Author: Marina Coelho

Client Stories, Watches & Jewellery

From Hand-Winding to the Moon: Frederique Constant’s Latest Novelties

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From Hand-Winding to the Moon: Frederique Constant’s Latest Novelties

PARALLÈLE / WATCHES & JEWELLERY
IN FOCUS · FREDERIQUE CONSTANT

From Hand-Winding to the Moon

With the first mechanical movement in the Moneta collection and a new Manufacture moonphase for the Highlife, Frederique Constant’s latest releases explore two very different sides of contemporary mechanical watchmaking.

Frederique Constant’s latest novelties arrive from opposite directions. The new Classics Moneta Handwinding takes a young collection back to one of watchmaking’s most traditional gestures: winding a mechanical movement by hand. The Highlife Moonphase Date Manufacture, meanwhile, introduces a new Manufacture complication to one of the Maison’s most contemporary collections.

One is deliberately simple and neo-retro. The other combines moonphase, date and a 72-hour power reserve in a versatile 39 mm case. Together, they offer two different expressions of an idea that has long shaped Frederique Constant: combining Swiss mechanical watchmaking, technical expertise and accessibility.

The Moneta becomes mechanical

Introduced in 2024, the Classics Moneta built its identity around an unusual detail. Its distinctive rehaut is finished with fine grooves inspired by the ridged edge of a coin, the detail from which Moneta takes its name. It is subtle enough not to dominate the watch, but distinctive enough to give an otherwise classical design its own character.

Now, for the first time, the collection becomes mechanical. The new Classics Moneta Handwinding houses the FC-435, a manually wound caliber from Swiss movement manufacturer La Joux-Perret, personalized exclusively for Frederique Constant. As both La Joux-Perret and Frederique Constant belong to the Citizen Group, the Maison describes it as an “in-group” movement.

Visible through the sapphire caseback, the caliber offers 63 hours of power reserve and operates at 4 Hz. Its Côtes de Genève decoration is complemented by the Frederique Constant crest at the center, while the absence of an oscillating weight leaves the movement fully visible. The choice of hand-winding feels particularly suited to the Moneta.

Rather than simply introducing a mechanical movement, Frederique Constant has used it to reinforce the watch’s neo-retro identity. Winding it becomes part of the experience; turning it over reveals another.

A new size, and a new dial

The mechanical transition comes with changes on the outside too. The stainless-steel case introduces a new 38.5 mm diameter, while the dial combines a smoked salmon center with a gradient that darkens towards black at the edges. Applied mirror-polished indexes sit alongside central dauphine hands, while small seconds at 6 o’clock reinforce the classical proportions and 1950s influence.

There are plenty of vintage references here, but the result stops short of becoming nostalgic. The salmon dial, hand-wound movement, small seconds and black alligator leather strap establish the mood without overwhelming the simplicity that made the Moneta recognizable in the first place.

Limited to 999 pieces, the Classics Moneta Handwinding represents a significant evolution for a collection that is only two years old: its distinctive design remains, now paired for the first time with a mechanical movement.

The Highlife looks to the Moon

If the Moneta is about going back to basics, the new Highlife Moonphase Date Manufacture takes the opposite approach. Since its relaunch in 2020, the Highlife collection has explored several complications, including the Worldtimer, chronograph and perpetual calendar. The Moonphase Date now joins them.

At its heart is the new FC-716 automatic Manufacture caliber, designed and assembled by Frederique Constant in Geneva. It provides a 72-hour, or three-day, power reserve, thanks to a redesigned barrel and a mainspring produced from a new alloy. The movement combines two synchronized indications: moonphase and date. Both can be adjusted directly through the crown, avoiding additional correctors and keeping the complication straightforward to use.

Through the sapphire caseback, the FC-716 reveals its perlage and Côtes de Genève decoration. But from the front, the Moon is clearly the protagonist.

Making the complication the center

Frederique Constant has given the moonphase display a highly detailed treatment, reproducing variations in grey, relief and shadow across the lunar surface. Positioned at 6 o’clock and surrounded by the date indication, it also determines the visual structure of the dial. Rather than radiating from its conventional central point, the sunray finish begins at the moonphase itself. The complication becomes the visual center of the watch, with the rest of the dial appearing to extend from it.

The 39 mm stainless-steel case is offered with two dial interpretations. The first combines a rose-champagne sunray finish with a deep blue moonphase display, creating a contrast between warm gold and copper tones and the darker representation of the night sky. The second takes a more tonal approach, pairing a midnight-blue dial with a slightly darker blue moonphase. A red “31” provides the one deliberate interruption, marking the end of the monthly cycle.

Both versions are delivered with two interchangeable options: a blue Saffiano leather strap and a five-link stainless-steel bracelet with alternating polished and brushed finishes. It gives the Highlife two quite different personalities without changing the watch itself.

Different watches, same direction

The two releases occupy very different places within the Frederique Constant universe. The Moneta introduces the first mechanical movement in the collection. The Highlife continues a line of complications that already includes the Worldtimer, chronograph and perpetual calendar.

One offers the tactile simplicity of hand-winding and small seconds. The other brings together an automatic Manufacture caliber, moonphase and date. Yet both reflect a familiar Frederique Constant approach: putting traditional watchmaking ideas into watches intended to be worn rather than simply admiredfrom a distance.

That philosophy is particularly visible in the way each watch approaches mechanical watchmaking. The Moneta combines a decorated Swiss mechanical movement, a 63-hour power reserve and limited production with a deliberately restrained design, while the Highlife Moonphase Date Manufacture brings together an in-house calibre, a 72-hour power reserve and two synchronized complications in an everyday 39 mm format.

The complication is there. So is the watchmaking. But neither is presented as something that needs to feel inaccessible.

A double GPHG pre-selection

The timing also brings another piece of news for Frederique Constant. The Classics Moneta Handwinding has been pre-selected by the Academy of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève 2026 in the Challenge category. It is joined by the Classic Worldtimer Manufacture, pre-selected in the Petite Aiguille category.

The Worldtimer is not one of the September novelties explored here, but the double pre-selection brings together two different expressions of Frederique Constant’s mechanical watchmaking: the first mechanical Moneta and one of the Manufacture’s established complications.

The winners will be announced during the GPHG ceremony in Geneva on 7 November 2026.

For now, the two latest releases tell their own story. From winding a watch by hand to following the phases of the Moon, Frederique Constant is approaching mechanical watchmaking from two very different directions, while keeping the distance between the watch and the person wearing it deliberately short.

Sparkling PR is the exclusive public relations agency for Frederique Constant in the Portuguese market only.

Contact us to receive the full press release.

Articles, Sparkling News

Col&McArthur appoints Sparkling PR for Global Communications

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Col&McArthur appoints Sparkling PR for Global Communications

Sparkling PR is proud to announce its appointment as the international Communications and Public Relations agency for Belgian watchmaking Maison Col&McArthur across France, Switzerland, the United States and Canada.

As part of this collaboration, Sparkling PR will lead the brand’s international PR strategy across these key markets, encompassing media relations, press release development, targeted media outreach, launch strategy, event support and ongoing communications counsel.

The partnership marks a new chapter in Col&McArthur’s international development as the Maison continues to strengthen its visibility and positioning across Europe and North America.

Founded in Liège, Belgium, in 2013, Col&McArthur has developed a distinctive approach to watchmaking built around one central idea: preserving history through timepieces.

Each collection begins with a story. From the Moon Landing and the events of the Second World War to the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit, the Maison creates watches inspired by significant moments, places and personalities. Authentic historical materials are often incorporated into the pieces, creating a tangible connection between the object and the history it represents.

Since 2018, Col&McArthur has sold more than 10,000 watches across over 70 countries, building an international community of collectors, history enthusiasts and watch lovers.

For Sparkling PR, the mandate will focus on translating this distinctive universe into relevant stories for international media and audiences. The agency will work across a carefully curated mix of leading lifestyle and fashion publications alongside specialized watch media, adapting each communications approach to the story, collection and market.

Launch strategy will also form an important part of the collaboration, with Sparkling PR providing strategic counsel and communications support around key product releases, including the recently launched Céline Dion Tribute collection.

For Marina Coelho, Founder and CEO of Sparkling PR, the partnership reflects the agency’s approach to working with watchmaking brands whose identity extends beyond the product itself.

“Col&McArthur has a very particular way of approaching watchmaking: the story always comes first. Each collection gives us something meaningful to communicate, whether that story begins with a historical event, a place or a person. Our role is to translate that richness into a communications strategy that resonates across different markets while remaining true to the Maison’s identity.”

The appointment further strengthens Sparkling PR’s international presence within the watchmaking and luxury industries. With expertise spanning watchmaking, jewellery, luxury, lifestyle, fashion and culture, the agency develops communications strategies designed around each brand’s individual identity, objectives and markets.

Through targeted media relations, strategic storytelling and tailored launch support, Sparkling PR and Col&McArthur will work together to expand the Maison’s international visibility while bringing the stories behind its timepieces to new audiences across France, Switzerland and North America.

Follow Sparkling PR on Instagram or contact us for more details on this collaboration.

Geneva Watch Days 2026

What Stayed With Us

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What Stayed With Us

PARALLÈLE / GENEVA WATCH DAYS 2026
GENEVA NOTES · 03

What Stayed With Us

The watches, details, conversations and small moments that remained after Geneva Watch Days ended.

A few weeks after Geneva Watch Days, the specifications are no longer the first things that come to mind. What remains are smaller things. A watch being turned over. Someone reaching for a loupe. A presentation running longer than expected because the conversation had moved somewhere else. A detail that looked different in person than it did in an image.

We came to Geneva to see watches. Inevitably, we came home remembering much more than that.

The second look

Some watches made their impression immediately. Others needed another moment. At Schwarz Etienne, the black-and-gold dial of the 1902 Petite Seconde Heure Dorée caught attention first. Then people turned the watch over. The six-bridge architecture of the movement and its gold-toned micro-rotor changed the conversation, and watches began moving repeatedly from front to back.

That gesture stayed with us because it captured something we saw throughout the week. The first impression matters, but it is not always the one that lasts. Sometimes the interesting part begins when someone decides to look again.

There is still a difference between knowing a watch and having it in front of you. The Mastercraft J3 from Minase demonstrated that in a quieter way. On paper, the reduction in proportions is measured in millimeters. On the wrist, the difference is easier to understand. The smaller case changes the balance of the watch and brings more attention to the surfaces, the textured dial and the finishing around it.

Nothing about the J3 asks for an immediate reaction. That may be precisely why it stayed with us. It is the kind of watch that becomes clearer the longer you look. Geneva offered many reminders of that distinction between seeing and experiencing. Press images can introduce a watch. Specifications can explain it. Neither completely replaces the moment when it is held, turned in the light or put on the wrist.

When the loupe comes out

At Artisans de Genève, curiosity became more physical. Once people understood that the watches on the table belonged to private owners and had been personalized at their request, they wanted to understand exactly what had changed. Gloves went on. Loupes came out. Skeletonized movements were examined closely, watches were turned from different angles, and phones appeared to photograph details.

The personalized watch created for Spike Lee prompted particularly long conversations, but the interest went beyond any individual piece. People wanted to understand the process itself: who brings the idea, who owns the watch, and how something familiar becomes something deeply individual. The closer people looked, the more the conversation moved away from the original watch and toward the person behind it.

The first impression matters, but it is not always the one that lasts.

What happened around the watches

Then there were the moments that had very little to do with specifications at all. A watch being passed across a table. Someone moving toward a window to catch better light. An appointment running over. A familiar face appearing between meetings. A question about a movement becoming a conversation about something entirely different.

Geneva Watch Days leaves room for those moments. Perhaps that is why, looking back, we remember the gestures almost as clearly as the watches themselves. The watches brought people together, but they did not always remain the subject for very long. That became one of the recurring ideas in our Geneva notes: the object matters, but so does everything that happens around it.

What stayed with us

Looking back at the week, there is no single watch or conversation that explains Geneva Watch Days. Instead, there are fragments. The reverse of a watch that became more interesting than its front. A smaller case that changed how a familiar design felt on the wrist. A skeletonized movement that made someone reach immediately for a loupe. Editors stopping at watches we might not have expected them to choose. Conversations that continued after the presentation was technically over.

None of these moments was particularly dramatic. That may be why they were worth remembering.

At the beginning of Geneva Watch Days, we decided not to try to document everything. There would always be another launch, another presentation, another photograph to take. Instead, we kept notes. Now that the week is behind us, those notes make more sense. We came to Geneva to see watches. These are the things we came home thinking about.

We came to Geneva to see watches. These are the things we came home thinking about.

Geneva Watch Days 2026

The Watch You Already Own

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The Watch You Already Own

PARALLÈLE / GENEVA WATCH DAYS 2026
IN FOCUS · ARTISANS DE GENÈVE

The Watch You Already Own

At Artisans de Genève, the starting point is not a new watch. It is the one a client already owns, and what they want it to become.

At Geneva Watch Days, the first reaction was often surprise. Then came the gloves. Once people understood that the watches on the table belonged to private clients and had been transformed at their request, the instinct was to look closer. Skeletonized movements drew particular attention. Loupes appeared almost immediately. Watches were turned over, examined from different angles and photographed in detail.

That reaction says something important about Artisans de Genève. It is not a watch brand in the conventional sense. It does not manufacture, buy or sell watches. It is an independent atelier working at the request of private owners, personalizing watches they already possess. It is not affiliated with the original watch brands, and the modifications are carried out independently. The distinction matters because it changes the entire conversation.

It begins with the owner

The process does not begin with Artisans de Genève selecting a watch to transform. It begins with a client.

Someone already owns a timepiece and approaches the atelier with an idea. Sometimes that idea is aesthetic, sometimes technical. Sometimes it comes from a memory, an emotion or a particular moment in the owner’s life. From there, the conversation develops.

Artisans de Genève works directly with the end client rather than through retailers or resellers. According to the atelier, that direct relationship is essential because each project depends on understanding the owner’s wishes in detail before any technical work begins.

That was also one of the recurring points of curiosity in Geneva. People wanted to understand who initiated the work. Was Artisans de Genève collaborating with the original watch brands? Did it sell watches? The answer to both is no. The atelier operates independently. The owner brings the watch and initiates the project. And the finished piece returns to that same owner. That seemingly simple distinction is fundamental to understanding what sits on the table.

From an idea to a sketch

The first tangible step is a drawing. An idea is translated into a sketch so that its aesthetic and technical possibilities can begin to be evaluated together. From there comes prototyping, a stage that can take several weeks while individual elements are adjusted and reconsidered.

The full personalization typically takes between ten and twelve months. Each component involved in the transformation is planned, modified and reassembled according to a detailed technical specification, with the atelier aiming to preserve the underlying character of the original timepiece while introducing the client’s own vision.

This is where the word personalization begins to feel more precise than customization. There is no menu of predefined options. The process develops through conversations between the owner and the craftsmen, with each project shaped around one individual watch and one individual brief.

The owner brings the watch. The owner initiates the project.

The instinct to see inside

In Geneva, skeletonization was often the detail that made people stop. It is also one of the areas where the extent of the work becomes immediately visible. A familiar watch can suddenly reveal an architecture that was previously hidden, changing not only how the movement looks but how the entire object is read.

That was when people reached for the loupe. The surprise was rarely just about decoration. It came from seeing how far the intervention could go: movements opened up, components reworked, surfaces finished by hand and existing architecture reconsidered without losing sight of the watch that had been entrusted to the atelier.

People wanted photographs, too. Not simply because the watches were unusual, but because the details required a second look.

One watch, one story

Among the pieces shown in Geneva, the personalized watch created for Spike Lee naturally prompted some of the longest conversations. The name brings an immediate cultural context with it, but what made the piece useful in explaining Artisans de Genève was the process behind it.

It demonstrated that personalization is not simply about changing a color, replacing a dial or making something more decorative. The starting point is the individual: what they want the watch to represent, and how far the existing piece can be transformed to express that idea.

That is why no two projects need to arrive at the same result. The atelier describes each one as emerging from a particular vision, emotion, story or significant moment in a client’s life. The watch becomes the material through which that story is expressed.

Bespoke, in the older sense of the word

There is a tailoring analogy behind all of this. Founder John Isaac was raised by a grandfather who was both a tailor and passionate about watches. That background became part of the thinking behind an atelier built around individual requests rather than collections or seasonal launches.

The parallel makes sense. A tailor does not invent the person wearing the suit. The work begins with them: their proportions, preferences and idea of how they want something to feel. Artisans de Genève applies a similar logic to watches. The object already exists. What changes is the relationship between the owner and the object.

And perhaps that is why the watches prompted so much curiosity in Geneva. People initially came closer to understand the skeletonization, the finishing and the technical transformation. But the more interesting question eventually became something else: not What watch is this? but Whose watch did this become?

The object already exists. What changes is the relationship between the owner and the object.

Geneva Watch Days 2026

The Discipline of Simplicity

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The Discipline of Simplicity

PARALLÈLE / GENEVA WATCH DAYS 2026
IN FOCUS · MINASE

The Discipline of Simplicity

The Mastercraft J3 does not try to reinvent Minase. It refines the idea.

At Geneva Watch Days, the Mastercraft J3 stood out for a reason that was less obvious than a new complication or a dramatic design shift. It felt smaller, more compact, more immediate. The proportions had changed, but the identity had not. That balance is central to the watch.

The Mastercraft J3 takes its inspiration from the M3, a model associated with Minase’s early idea of “ultimate simplicity,” and reworks it into a more compact, contemporary format. The case diameter has been reduced from 38.8 mm to 37 mm, while the thickness moves from 10.8 mm to 9.9 mm. The changes are modest on paper. On the wrist, they are more meaningful.

A return to simplicity

Minase’s earlier M1, M2 and M3 collections were built around restraint. The Mastercraft J3 returns to that starting point rather than adding complexity.

Its cushion-shaped case frames a round dial opening with a clear, almost architectural simplicity. The proportions are smaller, the profile is thinner, and the overall effect is more refined. What matters here is not minimalism for its own sake. The simpler the watch becomes, the more visible the execution is. There is nowhere for the finishing to hide.

What changes when the proportions change

The shift to 37 mm is perhaps the most important decision in the watch. It makes the Mastercraft J3 easier to wear, but it also changes how the design is read. The cushion-shaped case feels more compact. The dial occupies the space differently. The relationship between the polished steel, the round opening and the textured surface becomes more balanced.

At Geneva, that was one of the reasons the J3 attracted attention. It offered a more approachable entry into Minase without abandoning the characteristics that make the brand recognizable. The watch is still unmistakably Minase. It simply asks for less space on the wrist.

The simpler the watch becomes, the more visible the execution is.

The details that remain

Reduction does not mean simplification of the craft. Sallaz polishing remains one of Minase’s defining characteristics, with the bezel meticulously hand-polished to create mirror-like surfaces and sharply defined edges. The technique places considerable emphasis on the quality of the case finishing.

The dial follows the same restrained approach. The Mastercraft J3 is available in white, beige and grey, each with a sand-textured surface designed to create subtle shifts in depth depending on light and viewing angle. Sharp-cut hands sit above the dial, while both the hands and indexes are treated with blue luminescent material for visibility.

There is less visual information than on some of Minase’s more elaborate creations. That makes the smaller details matter more. The grain of the dial. The transition between polished surfaces. The shape of the case. The way the light moves across the steel. This is where the watch finds its character.

A Japanese movement, for the first time

The Mastercraft J3 also marks a mechanical shift. For the first time in the brand’s history, the J3 series uses a Japanese movement: the Miyota 90S5 automatic caliber, produced by Citizen. It runs at 28,800 vibrations per hour, uses 24 jewels and offers a power reserve of approximately 42 hours.

That decision fits the broader logic of the watch. The Mastercraft J3 is intended to be a more accessible expression of Minase, and the movement supports that position without changing the emphasis of the piece. The watch remains centered on proportion, case finishing, dial texture and wearability. The mechanics are there to serve the object rather than dominate it.

A more accessible Minase

The Mastercraft J3 feels important because it lowers the threshold without diluting the identity.

It is offered with a stainless-steel bracelet, calf leather or rubber straps, all using a quick-change system, giving the watch a level of flexibility that suits its more everyday character. That versatility matters, but the larger point is simpler. Minase has not tried to make the J3 more accessible by making it less Minase. The Sallaz polishing remains. The textured dial remains. The attention to surfaces remains. The Japanese approach to detail remains. What changes is the scale. And perhaps that is the point of the Mastercraft J3: not to add more, but to make the essential parts easier to see.

Minase has not tried to make the J3 more accessible by making it less Minase.