Recently released: Frederique Constant Highlife Chronograph

Now you’re living the High Life. That’s what one beer brand would have us believe, and now you can fully embrace that with a new addition to the Frederique Constant Highlife collection. No, they’ve not paired up with Miller to create a new watch (but, why not?). Instead they’ve introduced a new complication to the collection with the Frederique Constant Highlife Chronograph.

Rather than design a new profile for the Frederique Constant Highlife Chronograph, they kept close to what the collection was already doing. It features the same 41mm stainless steel case other models in the line (which was relaunched in 2020). A chronograph requires pushers flanking the crown, which of course we have here. To help align with the existing contours, they’ve adjusted the contours of those pushers to follow the lines.

In terms of what the Frederique Constant Highlife Chronograph allows you to time, you’ve got small seconds at 9 o’clock, a 30-minute chronograph register at 3 o’clock, and a 12-hour counter at the 6 o’clock position. With the scale markings on the chapter ring, you’re able to time down to 1/5 of a second (if you so wish). For day-to-day, you’ve of course got the main handset (luminous, as are the indices) with a date display tucked in between 4 and 5 o’clock.

Enabling all of this timing is the FC-391 column wheel automatic chronograph movement, built in collaboration with La Joux-Perret. The rotor here is done in rose-gold plating, and there are a number of finishing treatments done to the movement, which is visible through the caseback.

One tricky thing with an integrated case design like we have on the Frederique Constant Highlife Chronograph is the ability to change out straps. Fortunately, the watch comes with three – a navy blue calf leather strap, a navy blue rubber strap (for when you want to test that 100m WR rating), as well as a stainless steel bracelet. Quite the roundup there for a the watch box.

Want to live the high life with this Frederique Constant? Well, it doesn’t come cheaply, friend. If you want to strap one of the 1,888 of these that have been made, then you’ll need to bring $3,795 to the counter. For more details, or to score your own, head on over to frederiqueconstant.com

Tech Specs from Frederique Constant

Reference: FC-391WN4NH6
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, mechanical chronograph, date
Movement
- FC-391 caliber, automatic
- Côte de Genève decoration
- 60-hour power reserve, 26 jewels, 28’800 alt/h

Case
- Brushed and polished stainless steel 3-part case
- Diameter of 41 mm
- Height of 14,22 mm
- Scratch-resistant and anti-reflective convex sapphire crystal
- See-through case back
- Water-resistant up to 10 ATM/100m/328ft
Dial
- White dial with globe decoration
- Navy blue outer ring with white graduation
- Applied silver color indexes filled with white luminous treatment Hand-polished silver color hour and minute hands filled with white luminous treatment
- Hand-polished silver color chronograph second hand in the center
- 60 seconds counter at 9 o’clock with silver color hand Chronograph 30 minutes counter at 3 o’clock with silver color hand
- Chronograph 12 hours counter at 6 o’clock with silver color hand
- Date window between 4/5 o‘clock