A blue dial, a moon, and too much case
By Sam Okafor, London ยท
Moonphases are the one complication I'll forgive on purely decorative grounds. A little disc of night sky in a dress watch is charming, and on a blue dial it makes sense colour-wise: the moon sits in its own sky.
Where Frederique Constant loses me is the size. 42 mm is big for a dress watch, and though 11.8 mm is reasonable for an in-house moonphase with a date, the dial has to stretch to fill all that diameter. The result is a lot of blue with not much happening between the indices and the centre. At 38 or 39 mm this would be a properly handsome object.
The value argument is strong, 2,900 to 3,100 dollars for an in-house movement with a 42-hour reserve and an open back. If your wrist is large and you like a classic look, it's honest. Smaller wrists should look at the Longines Master moonphase instead, even with its busier dial.