Frederique Constant

With an exquisite handmade watch model from Frederique Constant, time certainly doesn't pass any slower, but it certainly passes more stylishly. Everything about these exquisite watches breathes Swiss craftsmanship, designed, developed and built in-house. Like only a few luxury watches from high-class watch manufacturers, Frederique Constant is the child of a personal passion. The fact that a man and a woman play a role in this actually has a lot to do with a love story. A passion in which exceptionally beautiful and exceptionally powerful watches determine the plot. So it's not surprising that Frederique Constant is equally loved by both sexes.

A Dutchman who came to Switzerland via Hong Kong

The great-grandfather was already fabricating dials. The great-grandson Peter Stas, previously successful in Hong Kong as an economist, established in 1988 in a highly competitive watch market with bold courage and international business experience, and together with his wife Aletta, a manufacture that stands out from others in many features. The attachment to his company is reflected in the composition of the company name from the first names of her great-grandmother and his great-grandfather. Today, the brand has long played on equal footing in the concert between Vacheron Constantin, Parmigiani and Piaget. More than 150,000 watches a year are shipped from Plan-les-Ouates - in the immediate vicinity of Rolex and Patek Philippe - all over the world, and the company itself speaks of annual growth of more than 20 percent. Mon Dieu, where is this going to lead?

Everybody’s darling? In this case, it's almost true

What is luxury, anyway? Every era had its own interpretation. The ancient Romans of the late period brought pleasure and lifestyle into disrepute with their decadent tendencies, for example when they put brillis behind the gills of their favorite carp in the ponds of their summer residences on the Gulf of Sorrento. Later centuries postulated the barrenness, luxurious life nevertheless never went completely out of fashion, but was also always a question of ethics. A watch brand as soigné and thoughtful in every detail as Frederique Constant does not cater to the mass public. But just as little does it aim for the elite, accessible only to the few. Company founder Peter Stas made a conscious decision to revitalize the term "luxury watch". His brand occupies the "attainable luxury" segment and sets itself apart from the brands that actually carry the celebrity factor in the company nameplate - which is certainly justified. Lovers of attainable luxury understand luxury as the pursuit of the best possible, the opposite of "ordinariness" (as the grande dame Coco Chanel already put it), the insistence on traditional craftsmanship, uncompromising preservation of unadulterated character and constant perfection.

The brand of elegant understatement

The fact that the handmade luxury watches from the house of Frederique Constant also stand out comfortably from the competition in terms of price level ensures that the house has a special clientele. Here you will find personalities with a pronounced sense of style, distinguished elegance, an unspectacular appearance and the far-reaching absence of status thinking. Watches from Frederique Constant are collected, sought after, adored and simply worn on the wrist. Nothing to be locked away in a safe, but rather to be enjoyed with appreciation on a daily and unexcited basis. And yet in the intoxicating feeling of calling a precious object one's own. When the company itself talks about wanting to "democratize luxury," it has a younger and more stylish group of buyers in mind. It puts together its outfits consciously and selectively, but at a "normal" level, and equips them intelligently with choice pieces and classy accessories. The triad "my chalet, my yacht, my Jaguar" rather does not apply to it.

A small watch miracle - timeless classic, perfected and yet practical

In 2001, Frederique Constant turned its attention to the inner circle of Swiss watch manufacturers who create and produce their own products with its Heart Beat movement, developed in collaboration with watchmaking schools. From then on, the still young company continuously proved its reputation as a creative forge of innovative movements. At the headquarters near Geneva, all the threads now ran together on 3,200 square meters of operating space: design studio, production of caliber components, assembly, and state-of-the-art quality control. In 2008, the company presented the Tourbillon manufacture movement with an escapement wheel made of silicon that weighed only 1/5 of the conventional stainless steel and required no oil lubrication. In 2009, the Maxime Manufacture Automatic FC-700 caliber caused a sensation throughout the industry. At the same time, the manufacture introduced a new type of case that harmoniously combined straight lines with rounded surfaces, matte and shiny parts, silver elements and the finest leather straps. This was followed in 2009 by the redevelopment of a basic caliber, which reduced manufacturing costs by 35 percent and made Frederique Constant luxury watches available for retail purchase at a price below 2,000 euros. At BASELWORLD 2015, the industry marveled at the Slimline Manufacture, which impressed with more petite shapes at the usual high technical levels. Not every wrist can tolerate the XXL dimensions of a U-BOAT watch. With its 38-mm case, the Slimline Moonphase Manufacture is popular with both gents and ladies, even though only the ladies' models shine with over 60 stupendous diamonds.

Frederique Constant at HORANDO - luxury watches on the internet and in the showroom

As a concessionaire, HORANDO has the ambition to unite them all in the assortment in the close connection with the Swiss company: the Classic Heart Beat Date, the Rally Healey, the Runabout Chronograph, the Horological Smart Watch, the Classics Moon Phase and the Business Timer. Of course, there's also the Maxime Manufacture Slim Line in a rose gold-plated steel case. The dial shines with silver hands and diamond indexes, and a single crown adjusts the hours, minutes, date, and moon phases. Despite its spectacular exterior, the Slimline Moonphase is also water resistant. Those who have a particularly intimate relationship with their Frederique Constant will take a peek through the sapphire crystal case back at the industriously working Swiss movement from the house's workshop in between. The immense success of the Moonphase with both sexes raises excitement as to what new development the manufacture already has in the pipeline as its next innovation. HORANDO will find out early on and share it with its regular customers. The fact that buying luxury watches on the internet has become so popular with buyers is hardly surprising considering the convenient and secure ordering processes. At the same time, prospective customers are returning to a buying behavior that is associated with a comfortable retro feeling. With the stationary showroom at its Bamberg location, HORANDO has fulfilled a long-held wish of its own. Primarily the fact that prospective customers travel also long distances in order to be able to get a picture of the product themselves. Is it not almost like a courtship to approach a material object of desire cautiously? The appetite arises (also) when looking at and handling the item.