Geneva Watch Days, held in early September, has grown in significance year after year. Since the first edition in 2020 – originally scheduled for April and postponed to late August – both the number of participating brands and their prominence have grown. Among them, Frederique Constant has reserved several major launches for the Geneva event. This year, the new Highlife Moonphase Date Manufacture stands out, enriching the Highlife collection with the moonphase complication.
For Frederique Constant, this collection is now one of the most important in its portfolio, both for its build quality and the complications it offers, and because this balance between quality and complications does not come at the expense of affordability. In this way, the Geneva-based brand continues its mission to offer superbly crafted watches at an accessible price. The new Highlife Moonphase Date Manufacture, the focus of this article, is a perfect example of this.
THE CASE AND DIAL OF THE HIGHLIFE MOONPHASE DATE MANUFACTURE
Frederique Constant has chosen to offer the Highlife Moonphase Date Manufacture with two dial variants, whilst remaining true to the collection’s signature aesthetic and design. The case features a combination of polished and brushed finishes. In particular, the contrast between the mirror-polished bezel and the satin-finished case middle lends a dynamic quality to the watch as a whole. The case retains the classic 39 mm Highlife size and is 12.82 mmthick, primarily due to the presence of the moonphase module.
The module is, in fact, the star of this new model. It makes its debut in the Highlife range and, as in other Frederique Constant collections, the moonphase display is positioned at 6 o’clock. The large window is framed by the familiar pointer date display, with the number 31 in red standing out at 12 o’clock. The ring displaying the days of the month features a beautiful concentric finish that contrasts with the rest of the dial, which has a sunburst finish. There is one distinctive feature: the finish is not centred, but radiates out from the moonphase window, which becomes the aesthetic focal point of the Highlife Moonphase Date Manufacture, thanks also to a meticulous depiction of the Moon. Frederique Constant’s craftsmen have rendered it with great care, ensuring that its surface, shades of grey, relief and shadowed areas are all faithfully reproduced.
As with the other watches in the Highlife collection, this model also features applied hour markers, mirror-polished and coated with luminescent material. As mentioned above, there is a choice between two dials in different colours: one midnight blue and one rosé champagne. These are two colours already found in other Frederique Constant models, but which, in the case of the Highlife Moonphase Date Manufacture, lend the watch an elegant yet assertive character.
THE FREDERIQUE CONSTANT FC-716 CALIBRE
As for the calibre, when discussing Frederique Constant, one must always bear in mind that the Geneva-based maison has managed to create 30 in-house movements in just under 30 years of existence. Among these is the automatic FC-716 calibre that powers the Highlife Moonphase Date Manufacture. It is not a new development; it is also found in models such as the Classic Moonphase Date and is the result of the brand’s ongoing technical evolution of its movements.
In fact, it is derived from the FC-715 calibre, which has featured in the Manufacture’s collections since 2015, and shares around 90 per cent of its components. The FC-716 automatic calibre operates at 28,800 vibrations per hour and, thanks to an upgraded mainspring barrel, offers a power reserve of 72 hours. As the calibre is visible through the sapphire crystal caseback, Frederique Constant has employed refined finishing techniques to enhance its appearance, including perlage and Côtes de Genève.
Confirming the watch’s sophistication and the care taken by the manufacture, the Highlife Moonphase Date Manufacture is available with both a strap and a bracelet, as is the case with other models in the collection. The strapis made of blue Saffiano calf leather on both dial variants. It features a cross-hatched texture that gives it an elegant yet sporty look and has undergone a protective treatment that makes it resistant to scratches, light and moisture. The bracelet is a five-link stainless steel design, alternating between polished and brushed finishes. Whilst this bracelet is new to the Highlife collection, a similar design can also be found on other models from the manufacturer.
FINAL THOUGHTS
In essence, the Highlife Moonphase Date Manufacture can be seen as a model that enriches an already almost complete collection. Having previously featured a world time function, a tourbillon, a chronograph and a perpetual calendar, the moonphase complication is the perfect finishing touch for a watch designed for everyday use, whether in sporting or formal settings.
All this, as we mentioned earlier, without compromising the philosophy that has always inspired Frederique Constant: making Swiss watchmaking accessible in some of its most refined forms. Accessibility in terms of materials, innovations, aesthetics and, above all, price. Both models in the Highlife Moonphase Date Manufacture collection are priced at 4,495 euros, a figure that is on a par with, or lower than, that of other more prestigious competitors.
This is thanks to the synergies the Maison benefits from as part of a well-structured industrial group such as the Citizen Group, but above all to a clear business vision from which the company has never deviated. In a world such as watchmaking, which is increasingly characterised by a constant rise in prices – sometimes without a corresponding improvement in materials and technologies – this is a factor that enthusiasts must take into account when choosing a watch.
By Davide Passoni