Today we are looking in detail at a fantastic piece from Swiss watchmakers Frederique Constant – the in-house developed automatic flyback chronograph manufacture (model number FC-760DG4H6), unveiled at Baselworld earlier this year.
The first noticeable thing about this watch is the weight. It is very sturdy and feels heavier than its size and shape would suggest. Even though this is a 42mm watch, you could be forgiven for thinking it was smaller. The eye is immediately drawn to the dial, which on this model is a very attractive dark grey with white markings and applied steel batons, with 3 subdials showing normal seconds, chronograph minutes, and the date at 6 o clock. The sunburst finish on the main dial is extremely subtle, which makes it quite warm to look at, and the subdials have a very fine concentric finish to them. The box shaped sapphire crystal is quite high, but not detrimentally so, and the heavily curved edges blend into the bezel nicely. The pushers for the chronograph are rectangular in shape and polished on all sides, and the crown is fairly chunky with a good amount of grip. Turning the watch over we can see the movement through the transparent caseback, featuring a cote de Genève finish on the inner plate, a circular cote de Genève finish on the outer plate, and a satin finish, rose PVD coated rotor. The rotor is hollow in the centre to show as much of the movement as possible, although the only other visible moving part is the balance. The 20mm black alligator strap is attached using standard spring bars. It is a little rigid and will definitely need to be broken in (my favourite part of having a new watch!). The deployment clasp is deceptively slim for a watch of this size, but is more than up to the job. It features the Frederique Constant logo in polished steel filigree.
For such a heavy watch there is a pleasantly surprising amount of comfort when worn. As I have a very small wrist I found – as I often do – that I was left with a lot of spare strap (the clasp is the sort where the excess strap goes on the outside), but there are two loops on the leather to remedy this, plus plenty of space for extra holes to be added if necessary. The case is also quite ergonomic and should sit on most wrists exceptionally well, going quite neatly under a shirt cuff. The watch is water resistant to 5ATM, although I doubt many people will require this on a watch of this type. Winding the crown reveals a medium amount of resistance and minimal noise, and the chronograph pushers have a smooth, confident click when used. The flyback function is particularly satisfying to watch, and the seconds hand has very little visible shake. The dial is clear and easy to read, with applied batons on the hours, and a tachymeter under the glass, on the outer edge of the dial.
Frederique Constant are proudly (and quite rightly so) a manufacture, meaning they can design and produce their own in-house movements instead of using or modifying somebody else’s. Currently they produce 21 of these in-house movements, with the remainder predominantly being from Sellita, ETA or others. This watch has a 32 jewel, in-house calibre FC-760 movement, operating at 28,800vph with a 38 hour power reserve. Measured on our timing machine, it shows a gain of approximately 12 seconds per day when fully wound. This movement took 6 years to develop, and builds upon the base manufacture calibre with around 100 extra parts used for the chronograph.
This watch has a recommended retail price of £3,750 (or £4,050 if you want the rose gold plated version), making it very competitive when compared to other in-house automatic chronographs, and when you take into consideration the exceptional build quality and overall luxurious feel of this piece, I believe it represents tremendous value for money.
