Frederique Constant Slimline Power Reserve Manufacture (Live Pics)

Frederique Constant is a relatively young watch brand of 31 years but has just added a 28^th in-house movement to its range with the new Slimline Power Reserve Manufacture and its FC-723 Manufacture automatic calibre. Prior movements include advanced complications such as tourbillon, perpetual calendar, chronograph and worldtimer. We now have the addition of a power reserve indicator combined to a pointer date, with a new accessible in-house powered piece.

Four models are available within the new line and include central hours and minutes, a date display at 6 o’clock and power reserve indicator at 10 o’clock. The new movement is built on the established FC-703 calibre and adds a power reserve module. It has 28 jewels, beats at 28,800vph (4Hz) with a 50-hour power reserve. Seen from the sapphire exhibition caseback, the FC-723 is decorated with perlage and circular Côtes de Genève.

All four models feature a 40mm stainless steel case, with one plated in rose gold. Dial colours include silver, dark grey and navy blue with sunray decoration (the gold-plated model shares a silver dial with its standard steel counterpart). The dark grey and blue dials have white printed Roman numerals and white hand-polished hands. The silver dial has the same arrangement with black print and hands.

The date is displayed via a small hand rotating around a circle of odd numerals (1 – 3 – 5, etc.), while the power reserve indicator’s hand follows a half-circle, starting at 11 o’clock (50 hours) and ending at 9 o’clock. The last quarter of the indicator is printed in red to remind the user to either wear or simply wind the watch. The case features an onion-style crown and is water-resistant to 30 meters. A convex sapphire crystal protects the dial.

The straps are alligator with a deployment clasp and come in specific colours for each model. The silver dial (standard steel) has a black strap, while the rose gold-plated model sports a dark brown strap. The navy blue model has a matching navy strap and the dark grey also has a matching dark grey strap. It’s a nice level of detail as all could have easily worked with a single black strap.

The three standard steel models retail for CHF/EUR 3,295 with the rose gold-plated model retailing for CHF/EUR 3,595. With models like the Slimline Moonphase Manufacture and Classics Automatic GMT, Frederique Constant is known for having elegant, sophisticated pieces at accessible prices and the new Slimline Power Reserve Manufacture Range is no exception. More information can be found at Frederique Constant’s website.