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| Peter Stas introduces new timepiece at Baselworld. |
BASEL, Switzerland - Frédérique Constant used the opening day of Baselworld March 24 to officially introduce four new collections, each for a particular market. The Swiss watch brand’s compound of a pair of two-story showrooms in the back of Hall 1.0 served as the backdrop for the announcement. Peter Stas, the Swiss watch brand's managing director, introduced each new collection in a 10-minute presentation flanked by video screens.
The Frédérique Constant Vintage Racing collection was created to celebrate the latest edition of “The Ultimate Driving Adventure: Peking to Paris,” a 9,000-mile long race using classic and vintage cars. More than 100 teams participated in the event. The company’s three new automatic chronographs of the collection are distinguished by a hand-polished 43 mm case in 316L stainless steel with three different dial options. Elegant versions come with a silver dial, animated by blackened steel or rose gold plated indexes and hands. The sporty version has a silver dial decorated by black chronograph counters and a black outer-ring. The Vintage Racing Automatic Chrono mechanical self-winding chronograph calibre FC-396, beats at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour that is visible through the transparent case-back, which shows the special rotor engraved with the Peking to Paris logo.
For each version, production is limited to 1,888 pieces. Every timepiece comes with a commemorative plate, showing the route driven by the participants of the latest Peking to Paris Motor Challenge.
The company also introduced a collection for girls aged 12 to 16. The Junior Ladies collection, dedicated to girls aged 12 to 16. It is a younger version of the Frederique Constant Delight timepiece for women. The caseback of each watch is designed to accept an engraved personal message. All models are fitted with a quartz movement and equipped with a choice of three dials for the watch: Roman numerals surrounding a guilloché natural mother-of-pearl dial center; or applied steel indexes and diamonds around a hearts guilloché pattern on a natural mother-of-pearl dial center. All versions are housed ina 26mm diameter steel case and are available with a steel bracelet or a selection of colored satin straps.
In support of the introduction of the Frédérique Constant Junior Ladies range, the brand launched an advertising campaign with 15-year-old model, Alessia Lenders.
Frederique Constant also owns Alpina, an aviation watch brand. Included in its new announcements Thursday was the Alpina Startimer Pilot collection. In the 1930s, Alpina manufactured military watches, particularly for pilots, which were precise and resistant to the shocks. All were conceived with the same technical characteristics: a resistant and antireflective glass, an antimagnetic escapement, and a dial with large luminous numerals and luminous hands for a better visibility.
Alpina revisited its past to create the new collection with four models. In addition to the black dial and large white luminous numerals, there is the red Alpina triangle on the second hand. It is housed in a 44mm-diamater stainless steel case. The leather strap closes on the front side of the wrist, not on the reverse or lower sides, resembling the vintage leather straps of the past. A newly designed metal bracelet also is available and fits on all versions.
Each Startimer Pilot timepiece is available in a limited edition of 8,888 pieces and is delivered with a model of the Cessna Citation Mustang in PrivatAir Livery. It is part of a three-year cross-marketing campaign with Cessna and PrivatAir.
Finally, Frédérique Constant introduced the Amour Ladies Automatic collection, already covered on this website. The line for Asian self-purchasing women is designed by ShuQi, the famous Taiwanese-born movie star and personality, who has been the company’s brand ambassador for Greater China since 2008. Through the advertising campaign for Ladies, ShuQi has actively supported Frédérique Constant charity campaigns in China with the Paint a Smile Foundation and Beijing Children’s Hospital.