Category Archives: Core Values

CORE VALUES

Frédérique Constant is an independent, family-owned Swiss watchmaking company. Our core values—achievement, honesty, efficiency, creativity, cooperation and personal development—are a reflection of the sense of community created by the personal and collaborative environment that was envisioned when we founded the company 25 years ago. As Frédérique Constant grows, it has become more and more important to explicitly define the Frédérique Constant core values from which we develop our culture, our brand, and our business strategies. With so many new employees joining Frédérique Constant as we grow, we want to make sure that everyone is on the same page and acting consistently with what we want our company to be all about.

At Frédérique Constant, we believe that for any company to be truly successful, it must aspire to, establish and abide by a strong and dynamic set of Core Values. Ideally, we want all our core values to be reflected in everything we do, including how we interact with each other, how we interact with our customers, and how we interact with our suppliers and business partners. Our core values define us as a people and as a company. At Frédérique Constant, we truly believe we have uniquely passionate, dedicated and talented minds working in concert as ONE team. Passionate hearts and creative minds inspire us to ever-greater achievements and to both personal and professional growth.

Reading about core values, however, isn’t enough; we must act on them. Every day, we must think about these values and how they relate to the tasks at hand. Every day, we must ask ourselves what we can do to improve our relationships, our workplace, and ourselves. And every day, we must take action based on the answers to those questions. Read the sample questions at the end of each section, and begin to think about how each of our core values affects both your personal life and your professional life. Think of new questions to ask yourself, and inspire your mind to experience the immense satisfaction of setting goals, working toward them, and achieving positive results. Producing precision timepieces like those made at Frédérique Constant requires exceptional skill, the finest materials and most advanced techniques, working closely together as ONE Team and, of course Passion.

OUR CORE VALUE CREATIVITY

BalanceWheel_SiliciumParts_Frederique_Constant

Beautiful Products, Innovative Solutions, Improvement, Develop new Methods.

Creativity is a core value that goes hand in hand with the passion that truly defines our company. It is not enough that our watches perform brilliantly with unrivalled accuracy, and that they are durable enough to be passed from one generation to the next. We also want our watches to be beautiful, even inspirational, works that reveal to anyone who sees them the creative genius that led to their development as a Frédérique Constant product.

We understand the importance of producing reliable, durable and functional watches that are as technologically advanced as they are well built. Behind the engineering skills and quality materials is a dedication to the core value of creativity, which we hold especially dear at Frédérique Constant. Without it, we would merely be repeating what we have done before.

One of the greatest achievements to which any watchmaking company can aspire is to create and produce its own calibers. In the past ten years, Frédérique Constant has managed this achievement with not one, but fifteen calibers in its Manufacture Collections. Improvements have also been made through the creative use of new materials.

In order to stay ahead of the competition, we need to continuously innovate as well as make incremental improvements to our operations: always striving to create beautiful products, and figuring out how to do anything better. We want everyone to not be afraid to take risks and to not be afraid to make mistakes, because if people aren’t making mistakes then that means they’re not taking enough risks. We understand mistakes as learning opportunities.

We never want to become complacent and accept the status quo just because that’s the way things have always been done. We should always be passionately seeking new possibilities. We set and exceed our own high standards, constantly raising the bar for competitors and for ourselves.

FREDERIQUE CONSTANT CORE VALUES – ACHIEVEMENT

Frederique Constant Growth 1992-2012

Frederique Constant Growth 1992-2012

At Frédérique Constant, we believe that for any company to be successful, they must aspire to, establish and abide by a strong and dynamic set of core values.

We see our core values not as rigid guidelines that limit or inhibit our workforce, but as a creed that constantly encourages our dedicated and talented employees, and reassures our customers that Frédérique Constant will never be satisfied just to be successful. We aim for more…much more…which is why the first of our clearly defined core values is “Achievement.”

How do you measure achievement?

Achievement can be measured in so many ways, and at Frédérique Constant we look at all these standards of measurement; then we look for more.

Growth is what drives our company, because through growth, we can continue to encourage and invest in the many things that are important to Frédérique Constant. Over the past quarter of a century, the company has experienced unrivaled growth in the Swiss watchmaking industry, averaging a 25 percent increase in sales each year during that time.

People at Frédérique Constant watches come to work with a winner’s mentality, knowing they are an important part of a highly successful company. Our employees’ achievements have brought recognition and rewards. Because of their success, the company has been able to invest in an ultra-modern, 32,000 square foot facility with the most attractive, dust-free and climate controlled working environment.

The exceptional growth in the sales of Frédérique Constant watches has allowed the company to invest in the newest, most technologically advanced equipment in the industry, helping to ensure and sustain growth in the years to come and job security for our employees. At Frédérique Constant, achievement has led to success, and that success has been one of our greatest achievements. We work hard to sustain this success.

With success comes responsibility

Donation 75'000 US$ to the ICHF

Donation 75’000 US$ to the ICHF

Rather than rest on our laurels and concentrating solely on sales and profits, the men and women who are the driving forces at Frédérique Constant have always believed that successful companies have a responsibility to give something back to people at home and abroad, and to the planet on which we live.

We understand that we have been fortunate, and we see it as our duty to do our utmost to help those less fortunate than ourselves. As such, Frédérique Constant has been a passionate advocate of and contributor to a wide variety of charities, and in particular those that deal with children, education and heart disease.

In China, the company joined forces with one of that country’s greatest movie stars, Miss ShuQi, to visit young patients in the cardiology department of Beijing Children’s Hospital. Frédérique Constant also sponsored the redecoration of the hospital’s wards in conjunction with the Paint a Smile Foundation.

Achievements in innovation

One of the greatest achievements to which any watch maker can aspire is the creation and production of their own calibres. In the past 11 years, Frédérique Constant have managed this achievement with not one, but eleven calibres in our Manufacture Range of watches. Our company is one of the very few Swiss watch manufacturers that can actually claim to produce and use their own calibres in-house, a fact even more amazing considering Frédérique Constant is a family-owned business, not part of some giant, faceless corporation.

Passion drives us to achieve

“Live Your Passion” is the company slogan, but it doesn’t just apply to our customers. Every watch maker who works at Frédérique Constant is truly passionate about what she or he does for a living. This is what we encourage and what we expect from each of our employees.

Frederique Constant Original Heart Beat 1994

Frederique Constant Original Heart Beat 1994

Passion is what makes the heart beat faster, so what better way to demonstrate our passion than through our most successful watch. In 1994, we developed our first Heart Beat watch.

We wanted our customers to be able to see the inner workings—the heart and soul—of our mechanical watches, so our designers placed an aperture directly over the balance wheel. This allows the proud owner of a Heart Beat watch to see the intricate movements that go on beneath the surface.

Greater achievements to come

Our goal has not just been to achieve. It is to continue to achieve, to succeed…to win for generations to come. Only by continued investment in our workforce and new technology can we be assured of future success.

By continuing to achieve, we can also continue to do those things we are most passionate about; helping others and giving back to the global community. For that is our greatest achievement of all.