Frederique Constant’s Redesigned Classics Heart Beat Manufacture with Smaller 39mm Case

Frederique Constant have launched the latest version of their open heart series in the form of the new Classics Heart Beat Manufacture. It’s inspired by Frederique Constant’s long history with open heart designs since they were one of the first watchmakers to showcase the escapement – the beating heart of a movement with its rapid impulses – of their watches without full skeleton displays.

In homage to this history, the Classics Heart Beat Manufacture has a new case measuring 39mm in diameter, the same vintage proportions as the 1994 original. While there are examples of open heart designs that predate 1994 from watchmakers like Revue, it was Frederique Constant who popularised the term and made it an industry staple.

The case itself bears all the signature elements of the collection such as the onion crown and clean, round case shape. There are two material options available, both of which have limited productions. Specifically there are 93 in rose gold and 930 in polished stainless steel.

Alongside the updated case, the Frederique Constant Classics Heart Beat also has a redesigned dial that embraces classical aesthetics. It has Roman numerals as opposed to Arabic ones, which are thinner and more refined. Those numerals sit between an internal hour scale and peripheral minute scale, both of which are in the traditional railway track style. The hour and minute hands themselves are also traditionally styled in the heart and leaf shapes, respectively.

Of course, the dominant feature of the dial is the open heart aperture at 6 o’clock. It displays the escapement of the in-house FC 930-3 automatic movement. It’s the descendant of Frederique Constant’s first in-house movement from 2004, the FC 910, which first debuted in a Heart Beat timepiece as well. FC 930-3 has a 38-hour power reserve and is decorated with perlage and Côtes de Genève, visible through the exhibition caseback.

Interestingly, even though the whole vibe of this watch is bringing vintage elements such as the case size back to the collection, they’ve foregone the traditional comma shaped open heart aperture in favour of a perfect circle. Personally, I welcome the circle as it makes the design a lot cleaner and prettier.

As for price, there’s a big difference between the steel model and the rose gold, which is to be expected. The 930 steel pieces are CHF 3,995 (approx. £3,510) while the 93 rose gold pieces are CHF 16,995 (approx. £14,925).