Frederique Constant Classic Worldtimer Manufacture with Grey Dial

Watches capable of indicating the time in all the official 24 time zones of the world usually come with a first-class price tag. Faithful to its philosophy of ‘accessible luxury’, Frederique Constant’s steel Worldtimer retails at an economy class price of under EUR 3,500. First launched in 2012, the Worldtimer is one of the brand’s most successful models and has been revisited in a wide range of colours. For 2019, the Worldtimer now appears in a handsome dark grey suit and in a choice of steel or rose gold-plated steel.

Like many of the pricier world time models on the market, a representation of the globe is featured on the dial, in this case, etched onto the grey dial with the continents in relief. As a true world timer, and not a GMT posing as a world timer, you can consult the time in any of the 24 cities on the ring at a glance.

Local time is read with the central hands and the applied luminous hour markers positioned on the globe. Home time or reference time is read off the 24-hour disc, which also indicates day/night with its two-tone grey and white colours. The 24 cities are displayed on the outermost ring in white against a dark grey background while the GMT indication, along with +1/-1, are picked out in red. A large sub-dial at 6 o’clock with a wavy stamped design in its centre indicates the date by hand.

The advantage of Frederique Constant’s Worldtimer is that all the functions are controlled at the crown. The crown has three positions: the first to wind the watch; the second to set the date (clockwise) and city (counter-clockwise); and the third to set the time (counter-clockwise).

The 42mm case, in either polished stainless steel or polished rose gold-plated steel, features the classic vintage onion crown that is a favourite of Frederique Constant. It also features an exhibition caseback to view the in-house FC-718 calibre. Specifically built for the Worldtimer, the automatic manufacture movement is powered by a golden openworked rotor. Beating at a frequency of 28,800 vph, the power reserve is of 42 hours. Circular graining and Côtes de Genève are used to decorate the bridges and the screws are blued.

A matching dark grey alligator leather strap with white stitches completes the picture. Like the calibre number, the watch is limited to 718 units in each metal. The retail price of the steel model is EUR 3,495 and EUR 3,795 for the gold-plated model.

For more information, please consult frederiqueconstant.com.