A perpetual calendar under 9,000 USD, with one catch
By Marco Bellini, Zurich ยท
8,995 USD for an in-house perpetual calendar with moon phase. When Frederique Constant announced the FC-775, that price was the whole story, and it still is.
The movement is decent. Perlage and stripes where you'd expect them, applied evenly by machine. Nobody bevels edges by hand at this price and the brand doesn't pretend otherwise, which I respect.
38 hours is the catch. A perpetual calendar that stops is a perpetual calendar you have to reset, and 38 hours gives you about a day and a half off the wrist. Wear it daily or buy a winder.
42 mm by 13.2 mm, leather, 50 m. Too big for a dress perpetual in my opinion. Good if you want to own a perpetual and understand how it works. Not for the drawer.