Frederique Constant – Pim Koeslag, Technical Director, about the Watchmaking Evolution of the Brand

After two videos on history and strategy, we continue our series of videos focusing on accessible luxury brand Frederique Constant. Created only 30 years ago by Peter and Aletta Stas, the brand has gained international recognition for manufacturing elegant watches with interesting complications and luxurious appeal for reasonable prices. This also meant the adoption of true watchmaking skills, something that started with the launch of the first manufacture movement (the Open Heart) in 2004. The evolution of the brand has seen the introduction of multiple variants and several “small” complications, but also high-end watches such as a tourbillon in 2008 or a perpetual calendar in 2016. In 2018, both were combined in an impressive watch, the Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Manufacture, again priced very reasonably – and that required true watchmaking skills.

For the third video in this series, we talk to Pim Koeslag, Technical Director at Frederique Constant, Alpina Watches and CEO of Ateliers deMonaco, about the impressive technical developments behind the brand, from the first in-house movement in 2004 to the complex tourbillon perpetual calendar recently launched. This strategy also includes the creation of a manufacture, which has been enlarged recently for an even greater (and more efficient) production capacity.

We invite you to watch the video at the top of this article to understand how Frederique Constant, its president Peter Stas and technical director Pim Koeslag have managed to implement a strategy of accessible luxury together with superb watchmaking content. Creating a tourbillon perpetual calendar with no limitations on price is complex but pretty standard in the industry. Doing the same kind of complications in a watch with a price capped at EUR 20,000 requires impressive cleverness. Believe us!

More details at frederiqueconstant.com.