Frederique Constant expands the Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture range with two new dials in steel, plus a luxurious gold halo model
Jamie WeissFor almost a decade, Frederique Constant has delivered the most affordable mechanical perpetual calendar on the market – which is one hell of a boast. 2025 has seen the brand offer the most substantial improvements to its in-house perpetual calendar movement since its introduction, with this year’s Geneva Watch Days seeing further development with three crowd-pleasing new takes joining the range.
It’s worth sharing a brief history of Frederique Constant’s perpetual calendar: back in 2016, Frederique Constant made a big splash at Baselworld with the Slimline Perpetual Calendar Manufacture, which not only featured super approachable proportions and an in-house perpetual calendar movement, but it also retailed for only around 8,000 Swiss francs – which, for reference, is around one-fifth of the price of a comparable perpetual calendar watch from a Holy Trinity brand. Back then, that was a frankly astounding value proposition. But what’s even more astounding is that Frederique Constant has maintained that sharp pricing for its in-house perpetual calendar over the years.
At Watches and Wonders earlier this year, we saw the debut of the Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture, which shrunk the diameter down from the Slimline’s 42 to 40 millimetres while remaining 12.1mm thick, and also introduced an upgraded movement. The new FC-776 movement almost doubled the power reserve of the original FC-775 movement from 38 hours to 72 hours, and yet, pricing still remains under 10,000 Swiss francs! It’s rare to see that sort of continuous development from a brand, and even rarer for them not to charge a massive price premium for it. That brings us to Geneva Watch Days 2025 and the watches we’re looking at today: three new entries in the Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture range that join April’s initial release.
The cases
As previously mentioned, the Frederique Constant Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture measures up at a crowd-pleasing 40mm in diameter and 12.1mm thick – dimensions that are pretty hard to complain about when considering an automatic mechanical perpetual calendar. As for the case’s design, it’s totally inoffensive, boasting classic proportions and wholly mirror-polished surfaces. The reasonably large onion crown makes setting the time very straightforward.
The big news here is the introduction of a solid 18ct yellow gold option in the Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture range. This is a bit of a baller move: Frederique Constant might be a byword for affordable luxury, but most other characteristically affordable luxury watch brands aren’t doing solid gold watches!
Of course, being cased in gold means it’s no longer a sub-10,000 franc proposition – in fact, it’s triple the price of the steel models – but this gold model nevertheless remains keenly priced, while also being a luxurious halo model that we’re sure collectors will go nuts for. Otherwise, the gold model’s case is identical to the steel models’ in both design and finish, except that it’s only water-resistant to 30 metres, while the extant steel models are water-resistant to 50 metres.
The dials
The initial Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture that was released at Watches and Wonders 2025 had a tasty salmon dial, which is very traditional. Now, it’s joined by another two traditional yet versatile dials in steel: a silver dial model and a dark blue dial model. It’s hard to get much more classic than blue or silver, and both are executed quite nicely, with a subtle sunray effect punctuated by snailed subcounter rings.
One of the best features of Frederique Constant’s perpetual calendar, other than its great specs and affordability, is its pleasingly symmetrical layout. When Andrew caught up with Frederique Constant CEO Niels Eggerding at Watches and Wonders in April, Niels explained that this is because the brand designed the layout of the dial before constructing their perpetual calendar module slash movement, rather than the other way around, which is what most brands do. The result? The three subdials and moonphase display are perfectly placed and sized, with a month and leap year display at 12, a date wheel at 3, a restrained, modern moonphase at 6 and a day wheel at 9.
The gold version, however, departs from form with a black onyx dial: it’s fair to say that the number one trend in watches right now is stone dials, so it’s an utterly canny move from Frederique Constant to pair their impressive perpetual calendar with a stone dial, and then drape the whole affair in luxurious yellow gold. The onyx dial they’ve used is a mesmerising, inky black, which is only punctuated by the gold-on-black moonphase display. This model’s subdials forgo any snailing or additional details, instead allowing the umbrous beauty of the onyx to speak for itself.
The straps
The two stainless steel models come mounted on a dark blue alligator leather strap, while the gold model gets a black alligator leather strap. All three come with case material-matching folding clasps bearing the Frederique Constant shield. I don’t have much to add here, really: a classic watch deserves a classic strap option, and nothing’s more classic than alligator.
The movement
Back to the movement, which is really the most important part of this watch (I mean, it’s usually the most important part, but I digress…) The FC-776 claims a 3-day, automatically-wound power reserve, and beats at 4 Hertz. It’s also relatively easy to adjust, with each calendar function having its own push-button discreetly located in the case middle.
As enthusiasts, we have become increasingly familiar and perhaps expectant of perpetual calendar movements that can be entirely adjusted via the crown, but the buck’s got to stop somewhere – and plenty of much, much more expensive brands also use pushers like Frederique Constant have. It’s also much easier to accidentally mis-set calendar functions when they’re entirely crown-operated, so it’s by no means a bad thing that there are pushers.
The only real criticism I can levy at the FC-776 is that it’s not particularly spectacularly finished. It’s not badly finished by any means: the bridge sports lightly machine-applied, radial côtes de Genève, while the mainplate exhibits perlage of varying sizes. I do, however, like the design of its rotor, which has a large aperture through which you can see the hairspring beat away.
The verdict
No one buys a mechanical watch to save money, let alone a perpetual calendar, but Frederique Constant really deserves its laurels with the Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture. You can wring your hands and be mealy-mouthed about value-for-money being a dirty word, but this ever-innovative Genevan brand is offering one of the most prized mechanical complications in watchmaking at an exceedingly reasonable price, and that’s something to be applauded. Silver and blue dial options in steel just make sense, while the gold model is a total statement, and ranks as one of the best watches I tried on during my time at Geneva Watch Days 2025.
Frederique Constant Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture pricing and availability
The Frederique Constant Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture collection is available now from Frederique Constant dealers, with the yellow gold model being a limited edition of 37 pieces, in honour of Frederique Constant’s 37 years in business. Price: CHF 9,995 (steel),
CHF 29,995 (gold)
| Brand | Frederique Constant |
| Model | Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture |
| Reference Number | FC-776N3H6 (steel/blue) FC-776S3H6 (steel/silver) FC-776ONB3H7 (gold/onyx) |
| Case Dimensions | 40mm (D) x 12.1mm (T) |
| Case Material | Stainless steel 18ct yellow gold |
| Water Resistance | 50 metres (steel) 30 metres (gold) |
| Crystal(s) | Sapphire front and back |
| Dial | Blue or silver sunray Black onyx |
| Lug Width | 20mm |
| Strap | Blue or black alligator strap with case-matching folding clasp |
| Movement | FC-776, in-house, automatic |
| Power Reserve | 72 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds, perpetual calendar with day, date, month, leap year indicator and moonphase |
| Availability | Available now, gold model limited to 37 pieces |
| Price | CHF 9,995 (steel) CHF 29,995 (gold) |