Frederique Constant Specialists

Aletta and Peter Stas began designing their own watch collection in 1988. The brand's first collection, the 18th Century Collection, launched in 1992 with Swiss movements assembled by a Geneva watchmaker. The first Heart Beat model followed in 1994, with an aperture at 12 o'clock that later became the brand's signature.

The early years were built on assembled watches with Swiss movements, and the move toward the brand's own calibers took more than a decade. That gradual path matters when you look at older pieces, since a watch from the early 1990s and one from the 2010s can share a name and very different internals.

The founders moved the company to Carouge in Geneva in 1997, the year it first exhibited at Baselworld. The business moved to a larger production site in Chêne-Bourg in 2000, and in 2002 the Stas couple acquired the Swiss brand Alpina to expand into sports watches. The first in-house Manufacture caliber, the FC-910, arrived in 2004, and a new Manufacture building opened in Plan-les-Ouates in 2006.

Ownership changed in 2016, when the Stas couple accepted an offer from Citizen Watch Co., Ltd., which announced its agreement to acquire the group that May. Owners deal with the brand's own warranty and service terms day to day, and those are the documents that matter when a watch needs work.

The brand's Manufacture calibers include the FC-910 from 2004, the FC-980 used in a 2008 limited-edition tourbillon with a silicon escapement, the FC-718 in the Classic Worldtimer from 2012, and the FC-760 in its flyback chronograph from 2017. The brand's own timeline counts the 2021 Slimline Monolithic as its 30th in-house movement.

Not every model is built this way. The Highlife Heart Beat's FC-310 and the Highlife Automatic COSC's FC-303 are both Sellita SW200-based, according to the brand's technical information. Across the range, Sellita-based and Manufacture movements both appear, so the caliber on the caseback or in the listing is the first thing to check.

The gap between the two is the first question to ask about any listing. A watch with a Sellita base and a watch with a Manufacture caliber can look identical from the front, and the difference shows up in the service plan and the parts list.

The brand publishes accuracy tolerances for many calibers. For the FC-710, the Slimline Classic Manufacture caliber, the published figure is minus 5 to plus 15 seconds a day. For the Sellita-based FC-310 it is minus 4 to plus 22, and for the FC-303 COSC it is minus 4 to plus 10. The brand also says each watch is individually adjusted and checked before it leaves the workshop, so use these figures as the brand's own limits when you judge a rate after service.

Frédérique Constant's limited international warranty runs two years from the purchase date and is honored by authorized retailers and service centers worldwide. It covers operational problems caused by manufacturing defects, and defective components are replaced free of charge once the brand confirms the defect.

The paperwork changed in 2025. For purchases before April 21, 2025, a completed and stamped authenticity certificate is accepted. For purchases after that date, the official retailer activates the warranty at sale through the QR code on the eWarranty card. A receipt alone is generally not enough, and the serial number must remain intact and legible.

Work done by the brand's service centers carries its own 12-month warranty on the work and the replaced components. Accidental damage, misuse, unauthorized servicing and battery life after one year are excluded. Before you ship a watch, check the brand's list of authorized service centers for your country, and confirm with the center that it will accept the watch under warranty.

Keep the warranty card with the watch and the receipt together. A complete set of papers lets a service center confirm eligibility quickly, and it is what a later buyer will ask for first.

Check the papers against the watch. A pre-owned piece should come with its warranty card or a record of activation, and the serial number should match the documents. Ask whether the warranty is still active, and if the seller's answer is vague, confirm the status with the brand before you pay.

A watch bought through an authorized retailer is simpler to verify than one that came through a private channel, so ask about the route the watch took to the seller.

Know the caliber before you negotiate. A Manufacture piece such as one with the FC-710 or FC-810 is not the same service job as a Sellita-based Highlife, and the price should reflect that difference. Check the caseback, the reference and the movement description in the listing, and ask the seller to confirm the caliber in writing.

Look at the crystal, the bracelet and the crown. A replaced crystal should match the reference, and a bracelet with worn links or an unmatched clasp adds to the cost of the watch. Ask for the service history, and if the watch has been opened by someone outside the brand, get a written inspection from an independent before you pay.

For a Sellita-based model, a watchmaker who regularly services SW200-family movements can handle most of the work. For a Manufacture piece, ask whether the shop has worked on that caliber family and how it checks the regulation against the brand's published tolerance.

Ask for a written estimate that names the caliber, the parts to be replaced, and whether the crystal and gaskets will be replaced or refinished. If you want your old parts back, say so at the start, and ask for a pressure test after any case work.

Use the brand's authorized service centers when a warranty is in play, since the paperwork is tied to them. For out-of-warranty work, a specialist who will show you the movement before and after the job is a good choice. A local watchmaker can handle straps and simple adjustments.

Ask any shop you're considering whether it has worked on the FC-710, the FC-810 or a Sellita-based model, and whether it will give you the rate before and after the service. Those answers tell you more than a list of brands the shop has serviced.