Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The Frederique Constant Highlife Edition Caron
When mechanical watchmaking blends with cullinary arts.
It’s not often the world of culinary arts collides with the beauty of mechanical watchmaking. When it does happen, things turn tasty quickly, as watchmaking and fine dining are at heart about passion. A passion for finesse, refinement and finding perfection in ingredients to make a watch or a dish come together in perfect harmony. In a unique three-way collaboration, the Dutch team of Reijersen Jewelers has worked with chef Alain Caron on a special edition of the Frederique Constant Highlife, called the Edition Caron. Let’s get straight to the main course, shall we?
Alain Caron is of French origin but has resided in the Netherlands for most of his life. With his sons David and Tom, he runs four restaurants in the Netherlands and is well-known in the culinary world as a presenter, guest and judge in various TV cooking shows. He’s also the author of a whole range of culinary books, so to say he knows his way around the kitchen would be a huge understatement.
Alain Caron’s creative French touch in the realm of Haute Cuisine now transcends to a pair of mechanical watches. The involvement of Reijersen Jewelers, owned and managed by Adriaan Reijersen, is no surprise as he collaborated with Michelin Star chefs before for his ‘Collection des Cuisiniers’ series of watches.
The Frederique Constant Highlife Edition Caron comes in two sizes: 34mm and 39mm. Essentially, that makes it a perfect “his & hers” set, although some might feel the smaller of the two is as unisex as the bigger one. Nevertheless, the tonneau-shaped case comes in at a rather slim 9.80mm height for both and is fitted with a domed sapphire crystal and a see-through caseback. The finishing is a mix of brushed and polished sections, as expected on a luxury sports watch. So far, nothing out of the ordinary.
Alain Caron’s fine sense of style comes into play on the dial, which has a matte creamy champagne-coloured finish with a colimaçon or snail-shell-like pattern. Personally, I’m reminded of the soft peaks of whisked egg whites ready to become a chewy meringue or whipped cream carefully piped onto a fresh cake. The dial is finished with a black printed minute track and applied indices. The luminous sword-shaped hands for the hours and minutes are paired with a slender steel central seconds hand. To continue the culinary theme, the luminous inserts on the indices are white and pistachio green. The finishing touches include a framed date window at 3′ and Caron’s logo at 6′.
Beating away inside this Highlife is the brand’s FC-303 time-and-date automatic, based on the reliable and very serviceable Sellita SW-200. It’s fitted with a gold-coloured rotor, which provides energy to the barrel for 38 hours. The sapphire crystal caseback is a bit opaque and shows one of Alain Caron’s personal drawings (another passion of his), with three lines making up two people sharing a kiss. It’s a fitting touch to the watch and a reminder to keep your loved ones close.
The Frederique Constant Highlife Edition Caron is limited to 50 pieces for each size and comes with the familiar stainless steel integrated bracelet. In addition, you get a khaki-coloured rubber strap with the watch, which can be easily swapped out thanks to the built-in easy exchange system. The watches are exclusively available for a price of EUR 2,295 for the 34mm version or EUR 2,395 for the 39mm version and are sold through EditionCaron.nl only.
For more information, please visit FrederiqueConstant.com, ReijersenJuweliers.nl or EditionCaron.nl.
2 responses
Nice styling. However, I believe the pricing is too high for an ETA based movement, especially without a silicon hairspring. For the price, Longines, Oris, etc. appear to provide greater value.
unfortunately FConstant(in) looks more and more like VConstantin
Apart from that the watch looks great!