# Frederique Constant Slimline Moonphase...A Quick Review



## Tony Abbate

A lot has been said about this beautiful piece in the press already. So I wont bore you with the basics. Officially its model FC-705N4S6​
*I think this is the best value for dollar in a dress watch anywhere. The huge bonus is that the watch contains FC's in house movement for the price being charged by others for an ETA or Soprod.*

I have looked everywhere for a blue dial and none had the mystique the FC Moonphase has for me.
Most often the watch and even the strap appear as midnight navy blue, a color that appears to be miles deep. The highlighted lighter blue portion of the sky in the moonphase and the circular framed lip of the subdial are the kind of details you find yourself staring at.

I was a bit concerned that the thickness of the hands and indices might be too thin and disappear in certain lighting...making it difficult to read. Boy was I wrong. 
They are highly polished nickel, a color that is subtly different from chrome...more luxurious and contrast brilliantly against the dial.

My wrist is 7 1/4 wide. Now I loved my Stowa 1938 Chrono and thought that marriage would last forever till this little philly turned my head.
Yes I know, apples and oranges...But again, for me, the Stowa was my dress up watch. IMHO it is one of the most gorgeous watches that level of money can buy. But I was never entirely comfortable with the height and its feel on my wrist. I was always thinking I would knock it into something and hard! I never feel that way with the FC from the moment I put it on.

The decoration on the FC 705 movement is just incredible with extreme detailing befitting a much more expensive timepiece.

I would like to address the 42mm to big to be a dress watch issue.
Obviously personal comfort and perception should rule...to each their own of course but..at no time did I feel the size was shouting for attention. In fact the restraint classic style whispers elegance and pulls you in for a closer inspection.

The FC Moonphase lug to lug at 47mm is just such a perfect fit. It never feels like the 13-15mm tall 42mm watches. In this day and age of 44 or 46mm monster timepieces, I think that going with a 42mm watch like this was something of a brave move. Yes a 40mm or 38mm would have thrilled some of the old school diehards...but hey, its 2014 and things change. Some sections of the market are trying to appeal to younger buyers and I think FC has hit a home run here.

One more thing...the strap is flipping gorgeous and the stitching pulls some of that contrast off the dial. I wasn't quite sold on the idea but its execution just works.

Climbing down from my high horse.

If this watch pushes your buttons, buy it now because I would be willing to bet good money that they will become hard to find very soon.

On with the show.


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## Laparoscopic Yoda

You know, *I* think the size is fine, but my son thinks it's a little too large.










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Montre-Moi

A beautiful watch and one of several FC's I find most tempting. They seem to be selling awfully quickly too. Even the little ones find them to their liking & are reserving them for future wear. Sweet little fellow you have there. Congratulations to you both !


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## beeman101

That's a beautifull un-clutered moonphase. In fact not a fan of moon-phase watches as there's always too much happening on the dials. Really like this one. I have a smallish wrist and am usually on the fence on 42mm sizes but the lug to lug length of 47mm is more than perfect. + it looks perfectly fine on your wrist. Congrats ! on a great purchase.


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## zephyrnoid

Sales sources??


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## Tony Abbate

zephyrnoid said:


> Sales sources??


Gift so unknown.


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## Emospence

Laparoscopic Yoda said:


> You know, *I* think the size is fine, but my son thinks it's a little too large.
> 
> 
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> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Does it come with bracelet?


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## catlike

Emospence said:


> Does it come with bracelet?


Yes it does, you can order it with the bracelet.


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## catlike

Yep, I got mine.......


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## Tony Abbate

catlike said:


> Yep, I got mine.......
> 
> View attachment 1400071


Congrats!
what are your initial impressions?...size looks good on you by the way. Tony


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## catlike

I think you summed it up pretty well in your review.

If I had to be really picky, I think legibility can get a little tough in _some_ low light conditions and as such the hands could have been a bit more faceted & polished, but it's not a big deal as they work for me in 98% of cases. I should also point out that I need glasses to read, so the hands do a pretty good job. The white dialled one is super legible but I think the dial can look a little too big on it - for me the blue is perfect and is different enough to my other watches to fit in really well.

The taper from front to back is great for wearability, plus I hate seeing hair on the face of a watch - especially a dress watch, I think the design actually helps keep them at bay. I also like that the date and moonphase are controlled by the crown and not by pushers like some more expensive options. At first I wasn't sure that having a date function instead of a small seconds was a good idea as I usually like to see something moving. Maybe it's the colour, but now I have gone the other way, there is something tranquil about this dial.

I posted somewhere else that this watch must be close to being the best new release for 2013 - it really is gorgeous and amazing value for money.


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## Tony Abbate

catlike said:


> I think you summed it up pretty well in your review.
> 
> I posted somewhere else that this watch must be close to being the best new release for 2013 - it really is gorgeous and amazing value for money.


It certainly is getting noticed..I'm glad I bought when I did.

My personal top 10 best value for money watches 2013. | Watch-Insider.com

Category: Public Prize - Watch Of The Year 2013 chronos24.pl


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## Run2tri

catlike said:


> Yep, I got mine.......
> 
> View attachment 1400071


This is trully beautiful watch! This colour is especially interesting because it is dark blue but on many pictures looks like black.


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## Nodelicious

FC is my kind of company. Beautiful world class products. Fair honest price points that allow the company to sustain and grow - the watch lover to collect and enjoy. 

Amazing!


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## bluebottle

I just got mine from my wonderful wife as a birthday present.

I had been really keen on the rose gold (plate - I'm not made of money!) to go with my signet ring as a dress watch, but we saw a blue one in Las Vegas on our anniversary trip last year and both fell for it… I'll do proper wrist shots and maybe some unboxing stuff in due course.
I've already rung a nearby AD to order the beautiful FC deployant clasp as I am cursed with sausage fingers and find the pin buckle too fiddly - also there is the risk of dropping it when taking off/putting on. Does anyone know if I have to get a special strap for this or can it be fitted to the stock leather?

Only one drawback so far, the Guarantee & Instructions booklet does not contain instructions for the FC705 calibre!


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## bluebottle

Whoops double post. Sorry.


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## magbarn

Congrats, It's truly a beautiful watch. I just got the FC-710 and I can't stop staring at the dial and movement. If we had the budget I definitely would've sprung for the slimline moon phase though. I do wish that FC put a deployant on the moonphase, kinda odd that they put it on lower priced watches like my FC-710 instead.


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## Laparoscopic Yoda

Yes, the deployant can be fitted to the standard leather strap. I have the deployant on mine and it basically mounts in the notch where the pin would be. I find the deployant just a little too short as I have to wear the strap on the last hole for my skinny wrists, but then have to open and then loosen the deployant to get it over my hand. This may not be as much of a problem if your wrists are larger than mine (6.5").

As for the instructions not covering the FC-705, the movement is so straightforward that instructions are almost unnecessary. Crown position 0: wind clockwise, position 1 changes date clockwise and moon phase counterclockwise, and position 2 sets time. So much better than needing pushers!



bluebottle said:


> I just got mine from my wonderful wife as a birthday present.
> 
> I had been really keen on the rose gold (plate - I'm not made of money!) to go with my signet ring as a dress watch, but we saw a blue one in Las Vegas on our anniversary trip last year and both fell for it&#8230; I'll do proper wrist shots and maybe some unboxing stuff in due course.
> I've already rung a nearby AD to order the beautiful FC deployant clasp as I am cursed with sausage fingers and find the pin buckle too fiddly - also there is the risk of dropping it when taking off/putting on. Does anyone know if I have to get a special strap for this or can it be fitted to the stock leather?
> 
> Only one drawback so far, the Guarantee & Instructions booklet does not contain instructions for the FC705 calibre!


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## catlike

Congrats on the blue moonphase!

As an aside....I put mine on a black Hirsch alligator strap, I think it makes the blue dial pop more, in my opinion there was a bit too much of the same colour going on with the blue strap. I got the idea from looking at the Omega Deville Hour Vision Orbis, which comes on a black strap and looks gorgeous!

The FC blue strap is perfect for my Zenith Striking tenth which looked a little too formal on the stock black strap, the blue strap with light stitching dresses it down a tad and matches the blue sub dial nicely :-!


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## bluebottle

Thanks Laparascopic Yoda - I was able to set the watch from details on another post, my comment was simply because of my surprise that the company would send out booklets which do not include all its watches, _particularly_ omitting a manufacture model.

I have begun the process of sourcing a deployment clasp for the watch, does anyone have any idea how much Frederique Constant charge for the part?


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## Tony Abbate

catlike said:


> Congrats on the blue moonphase!
> 
> As an aside....I put mine on a black Hirsch alligator strap, I think it makes the blue dial pop more, in my opinion there was a bit too much of the same colour going on with the blue strap. I got the idea from looking at the Omega Deville Hour Vision Orbis, which comes on a black strap and looks gorgeous!
> 
> The FC blue strap is perfect for my Zenith Striking tenth which looked a little too formal on the stock black strap, the blue strap with light stitching dresses it down a tad and matches the blue sub dial nicely :-!


How about some pics on the black Hirsch?


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