What can be seen now as a natural collection for Frederique Constant was not that of a gimmick and neither just another collection, back in 1994. When it has been introduced, the Frederique Constant HeartBeat was a sort of first of its kind. Showing the beating heart of a watch on the dial was not that usual, apart from the high-end tourbillon. This HeartBeat collection has expanded since then, and continues to do so this year, with two new references. Here are the 2016 Frederique Constant HeartBeat Manufacture Watches, with new dials and one edition with Date by Hand.

The Frederique Constant HeartBeat

The first Frederique Constant Heartbeat timepiece was launched in 1994. The purpose of the HeartBeat development was to show that these models were mechanical. With this in mind, the brand added an aperture at the position of the balance wheel to show the beauty of the mechanical movement, of its “heartbeat”. At the time, this was a very innovative creation – remember that in 1994, mechanical watches were only coming back, after decades of Quartz hegemony. Having a mechanical watch was still a privilege, something rather unusual and something that was reserved to limited amount of connoisseurs. So to say, it was something to be proud of. This is the reason why Frederique Constant chose to expose the balance wheel at 12, in an aperture on the dial.

These two new editions of the Frederique Constant HeartBeat Manufacture are now available in store and will be priced at 3,500 Swiss Francs (for the white dial, 2-hand version) and 4,590 Swiss Francs (for the blue dial, date-by-hand edition). More details here.

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Specifications of the Frederique Constant HeartBeat Manufacture

• Case: 42mm diameter – stainless steel, polished – sapphire crystal on front and on the caseback – 50m water resistant
• Movement: Calibre FC-930-2 (white dial) or Calibre FC-941, in-house developed and manufactured – automatic winding – power reserve of 42 hours – 28,800bph – Hours, minutes, visible regulating organ (and additional date on the blue version)
• Strap: alligator leather on steel buckle
• Ref. FC-930MS4H6 (white dial) ref. FC-941NS4H6 (blue dial)

[source from: https://monochrome-watches.com/frederique-constant-heartbeat-manufacture-2016-price/]