Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The Frederique Constant Worldtimer Manufacture, Reworked
The flagship Worldtimer gets a significant upgrade with more compact dimensions, enhanced legibility and a more powerful movement.
When it launched in 2012, Frederique Constant’s Worldtimer Manufacture made waves in the watch world. A complication usually found in far pricier watches, it delivered in-house world time functionality with an “accessible luxury” price tag. Not content to rest on its laurels, FC unveiled a new and improved Worldtimer at Watches & Wonders this year with more compact dimensions, a more legible dial, a new manufacture FC-719 movement with a longer power reserve and three new variations on the theme, two of which retail for under EUR 5,000. More refined, more wearable and technically stronger, there’s a lot to like about the new Worldtimer.
In tune with the latest trend towards more compact case sizes, the second-generation Worldtimer shrinks from 42mm to 40mm in diameter but increases slightly in height from 12.15mm to 12.53mm – a small trade-off for the new movement powering the watch. The three-part polished stainless steel case retains the classic onion-shaped crown, the wide bezel and short, sloping lugs. While the reduced case size will undoubtedly appeal to a wider range of wrist sizes, the limited-edition diamond-set version might still be on the large side for women’s wrists.
One of the most valued features of FC’s Worldtimer lies in the crown, a multifunctional, user-friendly crown to adjust all the functions. To wind the watch, extend the crown to the first position; to select the city on the time zone disc, extend the crown to the second position and rotate counterclockwise; to set local time, extend the crown to the third position. By eliminating embedded correctors and fussy instruments to push them, the case can deal with depths of up to 50 metres, and you don’t have to fumble around in your hand luggage looking for the stylus.
As a true world timer, and not a GMT posing as a world timer, FC’s travel companion offers a simultaneous display of the time in all 24 reference time zones. The cities representing the different time zones are displayed on the periphery. Once the home or reference city is aligned at 12 o’clock, the 24-hour disc framing the centre of the dial indicates the corresponding time in all the other time zones, enhanced with a practical two-tone day and night indicator.
A notable design choice on the new Worldtimers is the elimination of the date. In first-generation Worldtimers, the date sub-dial at 6 o’clock invaded the city ring, the 24-hour track and a section of the world map. By forgoing the date, the dial looks cleaner and is far easier to read, but there might well be folk out there who feel the omission is a downgrade when the watch is used as an everyday three-hander.
Marking FC’s 35th manufacture movement – not bad for a brand that was founded in 1988 – the new FC-719 automatic maintains the core architecture and 4Hz frequency of the earlier FC-718 movement but upgrades the power reserve from 38 hours to 72 hours in a case that is 2mm smaller. A significant boost of roughly 90%, the increase in autonomy is achieved by a longer mainspring. Visible through the sapphire crystal on the caseback, the movement is competently decorated with an openworked satin-brushed rotor, perlage and circular Côtes de Genève.
Represented by three models, the new Worldtimers retain the characteristic world map in the centre of the dial but feature different dial colours and strap/bracelet options. The 88-piece limited edition with 70 brilliant-cut diamonds in the bezel and 12 diamond indices comes with a sunburst light blue ocean, grey continents in relief with a grey grained finish and two interchangeable alligator straps.
The more familiar version features navy blue oceans surrounding the grey continents in relief, and a blue city disc. The hours are indicated by round luminescent indices, and the watch is paired with an interchangeable five-link steel bracelet with alternating satin and mirror-polished surfaces. Our favourite is the model with a gradient blue ocean, a light blue and a darker blue 24-hour ring, an off-white city ring and an interchangeable blue alligator strap.
Apart from the limited edition with diamonds, which retails for EUR 7,995, the two other references of the Frederique Constant Worldtimer Manufacture share a price of EUR 4,995. Compared to other world timers on the market, FC still delivers a lot of value per complication. More information at frederiqueconstant.com.
