Frederique Constant x Watch Angels Worldtimer Limited Edition

Intro

Frederique Constant and Watch Angels joined forces to create an attractive one-off collab watch: the Frederique Constant x Watch Angels Worldtimer Manufacture Limited Edition. This limited edition celebrates one of the Swiss brand’s most successful complications and in-house movements, the calibre FC-718, which powers the Classic and Highlife models.

While Frederique Constant is a well-established name in the industry, Watch Angels is still unknown to most people.

It is a watch-community-enthusiast-based project fostering the creation of limited and exclusive watches linked to historic brands like Waltham, for example, or independent watchmakers.

Frederique Constant is the first traditional brand to join the party since Watch Angels was founded.

Frederique Constant x Watch Angels

The co-design project with Frederique Constant is the first of its kind. The Citizen Group-owned Swiss-Made brand works as a fully independent brand, as proven by other boutique projects like the Classic Perpetual Calendar made in collaboration with Speake Marine; however, this is different since the collab watch has undergone a complete redesign of the case and dial.

Case and dial

Some pictures ahead of the reveal teased us with sketches depicting an exclusive silhouette built on the in-house FC-718 calibre.

Around this test-and-tried movement, the designers engineered a new style, slimming the original case size down to 40.5 mm in diameter, with a more contemporary look and feel than a Classic original case.

Featuring Slim and curved lugs and a reduced gap between the case and mechanical movement thanks to a smaller diameter, the watch offers more satin finishes than mirror-polished bevels, boasting a product identity halfway between a Classic and a Highlife.

Uncluttered lines define a cleaner and fully symmetric case, with no date counter and a raised two-tone cities’ ring. The dial has a sun and a moon to split between day and night.

The outcome is a cleaner and easier-to-read dial, the most challenging target when designing a world timer.

Still, the case has grown to 13.4 mm thick, outperforming the Highlife housing of the same calibre, which stops at 12.9 mm.

We can hardly affirm that the Frederique Constant and Watch Angels project foresees a renovated Classic Manufacture or a new collection.

Still, the commitment and the industrial investment on Frederique Constant’s side to produce 718 pieces suggest it won’t be a one-of-a-kind project.

Final thoughts

While we go online, the Frederique Constant x Watch Angels Worldtimer Limited Edition is already available on the Watch Angels website, where orders enter at a listed price of 4,490 euros, in line with the ordinary models from the brand.

In our opinion, the watch offers the chance to buy a Worldtimer with a known pedigree and an excellent mechanical base – I own the Highlife with the same complication – halfway between a Classic and a Highlife, as said, and virtually capable of summarizing both watches’ experience.

It is neither sporty nor classic, the only real-use disadvantage being a 50-meter water resistance.

(Photo credit: Frederique Constant)

Giovanni Maria Di Biase @Horbiter®