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ReviewThe Highlife Goes Worldwide: Presenting Frederique Constant’s Highlife Worldtimer

Introduced last year, Frederique Constant’s Highlife takes a trip around the world with the all-new 2021 Worldtimer edition. Let’s take a closer look at how they’ve incorporated their successful in-house world-timer movement into the steel sport watch that comes with interchangeable straps, as the collection expands to offer excellent functionality

Ranvijaysinh Jhala September 16, 2021

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Most watch manufacturers have at least one collection of archetypal steel sport watches that not only present three-hand timekeeping with laidback charm, but also become a canvas for the more complex and complicated end of the timekeeping spectrum. The Highlife collection by Frederique Constant is exactly that. A new collection of elegant sport watches, the Highlife was launched last year with three editions. Of course there was a basic three-hand timekeeper. There was the Heart Beat version, with an open-worked section on the dial. And there was one complication edition—a perpetual calendar. Subsequently, the brand even launched feminine variants.

Frederique Constant New Launches Geneva Watch Days 2021 — This year, the Highlife collection has expanded with the all-new Highlife Worldtimer—a new complication for this collection, which is a natural progression of the range, as it incorporates a movement that the brand have seen tremendous success with in the past

This year, the Highlife collection has expanded with two new editions. One was the Skeleton, which was showcased earlier. And now, the brand have unveiled the all-new Highlife Worldtimer—a new complication for this collection, which is a natural progression of the range, as it incorporates a movement that the brand have seen tremendous success with in the past. In fact, it happens to be one of their most acclaimed in-house movements, seen before in their Classics Worldtimer Manufacture series. We present, the Highlife Worldtimer, with a closer look at this novelty.

Initial Impressions

First and foremost, the Highlife is an extremely wearable watch. It’s a steel timepiece that can be your daily-wear standard. At 41mm, the size is also very favourable for wearing on a regular basis. It can go with anything. And with the easy interchangeability of straps, you can literally change its look on a whim—adapting it to suit the weather or your attire requirements. Now add a complication like a world timer, and it elevates the watch’s functionality even more. In this day and age, we all need to refer to time in another zone every now and then—whether it’s to keep track of a live sporting or entertainment event, or to facilitate correspondence with people across zones. Sure, you can go to the clock app on your phone, but that’s not as easy as whipping it out and just looking at lock-screen. However, if you have all major time zones on your wrist at all times, it does become that easy to know the time in Los Angeles, London or Tokyo at just a glance. All the while, the basic timekeeping stays in the centre of the display, which makes this watch as basic as you need it to be, when you need it to be.

The Highlife is an extremely wearable watch. It’s a steel timepiece that can be your daily-wear standard. At 41mm, the size is also very favourable for wearing on a regular basis
It can go with anything. And with the easy interchangeability of straps, you can literally change its look on a whim—adapting it to suit the weather your attire needs
Now add a complication like a world timer, and it elevates the watch’s functionality even more
With a watch like this, you have all major time zones on your wrist at all times, it does become that easy to know the time in Los Angeles, London or Tokyo at just a glance
All the while, the basic timekeeping stays in the centre of the display, which makes this watch as basic as you need it to be, when you need it to be

The design and construction themselves are very appealing, with the streamlined silhouette and contours of the case, the integrated strap, and an appearance that’s generally pleasant to look at. The details on the dial also present depth, owing especially to the different displays, and the applied markers. It’s definitely a watch that can draw attention, but doesn’t scream for it.

The World-Time Display And How To Read It

The major difference between earlier iterations of Frederique Constant’s Worldtimer displays and this one is the absence of the world map depicted on the dial. The Classics Worldtimer Manufacture watches that came before had that outline map, which this Highlife doesn’t, but it still has a depiction of the globe, with the motif of latitudes and longitudes done with guilloche work, with sunray finishing, on the central part of the dial. Incidentally, this is a motif that the brand have used for all their previous Highlife watches, including the 2021 Skeleton. Just surrounding this globe, you see applied hour markers that are designed to complement the pencil-shaped hour and minute hands at the centre. If you’re only interested in the time where you are, you need not look beyond this central portion of the display. On its edge though, is the sub-dial for the analogue date, towards six o’clock, protruding out of this portion and partially covering the world-time elements around it—the 24-hour ring and the time zone disc with 24 representative cities.

Once your local time at the centre is correct, you need to use the crown to move the time zone disc in order to bring the city of your zone to the 12 o’clock position on the dial. You’ll find that the time you read via the central hands will also be aligned with the 12 o’clock position on the 24-hour ring, and will hence, correspond to your time zone city. You might need to adjust the central time by 12 hours, in case the time at the 12 o’clock position on the ring is not right by the 24-hour format. Once this is set, you have all 24 main time zones aligned with their correct time on the 24-hour ring. And that’s all there is to it. An additional guide are the ‘GMT’, ‘+1’, ‘-1’ markings, in case you need help when changing your own zone, should you need to, when you travel. In addition to that, you also have an approximate indication of day and night in any time zone you’re referring to, with the white and blue, respectively, of the 24-hour scale, which is in keeping with the blue-and-white colour scheme of the entire display.

The In-House Automatic Movement And User-Friendly Complication

The fascinating thing about this complication is that all of the adjusting—the time zone cities, the time, and even the date at six—can be done using the one time-setting crown. It’s not something you find on all mechanical world timer watches out there. And that was probably Frederique Constant’s biggest achievement with this movement that they first developed, in-house, all the way back in 2012.

Now the brand have not been a stranger to in-house-developed calibres. Today, they have about 30 movements of their own. This world-timer calibre, the FC-718, continues to be one of their most successful. It was launched with the Classics Worldtimer Manufacture, which, as the name suggests, was more classical in nature. It proved to be a very successful line, owing to this movement in a big way, and was released in a number of colours before being introduced in the Highlife collection. With a power reserve of 38 hours, the FC-718 automatic movement continues to offer all that high-functioning goodness in this Highlife as well, just with new exteriors. Decorated with perlage and Geneva stripes, the movement is visible as it works, through the transparent caseback—always a joy in a mechanical watch.

The Chiselled Steel Case And Interchangeable Straps

Encasing the high-functioning watch is a 41mm steel case, with a barrel-shaped silhouette, surrounding the white dial. While the appearance is chiselled and edgy, the feel of the metal is smooth, across the curves, especially the bezel. Adding nuance are the brushed and polished surfaces that you’ll see on the links of the steel bracelet as well, which seems quite integrated, as a natural and seamless extension of the case’s silhouette. In addition to the bracelet strap, there are alternatives that are easily interchangeable—a feature that has become a staple of the Highlife collection. The second strap is in rubber and a third strap has a silky nubuck finish—both extras in blue, to complement the dial.

In addition to the bracelet strap, there are alternatives that are easily interchangeable. The second strap is in rubber and a third strap has a silky nubuck finish. Both extra straps are in blue, to complement the dial

With strap-change options, a modern and agreeable case design and size, and a very useful complication that is hardly complicated to use, there’s practically nothing to not like about this watch. While blue is definitely a perfectly good colour to start with, we suspect that this watch is going to be such a hit that Frederique Constant will be releasing it in various other colours quite soon.