Tag Archives: Accessible Luxury

Sensible Prices

During the discussions in the advisory board, we often spoke about what makes FC different and what we see as the purpose of the company. From the beginning, we saw that ‘sensible prices’ were our competitive edge. The attractive prices were essential to reach a younger target group of 30-45 year olds who have limited budgets. Most are business men and women at the beginning of their career, in first management functions, but still at low salaries. At the same time, these people are starting families, which requires funds as well. Still, there is an enthusiasm for Swiss mechanical watches. It is for these persons that Frederique Constant offers beautiful time pieces. We determined that our company produced Accessible Luxury, beautiful Swiss watches from Geneva at sensible prices. We defined our purpose as ‘Let more people enjoy luxury’.

riva_runabout_frederique_constant_experience-days
However, beautiful watches at sensible prices was not enough. We also had to work on the ‘luxury’ part of our purpose ‘Let more people enjoy luxury’. Hence, we started to discuss how to create an image around Frederique Constant. First step was the sponsoring of classic car rallies, the Healey partnership that developed into the Vintage Rally Universe. Then, followed the Runabout, the classic gentlemen’s sports boat. Finally, with the various charity activities, we developed a campaign and purpose for our ladies Double Heart Beat Collection.

 

Making The Wonderful Accessible

I’ve blogged a couple of times about one of my favorite companies, Frederique Constant, a remarkable maker of fine watches in Geneva, Switzerland. Their distinctiveness is what they call “Accessible Luxury” and their slogan is “Live Your Passion.” In discovering more about their history and brand, I came to realize that their distinctive approach to watches parallels my own approach to wisdom. Since I left a great university position nearly twenty years ago to spread ancient wisdom across the culture and globe, I’ve actually been focused on what you could call “Accessible Wisdom” – not wisdom that you need a PhD to understand, or years of study in distinguished libraries to acquire, but deep and practical insight of the highest order that applies to the challenges of everyday life, and answers the questions that we all inevitably ask.

Peter and Aletta Stas, the founders of Frederique Constant, were lovers of fine watches in their early years together, and wanted to find a way to put such a luxury within the reach of more people. They understood that luxury is not at its core about inaccessibility, or elitist cost, but rather that it essentially embodies such qualities as great beauty, excellence, high functionality, comfort, and ease. With the right focus and tremendous ingenuity, they’ve been able to live their passion and realize their dream of including more people within the realm of high end luxury, making it more widely accessible. And they’re having resounding success around the world, as a result.

Wisdom, also, is not about inaccessibility. The truth is that you don’t have to be a legendary guru, or a top scholar, in order to attain and benefit from the greatest insights available for living in this world. But too often, the deepest wisdom has been treated as exactly that – as if you have to be first inaugurated into an esoteric cult, or initiated into a gnostic order of insiders who study rare documents in arcane languages, or you have to learn to speak a technical jargon far beyond the comprehension of those who have not been trained in its use, or else, unfortunately, the best of human insight can’t be yours. And that, I’ve been determined to show for the past twenty years, is just not true.

It has indeed taken me years of formal training and decades of dedicated work, like a top Swiss watchmaker, to be able to separate truth from falsehood, and insight from illusion, in matters of human life and aspiration, where the differences can sometimes be subtle but crucial. What are our greatest insights? How can they best be applied? How do we separate mere appearance from reality? Part of the reason I’m so impressed with Frederique Constant is that they’re doing for watches what I’ve long sought to do for wisdom. And their passion has helped me to clarity mine. On the basis of all my own hard work and study, refining my sensibilities and logical acumen to the highest degree, I’m now able to offer people accessible wisdom that they can use and enjoy, and that can enhance their lives, as it does mine, every day.

The more we can make accessible to others what we’ve perhaps worked so hard to achieve ourselves, the more we make our distinctive mark on the world, and we can seek to serve from the riches and blessings of our own lives, bringing these riches and blessings to others.

What are you really good at? What can you make more accessible to others? How can you do and share with passion? These are questions always worth asking.

Ask them today.

Sponsoring and Charity


Sponsoring and charity enjoy high priority at Frédérique Constant. You started with sponsoring, so let’s begin by talking about that.

Peter: In 2004, when our business was still located in Chêne-Bourg, we held a meeting with our advisory board.

Who were the board’s members?

Aletta: Peter, a friend, two employees from McKinsey, a retired businessman and myself. It was a small group and, incidentally, all Dutch.

Peter: We were working at that time to more clearly define the values of our watch brand. What does Frédérique Constant stand for? Where do we want to go? What are our goals? And what makes Frédérique Constant different from other brands? We realized right from the start that market-sensitive prices rank among our most important competitive advantages.

Aletta: Attractive prices were decisive for reaching younger target groups composed of 30- to 45-year-olds with smaller budgets. Most of these potential customers are businesspeople at the beginning of their careers. Many haven’t yet move up the ladder and are still working in lower-tier executive positions. Their incomes are limited and they may also be starting families, which likewise requires funds.

Peter: But these young people are nonetheless enthusiastic about Swiss mechanical watches. They’re precisely the individuals for whom Frédérique Constant offers attractive timepieces. So we decided that our company should produce accessible luxury in the form of beautiful, affordably priced, Swiss watches from Geneva. Our purpose is to enable more people to enjoy luxury.

Aletta: But handsome watches at accessible prices weren’t enough. We also needed to more strongly emphasize the luxury aspect. So our discussion turned to what we could do to give Frédérique Constant the desired image. That’s how we arrived at the idea of sponsoring.

How did you come up with the idea of classic car rallies?

Aletta: A young Dutchman who was working in our communications department at the time and he contributed two good ideas.

Peter: One idea involved balloon flights with a big, dark green balloon prominently labeled “Frédérique Constant.” His other idea had to do with rallies for classic cars.

Aletta: We discussed the suggestions and concluded that car rallies would make sense for us.

Why is that?

Peter: Well, cars and watches simply belong together a priori. Their mechanisms share certain interesting common denominators. That’s particularly true for classic automobiles, which needn’t necessarily be old timers. They clearly reflect our brand’s values.

What did the advisory board decide?

Aletta: We decided to move ahead with the idea. We delegated the tasks and began to explore various options.

Peter: It was in this context that we found Healey.

HealeyAletta: A series of telephone calls led us to a Healey club that organizes a meeting in St. Moritz every two years. But we were disappointed to learn that they already had a sponsor in the watch industry.

Peter: They were nonetheless willing to talk with us because they weren’t entirely satisfied with their existing partnership. That’s how we were able to launch a limited edition of wristwatches for the upcoming event.

Peter: We were also very pleased that we didn’t need to spend a huge sum of money. We very quickly manufactured various watches for the prize conferral.

How many did you make?

Aletta: Not so many. If I remember correctly, we made five timepieces. We also delivered polo shirts and caps. All in all, we supplied articles worth about 50,000 Swiss francs.

So your sponsorship wasn’t purely altruistic?

Peter: Naturally, we talked with the organizers about a license for a series of watches bearing the Healey logo, but tot the Swiss club’s logo because, as I said, they already had a sponsor. In that way, we came into personal contact with the Healey Family, which was much more valuable for us. We and the Healeys arrived at an initial agreement on five-year a license.

Aletta: That agreement enabled us to present our brand at various events and to show our watches in the hotels.

Do you own a Healey?

Peter: No, but Aletta and I participated in a rented car. Our participation was very successful, so we asked ourselves, “What else can we do?”

Aletta: We took part in another Healey event the following year, which coincided with the 25th anniversary of the Dutch Healey club. The festivities took place in a palace. And we were again present there with our watches.

Peter: That’s also true for the planned Healey Museum.

Another success?

Peter: Yes, absolutely. The next year brought the Healey Challenge in Le Mans. Seventy Healeys rolled up to the starting line in the context of the Le Mans Classic. It was the largest fleet of such automobiles ever assembled.

But everyone knows that other watch brands also serve as sponsors at Le Mans.

Aletta: Right. But we focused on the Healey group. A solution could be found.

Peter: We were at the Healey meeting in Heidelberg the next year. The USA and Canada came after that.

And how did it evolve?

Peter: After five genuinely successful years with Healey, we wanted to expand our sponsoring. In the course of our search, we found the Peking to Paris classic car rally, which is staged every three years…

Aletta: … and for which we served as sponsor and official timekeeper.

What benefits ensued for the Frédérique Constant watch brand?

Aletta: First, there’s the prestige, and then there’s the Vintage Racing collection, which was derived from this challenging event.

Peter: When we showed the watches in Basel, a lawyer from Chopard very pointedly called our attention to the already existent Classic Racing collection. For the sake of peaceful coexistence, we renamed our collection “Vintage Rally.”

Aletta: In the future, this name will not only cover our commitment to Healey, but also every other type of rally that we support.

The Carrera Panamericana has numbered among them since 2011.

Peter: Our Mexican distributor suggested a prestigious rally in his country. I contacted the responsible individuals and we reached an agreement.

In what form?

Aletta: We became the sponsor and we manufactured a special watch that we could sell for two years.

What will the future bring with Healey?

Peter: Our agreement comes to an end in 2012. The situation hasn’t yet been clarified. We’re holding discussions with the family, but thus far nothing essential has been decided about renewing the agreement. It’s quite possible that we won’t be allowed to sell any more Healy chronographs after 2013. The situation isn’t simple, so we we’re also supporting other rally events.

Do you want to expand your sponsorship activities?

Peter: We’re considering that option. For example, we signed an agreement with Rallye des Alpes…

Aletta: … which was cancelled in 2012, although we had already made a watch for it. Now we’re hoping the Rallye des Alpes will take place in 2013.

What else can you report?

Peter: In England, we’re cooperating with the Grand Prix, a rally for classic automobiles. We’ll serve as sponsor and official timekeeper.

Aletta: In a nutshell, our focus is shifting away from Healey and toward other rallies for which we’ll release watches in limited editions.

Will you continue your involvement with the Peking to Paris rally?

Aletta: That rally will recur in 2013 and we’re currently in the negotiating phase.

Peter: I should explain here that the first time is always the most productive. We can manufacture at significantly lower costs afterwards.

Aletta: Sometimes we agree to that, but the pleasure isn’t the same.

What about antique aircraft? They would be a very good match for Alpina.

Peter: We’ve thought about it, but other brands are already strongly represented there. That’s why I believe we should concentrate on what we’ve already achieved…

Aletta: … which not only includes rallies and runabouts, but also our manufacture work, a ladies’ automatic and our classics. These five areas are really enough for us right now.

RunaboutA watch manufacture must first dream up the idea for runabouts.

Peter: That had to do with our own boat, a 1980 Boesch Cabriolet. We belong to a yacht club and we were asked if we could sponsor an event on Lake Geneva. Without our sponsorship, they said, it wouldn’t be feasible. So we agreed.

Aletta: It was essentially just a small, regional event and it wasn’t very expensive.

Peter: Our boat is too young for genuine old-timer regattas. If you want to participate in one of them, you have to own a runabout that was built before 1960, for example, a Chris-Craft, a Garwood or a Hacker. So we capriciously imagined ourselves aboard a fantasy boat – and derived our Runabout collection from that vision.

But that’s something truly elite for extremely wealthy people. Can a watch brand succeed there?

Peter: Oh, yes. Surprisingly, our Runabout watches are more successful than our Vintage Rallies.

So this would seem to have a bright future?

Aletta: Definitely. We’re also continuing our work on the Vintage Rally collection. The etuis now also include an additional stopwatch. The addition of an automobile was warmly received, but has since been copied by others. The exclusivity naturally suffers when imitators appear on the scene.

Do you dream up these attractive extras on your own or do you collaborate with a team?

Peter: Both. Sometimes our sales personnel contribute ideas that we consider and ultimately implement. We’ve also received some valuable suggestions from retail customers.

Aletta: Our advantage in all this is our office in Hong Kong, where our staff can take care of creating and manufacturing these extras onsite in the Far East. We never buy anything that already exists. Instead, we arrange to have the items produced exclusively for us.

Peter: It may be hard to believe, but those are genuinely serious projects. We have to finance the tools for them. We have to take care of the finish for the products. We strongly prioritize worth and preciousness.

How long does something like that usually take?

Peter: Sometimes creating such a box can take as just long as manufacturing the watch itself. One mustn’t underestimate the work involved.

Is there already a collector’s market, for example, for the early Healey collections?

Peter: Definitely. Some of those watches have already been sold at Antiquorum and Sotheby’s. Naturally, we’re proud of that.

Aletta: But it’s also interesting to note that we sell only ten to twelve watches during the events.

Peter: Afterwards, when the edition of 1,888 watches is on the market, we don’t necessarily sell every one of them.

In such circumstances, it would seem illogical to immediately manufacture all 1,888 pieces.

Peter: That’s right. We usually start with a batch of 1,000. Whether or not we later manufacture the remaining 888 watches depends on the order situation.

In other words, sometimes you don’t produce all of the watches in the originally planned edition.

Aletta: Yes, and that’s good for customers who have acquired the watches.

Why did you choose the number 1,888?

Peter: That’s very simple. We began with 888 pieces because the Chinese believe that 888 is a lucky number. But that number very quickly turned out to be too few watches. So we simply added a 1 and a comma at the far left!

Aletta: Alpina sometimes produces limited series that run for three years. Each is produced in an edition of 8,888 units.

You’re successful and you allow others to share in that success…

Peter: … about which we have something very new to report. We’ll support the World Heart Federation during the next three years. The contracts have already been written and we donated the first check in mid 2012, but the official announcement won’t be made until September.

Aletta: There’ll be a limited watch edition in 2013. Then we’ll start a collaborative campaign focusing on women’s cardiac insufficiencies. With that campaign, we want to heighten women’s awareness of how important it is that they stay healthy, also for the sake of their children.

You’ve also participated in “Only Watch”…

Peter: … and we’ll again donate a watch to that good cause in 2012. Incidentally, we’re also planning to make something unique for the World Heart Federation.

But those are follow-up projects.

Aletta: No, we’ve already contributed to the International Children‘s Heart Foundation, the American Heart Association and the cardiology department at the children’s hospital in Peking.

Peter: But the World Heart Federation is much more broadly positioned. It’s represented in over 100 countries. There’s a foundation in each nation. It’s a worthy cause, so we’ll provide watches that can be auctioned onsite to raise money for local projects.

Aletta: We mustn’t forget to mention the most recent Passion Award, which was conferred on the “Paint a Smile” charitable foundation. For us, it’s really very important not merely to earn money, but also to spend part of it to support worthy causes.

Peter: Our commitment to charity began with the Passion Award. It resulted from our motto, which is “Live Your Passion.” An award for impassioned commitment fits that perfectly.

Aletta: We published our intentions in the “Herald Tribune” and other newspapers. The jury, which includes Peter and me, chose the winners from among the suggested candidates.

Peter: The first winner was Peter-Frans Pauwels, who invented the TomTom navigational system.

Aletta: After the award’s conferral, someone called our attention to nonprofit and charitable organizations. He said that this was another field in which people are passionately involved. I must admit that we hadn’t thought about that at first, although far greater passions are often involved there.

Peter: Dr. Bill Novick is a wonderful example. Alongside his professional career as a physician, he’s also passionately involved in the International Children’s Heart Foundation.

international_childrens_heart_foundationAletta: In our opinion, this professor definitely deserves an award for his dedication. So we’re turning in the direction of charity and we’re very happy about that. We sometimes need suggestions and impulses because they open our eyes. That’s how we learn. After all, so many people on this planet desperately need help.

But you also donate profits from sales of your watches.

Peter: Motivated by our experiences with the Passion Award, fifty Swiss francs of the revenue earned from the sale of each Double Heartbeat watch are donated to charity. Dr. Novick received one check and a second one was donated to “Paint a Smile.”

Aletta: One day we noticed that many famous people are also active philanthropists. When we developed the Chinese market, we became aware that we urgently needed a brand ambassador. That’s not absolutely necessary here in Europe, but it’s tremendously helpful in the Far East.

Peter: We contacted Shu Qi and an agreement ensued. She’s a very well known and extremely popular actress in China and she was personally present when we gave our donation check to the “Paint a Smile” foundation.

Aletta: She joined us on a visit to young patients in the cardiology department of the children’s hospital in Peking. We’re very happy with Shu Qi and she seems equally happy with us because she recently renewed her ambassadorial contract. It suppose it’s important to Shu Qi because alongside her luxurious world, our support enables her to become involved in another, less glamorous side of human life.

Peter: It’s simply different when you can personally experience things and see how much joy you can bring to people who are less fortunate.

Would you care to sum things up?

Aletta: Collaboration helps both sides. That much is clear to me. I almost forgot to mention Nicole Faria, Miss Earth and Miss India. She also assists us as brand ambassador and accompanies our campaigns to help children with cardiac insufficiencies.

More in our book Live your passion

Live your passion – Our History

Live_your_passion

It all started with our passion for watches. Then, the passion of our watchmakers was added and we have been on a journey to build a thriving watch manufacture. With our slogan LIVE YOUR PASSION, we encourage others to share in our passion for  fine watchmaking.

True passion has always been the result of fine sensitive processes that happen over time – not the exploits of some exciting moment. It represents our internal drive, not our daily habits or needs. While our habits change, our drive continues to be the result of our character and heritage. Time and moments pass. The accomplishments of our drive remain over time. This has been the true aspect of passion at all times.

The idea for this book started during a seminar on the “Rockerfeller Habits” in Amsterdam, where we attended with the Management Team of our company. In the past years, various people – journalists, customers, suppliers, industry colleagues – had suggested to write a book about our passion and the history of Frederique Constant. It was the suggestion of the members of our Management Team that made us think more seriously about the idea.

The primary purpose initially was to create a book as a publicity vehicle for potential customers and new employees. To explain how and why the company came into this world. There is certainly also an ambition to leave some kind of a legacy, to leave behind a “rule book” on what we envision as the long-term culture of the company. That it may serve as a motivation for those working with us to continue to grow Frederique Constant, Alpina and Atelier deMonaco. Last but not least, this book’s intention is also to show our children more in-depth what their parents have been spending so much time on in the past twenty years.

We learned from the YPO workshop “Write That Book”, that it takes over thousand hours to develop and finish a book manuscript. Considering the time we were spending already on work, this hardly sounded like an appealing proposition. The book idea was officially postponed to a later date when we would have more time. Still, the temptation to write something more comprehensive remained. Writing press articles and blog entries did relieve some pressure, but it was never enough. So, quietly we began to develop a book outline. With the help of Gisbert Brunner and Alexander Linz, we were able to structure scattered thoughts and information.

This book is a mix between a “Coffee Table Book” and “Business Book”. You will find ample text on the business aspects of the company, our Purpose ”Let more people enjoy luxury” and the company Core Values. You will also find plenty of photos and images that tell the story of the creation of watch calibers, models and their manufacturing. Most important however is the story of the people in the company, the customers and the suppliers. We are very grateful to have been able to work with many excellent people during the past twenty years. Without them, the company would never have been possible.

The next pages will start with an in-depth explanation of the “Accessible Luxury” concept that has been the basis of the creation of Frederique Constant over twenty years ago. We will explain many details and specific anecdotes in the following chapters in interview format. Each company Core Value is described later including an interview with colleagues for the respective value.

We have often been asked the reason for the success of our company: “Tell me, what is the single most important success factor?” Unfortunately, or fortunately, there is not one answer. It has been the combination of many factors that created success at the various development phases of the company. While it is very important to have a clear strategy, we are truly of the opinion that you have to do many things right to have success. That means hard work and long hours. You can read all about it in the rest of this book!

Frederique Constant watches are first and foremost very classical. Over the years, various Frederique Constant customers asked us to develop a sports collection. However, we always saw this as a conflict with the strategy to create, produce and market classical watches. For us it was essential to stay consistent with the classical strategy. Then in 2002, we had the opportunity to acquire Alpina, a watch company founded in 1883 with a long history in sports watches. This acquisition gave us a vehicle for sports and lifestyle watches.

Live_your_passion_Book-1024x737

Later chapters describe the extensive history of the “Union Horlogere”, the company that created and registered Alpina in 1901. How this company was revolutionary with it’s “Alpinist” concept of collaboration. We have a mission to revive Alpina to its former glory as a world watch brand. It is work in progress.

Atelier deMonaco was incorporated in April 2009 and is the third watch company in our group. Atelier deMonaco creates and produces high-end watch complications – a Minute Repeater, Perpetual Calendar and various Tourbillons. It is in this company that our most talented watchmakers can express themselves and gain experience while marketing their unique watch creations. Atelier deMonaco is ultimately an implementation of our “Personal Development” Core Value.

Thank you for your interest in our watch manufacture and we wish you a joyful reading on our passion.

Aletta & Peter Stas

 

Ideal Way to Grow Your Business

Maximum growth and high ideals are not incompatible.
They’re inseparable.

jim_Stengel

Grow Your Business

In his book, Grow, Jim Stengel shows how 50 of the highest-performing companies in the world harnessed the power of brand ideals to tower over their competitors – and how your business can, too. Grow presents an actionable framework for developing the roots that are necessary to thrive in the new business climate. Start big or start small, but start by formulating your Core Purpose.

Jim Stengel’s ten-year growth study of more than 50,000 brands reveals the secret: those centering their business on improving people’s lives outperform their competitors.

At Frederique Constant, we do not want to restrict the interest in Frederique Constant watches to a limited and elitist circle of connoisseurs, but rather to open it to a broader selection of appreciative enthusiasts who want to enjoy Swiss high-quality classical watches at sensible prices. We want to Let more people enjoy luxury.

Let us look a little more at the individual elements that make up Let more people enjoy luxury:

More people: Democratize luxury; Make luxury accessible to a broader
group of people; Equality; Not elitist.
Enjoy: Pleasure to own and experience a beautiful and well finished product; Appreciate quality and refinement; Make people feel happy, good; Share passion; Show you have taste; Feel strong, reassured, recognized; Have a memory of a special moment.
Luxury: Beautiful products; Quality of design, materials, and manufacture; Attention to details; Refinement; Craftsmanship; Respectable brand.

Developing your Core Purpose is not an easy task. It took us years and various Off-Sites to determine our Core Purpose Let more people enjoy luxury. Particularly interesting was the outcome of exercises we did during an Off-Site:

1. Mission to Mars
2. Collage Culture
3. Select no more than six values
4. Core Values Exercise
5. Core Purpose Exercise
6. BHAG Exercise

Read more about these in this link.

Coming back to Jim’s book, please check this short video and his book.

 

Sophisticated Ideas. With Power.

Tom at Desk Smile

 

Repost by Tom Morris, Ph.D. (Yale University)
See Tom’s blog article at TomVMorris

 

A Simple Luxury: Everyday Beauty

Every morning, we get these push notifications from social media – this person has requested or accepted a LinkedIn connection, that person has endorsed you, there is a new comment on your post, and you have new followers on Twitter. Going through the first run of emails for the day, I usually brush by these quickly. But today, a name caught my eye. I have a new Twitter follower who is the founder and CEO of one of the world’s most interesting companies, and one that I especially admire.

In 1988, Peter Stas and his wife Aletta Bax launched the Swiss watchmaking firm of Frederique Constant. Their vision was simple and brilliant: craft beautiful, elegant watches that would be useful works of art, and accessible to more people than the already existing high-end timepieces for which Switzerland had long been known.

If you are fortunate enough to have artwork in your home that you love – paintings, drawings, sculpture, beautiful rugs, china, or pottery – I hope you enjoy each piece nearly every time you pass it, or sit near it. And if you have easy access to a great museum, or gallery, you can visit to enjoy whatever is on display, sometimes created by the most talented of artists in history, or perhaps in your region of the world. But what about the rest of your time? Are you in touch with beauty in an ongoing way? I’ve come to believe quite firmly that there is a deep aesthetic dimension to our experience of the world, every day, and that we need frequent contact with beauty, in many of its various forms, in order to be our best, feel our best, and flourish in the most complete ways.

A beautiful watch is a small work of art, inside and out, that can go with you nearly everywhere, available throughout the day to add just a spark of the aesthetic to your experience. But the most beautiful watches, for the past half century, have become exorbitantly expensive, and have, in many circles, turned into rare luxuries whose value has subtly shifted, from intrinsically valuable works of art, to often primarily social signifiers – signs that set their wearers apart as members of the cultural elite, the “one percenters” with power, money, and status. Too many people who purchase such amazing, small handmade machines of intricate elegance that sit on the wrist and provide some of the most important information we can gain, do so these days primarily for show, to prove something, to indicate their level of financial attainment and membership in a rarified club of peers. Luxury, in step with this, has become almost synonymous with inaccessibility, the unaffordable and out of reach for the majority of people who could genuinely enjoy that experience of using the goods and services typically thought of as luxuries.

Peter rightly saw that this has gotten all out of joint. Luxury, at its heart, is meant to be primarily about ease and enjoyment, not social display and status achievement. So he and Aletta set out to create beautiful watches, useful works of art that could travel with you throughout your day, and be accessible luxuries, valued primarily for their mastery of craftsmanship and aesthetic qualities, not simply for their brand symbolism, flash, or bling. But of course, beauty has its own flash and bling. And now their brand, Frederique Constant, has become known for its purity of concern with luxury in its original sense, providing ease and enjoyment, which, of course, for most of us must involve reliability, something else they view as of peak importance. They significantly underprice their competition, not by cutting corners on quality, but by focusing on what really matters, and on what they most want to accomplish. And they provide beauty to more of the world, as a result.

Welcome to my little philosophy family, Peter! You believe in the right things!

Read more articles by Tom Morris

 

What makes us unique?

1. We are classical. Our watches are classical, sometimes slightly contemporary. Heart Beat is our long-time signature.
2. Since 2001 we are developing and producing in-house manufacture calibers.
3. The company started with passion and we invite our customers to share our passion with our slogan ‘Live your passion’.
4. Our visual image in publicity is always linked to our passion visuals, the Car Driver, Boat Driver and Ladies Charity. The persons in our advertising radiate happiness and passion.
5. We donate to heart and children related charities. We strive to do good.
6. We position ourselves in the Accessible luxury segment and strive to always offer maximum value for what our customers invest in our watches.
7. We are an independent family owned company and the friendly alternative to the Groups.

Let more people enjoy luxury

More people: Democratize luxury; Make luxury accessible to a broader
group of people; Equality; Not elitist.
Enjoy: Pleasure to own and experience a beautiful and well finished product; Appreciate quality and refinement; Make people feel happy, good; Share passion; Show you have taste; Feel strong, reassured, recognized; Have a memory of a special moment.
Luxury: Beautiful products; Quality of design, materials, and manufacture; Attention to details; Refinement; Craftsmanship; Respectable brand.

We do not want to restrict the interest in Frédérique Constant watches to a limited and elitist circle of connoisseurs, but rather to open it to a broader selection of appreciative enthusiasts who want to enjoy Swiss high-quality classical watches at sensible prices. Frédérique Constant offers Accessible Luxury watches with in-house manufacture movements starting at 2000€. In-house developed, In-house manufactured, In-house assembled. We have heavily invested in our manufacture production. With our target to grow production and sales from 125K to 250K in the next 3-5 years, we will let more people enjoy luxury. This core purpose is our reason of being and the driver to live our passion.

A Frédérique Constant watch has all the attributes of a luxury timepiece, but sells for an accessible price. We realize that many potential customers cannot afford to spend 5000-20000 CHF on a watch. Especially younger people at the beginning of their career have other financial obligations. This awareness was the start of our company. Frédérique Constant strives to democratize luxury.

We aim to share our passion for fine watches and let people enjoy the pleasure of owning and experiencing beautiful and well-finished products. Our customers appreciate the quality and refinement of our watches, which make them feel good and happy. Frédérique Constant watches create memories of special moments.

Frédérique Constant watches are defined by their high quality, differentiation and precision in design and manufacture. We have a passion for designing our beautiful watches. Their perceived value — through quality of design, materials, and manufacture — is a key component of our success. Each of our watches is assembled by hand and extensively controlled with the latest equipment to ensure maximum quality. We innovate to offer creativity and exceptional value.