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| Frederique Constant |
In Geneva, the city of watch dreams and dreamers, Aletta Bax and Peter Stas founded Fn§derique Constant SA in a back-alley building on rue Vautier, in the middle of the Carouge business quarter. Attractively priced watches with a characteristic "peephole" for the balance on the dial magically helped to win over the hearts of watch fans during the 1990s, and the Genevan brand saw large increases in turnover every year. Definitely a good time to cultivate the collection and raise production. The jump from being simply a producer (buying parts like movements, cases, dials, crystals, and bands from different suppliers and having them put together to form whole watches by assembly ateliers well known within the trade) to an autonomous manufacturer was greater than company owner and managing director Peter Stas had initially believed. Even finding the right employees turned out to be a difficult task:
In a city like Geneva, where the watch industry is buzzing, good help isn't so easy to find.
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At the beginning everyone had to pitch in, even the boss, in order to make sure the dials and cases of the company's own design were properly fitted with the movements, to put on
the bands, to pack the boxes, to fill out the guarantee cards, or to take care of small complaints. Peter Stas unflaggingly commuted between the suppliers in Switzerland and the distributors all over the world, received suggestions and criticism when showing new prototypes, and never tired of continually creating new designs and honing the rapidly growing collection. The sporty line HighLife, containing different mechanical complications, soon followed the complete line Heart Beat. Frederique Constant (Peter Stas admits, "In reality these are two first names: My greatgrandmother was named Frederique, and my great-grandfather was Constant. ") now lodges in large, modern factory buildings on the edge of the Genevan watch quarter Plan-Ies-Ouates, and the collection continues to grow by leaps and bounds.
The HighLife family has been extended to include a stylish chronograph in characteristic dial design, outfitted with a trustworthy Valjoux movement, the extraordinary details of which are presented in the company's usual highquality workmanship. Another new introduction worthy of special mention that includes an
interesting little complication is the Seconde Retrograde, featuring the Heart Beat line's trademark peephole in the dial that proudly displays the movement's balance. |
Frederique Constant
International Time Group
LLC 7700 Congress Avenue, Suite 1115
Boca Raton, FL 33487
Tel: 561-241-3509
Fax: 561-241-3574
www.frederique-constant.com
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