This legendary yacht, initially hand-crafted entirely from wood, embodied the inimitable, easy-going elegance of 1960s Italy.Ī company devoted to measuring time, and an association dedicated to the art of drifting through the waves, both united in their vision of upholding workmanship, beauty, and attention to detail, destined to be carried on the tides of time for centuries on end as custodians of the same timeless elegance and burning passion. At the same time, the RHS (Riva Historical Society) was set up in Italy in a bid to celebrate the dolce vita by safeguarding one of its most famous boats. In 1988, up-and-coming independent family-run brand Frederique Constant was established in Geneva, the heart of the Swiss watchmaking industry. Partners since 2013, Frederique Constant and the RHS (Riva Historical Society) will be running the Riva Days 2022 from July 7th to 11th, an international event that will see owners of these iconic boats flock to the Société Nautique de Genève, in Geneva, Switzerland. This year, two new limited editions have been added to the collection for an elegant, sporty take on the design inspired by the runabout yachts, available in 888 rose gold-plated and stainless steel units. The case is water-resistant to 100m, which seems appropriate for a watch with an aquatic theme – and we’d actually like to see pretty much all modern watches with that rating.Frederique Constant’s Runabout collection was first launched in 2009, in an ode to the legendary wooden boats built in Italy on the shores of Lake Iseo. They appear designed to be elegant and not overly flashy – which I can appreciate – and legibility promises to be pretty good on both models, but especially the white-dial one.Īll the basic stats and details you should be looking for in this segment check out, of course: sapphire crystal, some texture and dimensionality to the dial, lumed hands and indices, and a see-through sapphire (that’s a bonus) caseback to display the Swiss automatic movement. That should give some wrist presence and machismo to their otherwise restrained personality. What may help these Frédérique Constant Runabout watches stand out a bit, and what may not be immediately clear from these images, is that the somewhat conservative designs come in a 43mm polished case. This picture should give you a basic idea of the kind of boats we are talking about and the lifestyle association they are going for: Past models included chronographs and moon phases, and these Frédérique Constant Runabout Automatic watches offer just three-hand time-telling, and the date at 6 o’clock. Frédérique Constant partnered in 2009 with the Italian non-profit organization that helps preserve these cool old boats, and the brand puts out limited-edition watches to honor the relationship each year.
The Riva Historical Society provides the context for this batch of limited edition Frédérique Constant watches. So, there is a lot going on at Frédérique Constant, and looking at the brand, I think: “They are in it to win this game.” They are, at the very least, certainly worth keeping tabs on. And now, they have been acquired by Citizen Watches, which also puts them under the same expanding umbrella as Bulova, Arnold & Son, Angelus, and movement maker La Joux-Perret.
The Frédérique Constant Group also has Alpina for sport watches and Ateliers DeMonaco for more haute horology stuff. Frédérique Constant has proven itself agile and dynamic, however, recently offering in-house movements, a “horological smartwatch,” a perpetual calendar watch for around 8,000 Swiss francs… all among their standard fare of good value for classic and mostly uncontroversially designed watches. The entry-level Swiss luxury watch market must be an incredibly intense space to operate in. So, with that imagery in mind, let’s consider how these Frédérique Constant Runabout watches fit into the brand that is so well-known for entry-level value. These limited-edition Frédérique Constant Runabout Automatic watches are inspired by “gentlemen’s sport boats of the roaring twenties.” It’s important to explain this and emphasize their nautical, Italian nature as well as the wood and chrome runabout boats (“most commonly seen on the canals of Venice”) they are meant to reference – because otherwise they might be mistaken for just basic but handsome, three-hand automatic Swiss watches.
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