ll new releases share the same new 40-millimetre format and the same manufacture calibre: the renowned FC-776 that first enabled the Geneva-based brand to deliver the most affordable Perpetual Calendar on the market – a title the model still holds today. As such, the Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture is the ultimate embodiment of the ‘affordable luxury’ philosophy championed by Frederique Constant for over thirty-five years.

Only 37 lucky collectors will own the new Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture with an 18k yellow gold case.

The perpetual calendar represents the height of mechanical engineering, mastered by only a small number of watchmaking firms. Frederique Constant has been one of the select few for nearly ten years now, with its first such piece released in 2016. The Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture is also exceptional in terms of its positioning, still deliberately kept below the CHF 10,000 mark; at the same time, it has undergone relentlessly thorough development, delivering significant improvements to the movement whilst leaving pricing unchanged. The 775 Calibre has been replaced by the 776, with a power reserve boosted from 38 to 72 hours.

While the Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture has recently featured a much-sought-after salmon dial, two other colour schemes favoured by collectors have been adopted here, with a blue or silvered dial. Each offers maximum readability thanks to the clear, intuitive layout of the markings: separate day, date and month displays alongside a moonphase, tastefully positioned at six o’clock. Moving forward only once a year, the lesser-used leap year indicator sits at twelve o’clock with the month hand. Each dial on the steel models features a graceful sunray finish to help diffuse light evenly across the applique hour markers and hand-polished hands.

Price: CHF 9,995 (steel), CHF 29,995 (18k yellow gold)

www.frederique-constant.com