with a blue CVD movement in a white gold frame and a green CVD movement with a yellow gold frame. The clear case fully exposes the watch’s dual cantilevered balances, planetary differential and free-spinning twin turbines.

One of two new HM9-SV models.

Both new models expand the HM9-SV series, which debuted in 2021 with four clear sapphire editions of the original HM9.

With its sapphire livery, the watch joined a family of MB&F models with significant clear sapphire customization, including the HM8,  the HM3 FrogX and the ten-sapphire-crystal HM6.

The pioneering independent watchmaker debuted its first HM9 Flow in 2019 as a tribute to 1940s and 1950s automotive and aeronautic designs.

Re-engineered

MB&F culls from its wide-ranging experience of creating with sapphire when re-engineering the HM9 with its clear case. On these SV models, MB&F seals the outer hull with a proprietary three-dimensional gasket and specialized high-tech compound bonding process. The result is new type of water resistant seal (to 30 meters) that is practically invisible.

MB&F explains that its designers were also required to rework a few the original HM9 dimensions with smoother lines and fewer edges to account for the property differences of sapphire crystal.

While quite hard, sapphire can fracture under pressure, which means the smoother lines on this HM9-SV limited this possibility. At the same time the rounded edges only enhance the organic aesthetic of the full watch.

Also new to the HM9-SV is an enhanced shock-resistance system made of laser-forged springs placed between the movement and the case.

As a reminder, the ‘flow’ of time begins on the HM9-SV with two fully independent cantilevered balances that dominate the top of the HM9-SV channel data into the central, spiky differential.

This effectively melds the information sent by the dual balances to a single time-pulse. High-tech conical gears then transmit that energy to through a 90° angle, which in turn makes its way to the HM9-SV’s perpendicular sapphire crystal dial.

MB&F is offering both new editions to the HM9 Sapphire Vision family (PVD-coated blue movement with a white gold frame and a PVD-coated green movement with a yellow gold frame) as a limited edition of five pieces. Price: $490,000. 

Specifications: MB&F Horological Machine No.9 – Sapphire Vision

Movement: Manual-winding in-house with two fully independent balance wheels with planetary differential, frequency of 18,000 bph, single barrel with 45-hour power reserve. Hours and minutes on vertical dial display, dual spherical turbines under the movement,  shock-absorbing helicoidal springs linking the movement to the case.

Case: ‘SV’ editions in 57mm x 47mm x 23mm sapphire crystal with frame in 18-karat white, yellow or rose gold (5N+). Hour/minute dial in sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment and Super-LumiNova on the numbers and indexes. Water resistant to 30 meters. Unique assembly process of the three sapphire crystal case parts with a patented three-dimensional gasket and high-tech bonding compound. Total of five sapphire crystals treated with anti-reflective coating: three crystals for the main components of the case, one crystal covering the dial, and one crystal for the dial itself.

Strap: Hand-stitched brown or black alligator strap with red, yellow or white gold folding buckle matching the case.

Price: $490,000. 

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Breitling Launches Limited Edition Navitimer 

Breitling introduces the Navitimer B01 Chronograph 46 U.S. Limited Edition, a small series production version of its classic Navitimer aviation watch.

The new Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 46 U.S. Limited Edition.

The watch melds the classic Navitimer details, including a circular slide rule, baton indexes, three chronograph counters and notched bezel, with a modern slim case profile and a Breitling Manufacture Caliber 01, a COSC-certified chronometer movement. The movement provides an extra-long seventy hours of power reserve.

The watch combines a sharp-looking dark slate dial with black sub-dials and red accents, all within a 46mm stainless steel case and rose gold bezel.

Collectors will recall that Willy Breitling developed the “navigation timer”—or Navitimer—in 1952 as a wrist-worn chronograph with a circular slide rule that would allow pilots to perform all necessary flight calculations.

In 1954 the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association named the watch as its official timepiece, which is why the association’s winged logo was emblazoned at 12 o’clock. This model features that logo back at the same position. 

Breitling will produce the new watch in the limited quantity of 300 pieces specially for the United States market.

Price: $11,900.

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Glashütte Original Adds Small Seconds to Sixties Series

Glashütte Original’s latest entry in its Vintage Collection is a rose-gold model with a small seconds sub-dial, a new dial display within the watchmaker’s hyper-retro Sixties series.

The new Glashütte Original Sixties Small Second, which introduces a small seconds display to the series.

Previously only fitted with three-hand or chronograph displays, the Sixties collection now offers this Sixties Small Second model that retains a true 1960s spirit but with a namesake classical twist at the 6 o’clock position.

Glashütte Original sets its new small second display within a shimmering galvanic silver dial and decorated with a fine matte finish, a process designed and completed at the watchmaker’s own (impressive) dial-making facility.

Artisans have matched the color of the watch’s hands and indexes to the 42mm rose gold case. All this attention to detail is easy to enjoy thanks to an anti-reflective domed sapphire crystal shaped to echo the gently curved dial and hands.

To better recall the watch’s namesake decade, Glashütte Original also includes a groovy matte green alligator leather strap that just might remind you of your great aunt’s shag carpeting, but in a good way. It will certainly look terrific on any wrist. 

Well known for its superb in-house manufacturing (which I can attest is some of the most detail-oriented I’ve witnessed) Glashütte Original fits its 39-60 manufactory caliber, complete with decorative finishes such as Glashütte stripes, bevelled edges and polished screws.

All this decor plus a skeletonized rotor and a double-G logo can be seen through the sapphire crystal case back of this eye-catching new Glashütte Original Sixties Small Second model.

Price: $16,000. 

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New Pink Gold Dial Transforms the A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual

    A. Lange & Söhne surprised many earlier this summer when it introduced new colors to two of its best-known complicated models.

    The Glashütte-based manufacturer applied a platinum case to its famed Lange 1 Time Zone while also adding a stunning pink gold dial to its 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar in a white gold case. 

    Here, we’ll look at the latter model with its visually transformative new dial hue.

    The newest A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar, now in a white gold case with a pink gold dial.

     

    The 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar’s dimensions, movement and technical details remain as impressive they were when the piece debuted ten years ago when it won the Grand Complications award at the 2013 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie in Geneva.

    We’ve seen the dial color and case metal combination here previously when the watchmaker offered the design on its Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon (2019) and its Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar (2021).

    The look is almost vintage, especially when eyeing the dial’s very traditional railway minute scale and its classical four-subdial layout.

    And this make perfect sense since A. Lange & Söhne designers meant to recall the dials of earlier Lange pocket watches. Thus, we see the combined calendar at the 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock positions while the left subsidiary dial shows the date and day of the week and the right displays the month and leap year.

    At the same time, we see the expressive moon phase display within the subsidiary seconds display at 6 o’clock and the minute counter and power-reserve indicator at the top of the dial.

    The beautiful display continues on the back of the watch with a clear view of the watchmaker’s spectacular manual-wind L101.1 movement with its clearly visible rattrapante mechanism and superior finishing. Stunning.

    A.Lange & Sohne will make 100 examples of the new 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar. 

    Price on Request.

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