Back in 2015, when most Swiss watchmakers had yet to dip their toes into the intimidating waters of “smart” and connected watches, Frederique Constant blazed the trail with the introduction of its first Horological Smartwatch, several weeks before the Apple Watch’s momentous debut and its game-changing effect on the watch industry. Various luxury watch brands have joined the fray since then ? TAG Heuer, Montblanc, and Breitling are among the most notable ? but Frederique Constant has striven to remain on the cutting edge of the connected-watch category. The latest evidence of this mission statement came this week, with the launch of the new Hybrid Manufacture, the first timepiece with an in-house-made mechanical movement with smartwatch functionality. The Frederique Constant Hybrid Manufacture with gray dial (Ref. FC-750DG4H6) is limited to 888 pieces.
Frederique Constant refers to the new timepiece ? which is available in four references, all in 42-mm steel cases ? as “Watch 3.0,” both because it represents the next step up technologically from the “2.0” models that debuted in 2016, and because of its trio of standout aspects ? its smartwatch functionality; the fact that the movement, including the electronic parts, are made entirely in-house at the company’s manufacture in the canton of Geneva; and its addition of a new “Caliber Analytics” function, a built-in algorithm that monitors and displays the movementR...