Frederique Constant & seconde/seconde/ Draw Out Two Slimline Moonphase Date Manufacture Limited Editions

“I vandalise other peoples projects, because I failed at building me”, is the first line you see when you check the site of Romaric André, the creative mastermind behind Seconde/Seconde/. That surely sets the tone for his unconventional creativity. Now that I have your attention, let's delve into the latest collaboration between this Parisian artist and Frederique Constant - two unique limited editions of the Slimline Moonphase Date Manufacture. The first, limited to 100 examples, features a steel design, while the second boasts steel with rose gold tone crown and dial elements, limited to just 10 pieces.

The first one is a quirky and slightly chaotic reimagining of the “Manufacture” collection, the Slimline Moonphase Date. The duo decided to create two limited editions: one of only 10 pieces featuring as another first, a rose gold accents on the case and dial and a second edition of 100 pieces in steel.

With the finely polished three-part 42mm stainless steel case, the subtly sparkling matt silver dial and harmonious moonphase and date display, on a first glance from a distance, the Slimline Moonphase Date Manufacture appears totally normal. But look closer! On the online-exclusive edition, the crown, hands and applied hour markers reflect a rose gold hue, contrasting against the coolness of the steel and silver elements. That also seems to be quite normal however something is clearly not right with the dial.

Weirdly and unevenly dispatched applied hour markers, a hand-written script of the logo and the date indication and even the moonphase disk’s moon and stars look uneven and drawn by hand. For seconde/seconde/ though, it makes perfect sense: to highlight the handcrafted aspect of Frederique Constant’s Slimline Moonphase Date Manufacture by incorporating a bit of human error and uneven typography that could only have been drawn by hand, while the elements themselves are perfectly executed and embellished by hand.

“As watch lovers, we’re looking for perfection... but when it becomes too perfect, we start to regret the lack of soul, the lack of connection with the ‘artisanal roots’ of watchmaking. It’s the same in life where the quest for perfection sometimes is conflicting with our human nature and beauty. I love to talk about our contradictions as social bodies, and I think this watch embodies a bit of this sweet bipolarity we all have.”, Romaric André.

And now for the final seconde/seconde/ touch, on the reverse side of the case, the open display case comes with something of a disclaimer that perfectly sums up this unexpected and unprecedented collaboration: “How do we tell the world that manual-assembly is at the core of our Manufacture? We asked artist seconde/seconde/. He took it too far”. Beneath this message, one can admire a view of the FC-705 in-house automatic calibre, complete with perlage graining on the base plate, côtes de Genève striping on the bridge and blued screws throughout. Its bi-directional oscillating rotor efficiently winds the mainspring barrel to deliver a power reserve of 38 hours.

The Frederique Constant & seconde/seconde/ Slimline Moonphase Date Manufacture Limited Edition with rose gold accents will be available exclusively on Frederique Constant’s online boutique, and the second edition of 100 pieces in steel available from authorized Frederique Constant retailers around the world.

Now that’s what we call injecting some fun into the world of serious watchmaking.