RichardMiami 4 Posted February 19, 2014 My new pride and joy -- The Frédérique Constant Worldtimer - Reference # FC-718WM4H6 UPFRONT – Thanks to RWG for giving me a hobby that I love, and the education in that hobby that allows me to make buys like this in confidence!! THANKS RWG! I have just received my very own Frédérique Constant Worldtimer – and I am VERY pleased to give this an honored place in my watch box. It has been a grail of mine for some time to have a true worldtimer, and now #1,383 of the limited edition of 1,888 has a home in Miami! I travel a lot, I have family all over North American and some in Asia, and I have clients worldwide. While I own a few GMTs, a true worldtimer has been on the top of my list for a long time. This is IT! A lot of this review is freely plagiarized from watch blogs, including Hodinkee and professionalwatches.com. Thanks to them for not noticing! First – Frédérique Constant. Many of you may not be familiar with this relatively new house. Frédérique Constant, which was founded by Peter and Aletta Stas in 1988, is a relative newcomer in the watch world, where it is not uncommon for a brand to be over 100 years old. But make no mistake, with 13 in-house calibers currently in production, and more coming, Frédérique Constant is as serious as any watch brand out there. At their manufacture in Plan-les-Ouates, which is just outside Geneva, they currently produce almost 130,000 Frederique Constant pieces per year, along with close to 10,000 pieces for their sports watch brand Alpina. It is worth noting right up front that the Frédérique Constant Worldtimer is a true worldtimer, not a GMT with a cities ring, meaning you can read the time in all time zones at once.That's not to say the worldtimer-style GMT watch is a bad thing, it's just a different complication altogether. Here Frédérique Constant has fitted the Worldtimer with a ring containing 24 major world cities and a 24-hour disc neatly divided into night and day. This ring is both marked with sun and moon and colored light and dark for easy reading. The photos and videos are of my watch, not scraped off the web (except for the How to Set video) The piece comes in four references: Stainless case or Rose Gold case offered with World Map dial or traditional dial. My watch is stainless with the silver world map: Usually on a watch like this, you would see a pusher up around 2 o'clock. A simple click and the cities ring advances one time zone, changing your home time as well. But instead, Frédérique Constant have streamlined things and the entire watch is operated from the single crown - this includes setting the time, calibrating the worldtimer, and setting the date register at 6 o'clock. Remember, the FC-718 inside this worldtimer is a real manufacture movement, made by them not outsourced, and you can tell Frédérique Constant designed it to be simple and clean from the ground up. The Dial On top of the well executed movement, sits the other star of the show, the worldtime dial. The details of the dial are quite intricate, from its luxurious silver finish, to the embossed world map in the center, to the hand applied hour dot indexes — everything about this dial is world class. The hour, minute and date hands have been blued and polished. Each of the hour dots are luminous. The outer chapter ring, controlled by the crown, rotates and displays the time in 24 cities, allowing the wearer to quickly determine the time anywhere in the world — including if it is day or night. At 6 o’clock is the subsidiary date dial. Pulling the crown out one stop allows you to control the date (turn clockwise) and the cities ring (counter-clockwise). The second stop controls the hours and minutes. The only thing I will say about the dial that I did not like, and this is something that is true of most world time watches: it is a bit harder to read the time at a glance because there is so much information on the dial. With a Worldtimer, it is pretty much an unavoidable fact, its ability to displaying 24 or more of the world’s time zones, inherently requires a somewhat busy dial. NOTE: The inner ring rotates in REAL TIME - so that when the time is changing for you, it shows the time in the rest of the world – light half ring for daylight and dark half ring for night (duh!) Dial video (click to play) The Case The Classics Manufacture Worldtimer is presented in a fully polished 3-part stainless steel case that measures just under 42 mm in diameter. It is 12.25 mm thick and 45.25 mm across including the crown. It is a traditional looking Swiss case reminiscent of other classic Genevan watch brands. Protecting the dial is a very slightly curved sapphire crystal, and a flat sapphire on the case back. The steel crown has prominent ridges and is fully polished. It measures approximately 6.22 mm and in non-locking. It controls all functions: the hours, minutes, date and worldtime ring. The Movement As we discussed above, Frédérique Constant makes a number of their own calibers, and this is one of them. Caliber FC-718 is a self-winding mechanical movement that runs at a rate of 4Hz, has 26 jewels and a 42-hour power reserve. It has been very nicely finished with perlage on the main plate and circular Côtes de Genève decoration on the main bridge. The oscillating weight is skeletonized and has a rose gold plated finish. Blued screws secure the rotor and main components in place. The balance wheel is the regulated type (as opposed to a free sprung balance wheel). Overall, this is a beautiful movement with a unique design that is a departure from many of the uniform calibers seen across the industry. Rose gold plated rotor Movement video (click to play) The Frédérique Constant Manufacture Worldtimer Limited Edition comes on a navy alligator strap with off-white stitching, with a stainless steel pin buckle with a water-resistant inner lining. It measures 22 mm in width at the lugs. Water-resistance is 50 meters. Limited edition of 1,888 pieces. Delivered in a wooden gift box with limited edition plate. Video: (not mine) How to set the FC Worldtimer: OK… enough of the educational stuff: MORE PICS!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mazz 62 Posted February 19, 2014 Nice review Except the photos they were horrible Kidding Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amit 72 Posted February 19, 2014 I'm so jealous but at the same time very happy for you. What a beautiful timepiece and i know you will wear it always in good health. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N.Rico 1 Posted February 19, 2014 Thats a beauty time piece ,i saw them at Mayors catalog i received and got my attention its a classic ,enjoy it . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
myaz 3 Posted February 19, 2014 FC being a relatively new watchmaker, I see the value of this early and limited production piece going up........maybe not in your lifetime but that doesn't matter, does it? One heck of a keeper. The looks set it apart from most watches in a very classy way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N.Rico 1 Posted February 19, 2014 I am sure that its value will increase in the near future . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RichardMiami 4 Posted February 19, 2014 Thank you gents! The piece just passed the "Miami Florida Waterproof in the Shower" test.... LOL Did that to loosen up the croc strap a bit.. damn thing was uncomfortable, but with little hot water and steam... soft as butter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
black263 228 Posted February 19, 2014 Bummer if you live under Oz Central Standard Time. But I presume that there, day and night is sufficient. :suck: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Calcidose 0 Posted February 19, 2014 Wonderful watch ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kleen™ 45 Posted February 19, 2014 Thank you gents! The piece just passed the "Miami Florida Waterproof in the Shower" test.... LOL Did that to loosen up the croc strap a bit.. damn thing was uncomfortable, but with little hot water and steam... soft as butter. Yeah, those rep straps are horrible...:-D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FuzzyCoyote 2 Posted February 19, 2014 It's up..... Bookmarked to have a look later when I get a spare 5 minutes. Been looking forward to reading this since yesterday Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nyckid 0 Posted February 19, 2014 Very nice pick up Mr. Miami. Enjoy it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dalboy 2 Posted February 19, 2014 Cracking review Rich.. Oooooze's class , even looks good with jeans and a T.. Gonna take a while before that smile disappears off ya mush. .. Health the wear it . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
James. 4 Posted February 19, 2014 Pure class, one of the,most underrated houses producing some of the best bag for your buck in house movements and complications. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheInthusiest 0 Posted February 19, 2014 Im still offering my bacon and maple syrup. Whatta watch ya got there! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kromp 0 Posted February 19, 2014 Very classy, congratulations on realizing one of your grail watches! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Del 4,539 Posted February 19, 2014 Brilliant review mate! I had no idea about how this watch worked so thanks for explaining it - I found it fascinating! It's really gorgeous looking - congrats and enjoy! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aren 27 Posted February 19, 2014 Loved the review and the photos and video. This is a fascinating watch and I am happy to finally see one. So, you want to remove the buckle and have a fold-over deployment clasp? Please show us when you change the strap. A great review on a fantastic watch from a fine gent. Congrats Richard on this lovely time piece. It's stunning! Wear it and enjoy it in good health. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FCarvi 0 Posted February 19, 2014 Great pick up for a gen!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RichardMiami 4 Posted February 20, 2014 Thanks again for all the nice words! I finally understand what the Brits mean when they say that they are chuffed! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
