# Anyone got the FC Slimline Monolithic yet?



## mudmud

Hello all!

Does anyone here have the Frederique Constant Slimline Monolithic yet? Really looking forward to hearing about real-life experiences with this watch.

Thanks!


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## alpharulez

sidneyc said:


> Hello all!
> 
> Does anyone here have the Frederique Constant Slimline Monolithic yet? Really looking forward to hearing about real-life experiences with this watch.
> 
> Thanks!


I thought the release date was sometime in September?!

Has it been already released?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## mudmud

alpharulez said:


> I thought the release date was sometime in September?!
> 
> Has it been already released?
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Thanks! Yes the steel ones were due September/October, but I think I've read somewhere the gold model was supposed to come earlier but I could be wrong.


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## Brey17

I just talked to Roger yesterday, North America rep. He making the rounds on the Pacific coast getting ready for a show in Vegas. He said none are available until October likely at the earliest. That included precious metal which are already sold out. He reported that of the ~800 units being made, only ~75 of the blue dial and ~75 of the silver / white dial are coming to the US. 

He had a blue dial on him for me to try on as well as the new 22k gold world timer. Incredible watches. I asked what are the chances of a sports watch with the movement and he was non committal. I suppose if these sell well.


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## mudmud

Brey17 said:


> I just talked to Roger yesterday, North America rep. He making the rounds on the Pacific coast getting ready for a show in Vegas. He said none are available until October likely at the earliest. That included precious metal which are already sold out. He reported that of the ~800 units being made, only ~75 of the blue dial and ~75 of the silver / white dial are coming to the US.
> 
> He had a blue dial on him for me to try on as well as the new 22k gold world timer. Incredible watches. I asked what are the chances of a sports watch with the movement and he was non committal. I suppose if these sell well.


Thanks Brey17! Oh wow that's a really good result for them to have sold out the precious metal version.
I too hope they will release a sports watch version down the track.


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## spoolmakdays

Monochrome just released an excellent article and video of this new technology. The seconds hand is so smooth. I think this new all mechanical technology is going to make spring drive obsolete.


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## ajbutler13

spoolmakdays said:


> Monochrome just released an excellent article and video of this new technology. The seconds hand is so smooth. I think this new all mechanical technology is going to make spring drive obsolete.


There's plenty of room for both Monolithic and Spring Drive. GS lovers probably won't turn away from the Snowflake or the Four Seasons series in favor of FC.


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## mudmud

ajbutler13 said:


> There's plenty of room for both Monolithic and Spring Drive. GS lovers probably won't turn away from the Snowflake or the Four Seasons series in favor of FC.


I agree there'll be room for both brands, as Grand Seiko/Seiko aren't just about Spring Drive. But I think what spoolmakdays' saying is that the Spring Drive technology itself would become obsolete... if FC manage to tune this to that level of accuracy. Obviously Seiko would still have their own fan base, and would continue to make spectacular watches.


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## ajbutler13

sidneyc said:


> I agree there'll be room for both brands, as Grand Seiko/Seiko aren't just about Spring Drive. But I think what spoolmakdays' saying is that the Spring Drive technology itself would become obsolete... if FC manage to tune this to that level of accuracy. Obviously Seiko would still have their own fan base, and would continue to make spectacular watches.


I'm just saying that there are lots of different technologies/architectures/etc. and that there appears to be room for all of them. Co-axial escapements, dual-impulse escapements, 3Hz/4Hz/5Hz/40Hz beat rates, Spring Drive, quartz, HAQ...

The more the merrier.


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## Rodentman

I just ordered the blue dial. Order was accepted so I ASSUME one is reserved now for me. I will advise upon receipt.


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## Rodentman

In view of mudmud's comment that only 75 of each SS dial color model are coming to the US, I emailed FC to see if I made the cut and one is reserved for me. The charge is pending on the CC and has not posted. I will advise. One would think that if the 75 were spoken for the site would not accept further orders. I would think that anyway.


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## Rodentman

FC confirmed via email that they are NOT sold out, and I a Monolithic is reserved for me upon release in October. Good news! I don't care if they charge my CC now. It is still pending but will probably post by Friday.


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## mudmud

Rodentman said:


> FC confirmed via email that they are NOT sold out, and I a Monolithic is reserved for me upon release in October. Good news! I don't care if they charge my CC now. It is still pending but will probably post by Friday.


Congrats!


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## Rodentman

I received an email 22 Sept stating that the FC is "coming soon." My CC has been charged (and paid). I certainly will advise when it arrives. Very exciting. Photo from FC website.


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## RunHazlnut

Rodentman said:


> FC confirmed via email that they are NOT sold out, and I a Monolithic is reserved for me upon release in October. Good news! I don't care if they charge my CC now. It is still pending but will probably post by Friday.


I also ordered one in September, it's a white dial. This watch is very beautiful, I saw on FC website that they will begin shipping out after 10/1. I haven't received any shipping confirmation, have you received yours?


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## Rodentman

I have been checking and monitoring this but have not received any notice of shipment. Hopefully they won't get hung up in customs or transit due to Covid or personnel shortages. We can only wait!

I will post here or in a new thread once I get notice!


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## RunHazlnut

Rodentman said:


> I have been checking and monitoring this but have not received any notice of shipment. Hopefully they won't get hung up in customs or transit due to Covid or personnel shortages. We can only wait!
> 
> I will post here or in a new thread once I get notice!


Thanks for the reply! I'm looking forward to receive it. If I got any update I'll be sure to post it here too.


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## Rodentman

Well they said the watch would ship after 1 Oct. It is still after 1 Oct so we shouldn't give up. They didn't say how long after 1 Oct it would be!


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## RunHazlnut

Rodentman said:


> Well they said the watch would ship after 1 Oct. It is still after 1 Oct so we shouldn't give up. They didn't say how long after 1 Oct it would be!


I'm now expecting to receive it at end of the month or even next month😭. Because of COVID, they all seem to be very busy. Same thing happened to Raymond Weil, they told me their warehouse is backlogged, so things are delaying.


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## Rodentman

Yeah everything is taking longer. I am waiting for a special gold coin from The Netherlands. So we wait...


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## Rodentman

Saw this on the FC website today: I placed my order in August. I have not received any update yet, but will post here if I do.

*This is a highly demanded preorder timepiece.
Clients who placed an order by October 6th will receive a communication from our customer care team with an update on their shipment.
Orders placed after this date will ship in January 2022.*


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## RunHazlnut

Rodentman said:


> Saw this on the FC website today: I placed my order in August. I have not received any update yet, but will post here if I do.
> 
> *This is a highly demanded preorder timepiece.
> Clients who placed an order by October 6th will receive a communication from our customer care team with an update on their shipment.
> Orders placed after this date will ship in January 2022.*


I saw this on their website too. At least people who ordered it before 10/6 can get the watch before January? I emailed FC customer service about the shipment date but haven't received any response from them.


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## Rodentman

I too emailed them. No answer


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## RunHazlnut

Rodentman said:


> I too emailed them. No answer


lol it looks like we are in the same boat


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## Brey17

I ordered mine on July 13th. Still no word yet.


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## Rodentman

We'll all have to compare notes when these blessed things arrive. I am 72. I hope I live long enough.


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## Brey17

Rodentman said:


> We'll all have to compare notes when these blessed things arrive. I am 72. I hope I live long enough.


It’s pretty cool that young and old alike are drawn to this watch. I feel like we are in good company here. Just looking forward to 10s of hertz AUTOMATIC oscillation! That is impressive along with so few parts in the movement.


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## Brey17

Who ordered their watch from Panowicz? I just talked to them and they heard from US rep Roger that they are going to be delaaaaaaayed. Even Roger did not know how long or at least didn’t tell Panowicz.


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## RunHazlnut

Brey17 said:


> Who ordered their watch from Panowicz? I just talked to them and they heard from US rep Roger that they are going to be delaaaaaaayed. Even Roger did not know how long or at least didn’t tell Panowicz.


I ordered it from FC's website. I like this brand but their customer service needs improvement.


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## Brey17

RunHazlnut said:


> I ordered it from FC's website. I like this brand but their customer service needs improvement.


I figured it would be delayed. Just curious how long. They had no infos. They mentioned someone (I am guessing someone here on WUS) from Seattle ordered through them and that person called Geneva, but also obtained no info.


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## Rodentman

I ordered from the FC website in August and got an email 22 Sept saying they were expected to ship in October. I have not heard from them since then, despite emailing them a week or so ago for an update.


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## Rodentman

Just got email from FC. Monolithic shipping week of Nov 8. Could be worse.


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## RunHazlnut

Rodentman said:


> Just got email from FC. Monolithic shipping week of Nov 8. Could be worse.


I haven't received the email from FC yet, but it might be because I ordered it at a later date. However at least there's some update now!


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## Rodentman

Anyone waiting, please post any updates, emails, etc. I shall do the same and lets share photos and opinions once we get these revolutionary watches!


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## Ed.YANG

while it's nice to see FC set a new benchmark with their in house movement with nice action aesthetics, the FC810 movement is currently suitable for dress watches only for it’s frail delicate-ness... hopefully FC had made a base movement such like FC-800 where the long power reserve is maintained, but not necessary to have that liquid smooth sweep on the seconds hand... that can make it employable to sports watches range.


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## Rodentman

Why do you say the FC810 is frail and delicate. No one has one yet AFAIK?


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## Ed.YANG

the pendulum balance thingy assembly seems to be the weakest part to disintegrate easily...




...if fitted into a sports model when the watch is in rigorous activities.​


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## RunHazlnut

Here's a great FC interview video for reference. In this video they did mention that the oscillator itself is very fragile. However FC said that they've done shock test on it too. Really hope to get my watch soon!


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## Rodentman

No one said that the "thingy assembly" will disintegrate easily ...if fitted into a sports model when the watch is in rigorous activities. And even if someone said that in a video (or on a forum) doesn't make it true. If you want to play basketball or golf, perhaps you should wear a G Shock. And not buy the FC or any mechanical.


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## Rodentman

@RunHazlnut --did you get any email confirm of shipping?


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## RunHazlnut

Rodentman said:


> @RunHazlnut --did you get any email confirm of shipping?


Not yet, I check my email everyday.


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## Rodentman

That is odd. Mine is supposed to ship next week. Will advise..


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## Ed.YANG

Rodentman said:


> ...If you want to play basketball or golf, perhaps you should wear a G Shock. And not buy the FC or any mechanical.





Ed.YANG said:


> ...the FC810 movement is currently suitable for dress watches only for it’s frail delicate-ness...


Well... I did mention that the FC810 specifically is now only suitable for dress watches, or am i wrong with my grammar?
I'm hoping for a base movement such as FC800 which holds more than 60hrs average power reserve without the eye candy of that fluid sweep which can be offered from FC810, to be as durable as Tudor's MT56## in house calibres as well as others in the market to compete in the "in house best" competition... ...although i know Frederique Constant's "SPORTS Division" is represented by ALPINA.


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## Rodentman

Sounds like you simply do not want the Monolithic, if you consider it just "eye candy." You would prefer more of a tool type robustness. And whilst the oscillator is technically fragile, the head FC watchmaker has stated that once in the movement it is retained well in place. Again, no one at FC has stated that the FC810 is frail or delicate. The Monolithic does not meet your requirements. Fine, but I don't understand why you are being negative about it.


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## RunHazlnut

Wow! Although I haven't received the email, but I just got a package delivered to me. I opened it and it's a card and a box of chocolate from FC! I'm super surprised and happy! I think y'all will get it soon too!

P.s. The box of chocolate expires on 11/16 so enjoy it now!


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## Saswatch

RunHazlnut said:


> Wow! Although I haven't received the email, but I just got a package delivered to me. I opened it and it's a card and a box of chocolate from FC! I'm super surprised and happy! I think y'all will get it soon too!
> 
> P.s. The box of chocolate expires on 11/16 so enjoy it now!
> 
> View attachment 16217113


Sweet deal. The FC Monolithic is intriguing.


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## Rodentman

I have not received either the watch or the chocolates. But I cannot eat sugar like that so The Rodentwoman will get them, but I'd need to explain where they came from!!


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## Robotaz

I can’t figure out from illustrations where the oscillator is actually connected to the watch and pivoting. Is there a connection under the very center? I clearly see it making contact with the gear or whatever it’s called that is driving the movement, but I don’t see how it’s secured to the watch.


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## Rodentman

Perhaps we will need to take some macro photos when we get the watches. Hoping for next week.


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## Rodentman

The Rodentwoman found a UPS pkg on the porch. It was the chocolates and the same note. I have type 2 diabetes so sugar is a big no no. I gave the treats to The Rodentwoman. I told her they were a perk from buying something. Fortunately she didn't press me on what it was. Hopefully the watch isn't too far behind.


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## RunHazlnut

Rodentwoman is lucky! She got 2 more chocolates than I did.


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## Rodentman

JUST got email from FC saying in part:

Based on the most recent information, you can expect to receive your timepiece the week of December 13th


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## Rodentman

A week or so ago I got an email from FC saying the ship date would be the week of Nov 8. Now this, delayed over a month, so it's not such great news to me.


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## Brey17

Rodentman said:


> A week or so ago I got an email from FC saying the ship date would be the week of Nov 8. Now this, delayed over a month, so it's not such great news to me.


I ordered in full back in July and have heard zilch (other than me calling the AD), any news is great news for me.


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## Rodentman

Doesn't the AD get updates from FC?


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## RunHazlnut

I got the email saying that they will ship out on the week of 12/13 too. I hope they don't extend it to next year. Hang in there guys! I watched another video interviewing FC regional manager, he says the blue dials are all sold out (but I don't know why FC website still allows you to order it?)


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## sleepyhead123

This just in, Frederique Constant Slimline Monolithic...


So according to my AD he has the first of these FC-810MC3S6 in the US. He has one to show, and I have the first sold in the US here. So lucky me! :love: This is my first FC, and boy have they improved from when I was last looking at them. Quality is much better. Very well fitted and very...




www.watchuseek.com


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## Rodentman

Great 👍 please advise of accuracy thx


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## RunHazlnut

You already got it!? Congrats, it's really beautiful!


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## sleepyhead123

RunHazlnut said:


> You already got it!? Congrats, it's really beautiful!


Yeah. My AD ordered a whole bunch before the other ADs did. I don't know if he'll get his allotment before the others though. I think he was the first US dealer FC heard from when they first announced it. But I'm guessing I'm one of the first in the US to get it, if not the first since he's keeping the other one as a display model/his own.


Rodentman said:


> Great 👍 please advise of accuracy thx


It'll take a while though.


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## sleepyhead123

Rodentman said:


> The Rodentwoman found a UPS pkg on the porch. It was the chocolates and the same note. I have type 2 diabetes so sugar is a big no no. I gave the treats to The Rodentwoman. I told her they were a perk from buying something. Fortunately she didn't press me on what it was. Hopefully the watch isn't too far behind.
> 
> View attachment 16219417


For what it's worth I would've liked to get a box of chocolates. 😭 

I had to settle of first in the US instead.


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## superspectral

I just received my Slimline Monolithic Manufacture a few days ago. I got the blue version. 

The good news is that it looks stunning in person. It doesn't tick, it buzzes. The second-hand sweep is beautiful. 

The bad news is that mine runs ~ 50 sec fast a day. So I certainly hope others don't have this problem. I've contacted Frederique Constant about this issue today, but no reply yet. I'm not looking forward to sending it back to get regulated considering how long I've waited for the watch.

In probably unrelated quirks - the watch does not hack. While setting the watch, in particular, if you try to hold back the second hand, the watch will just stop. You can restart it by flicking it or shaking it. I think this is normal behavior. Setting the time does have a little bit of the Oris 400 "jumping minute" issue when pressing in the crown, which like the 400 you can correct by overshooting and going back before pressing in the crown.

The watch came with an FC manual, but the manual does not have a description of the FC810 in it. A printed addendum sheet describing this watch and its quirks would have been nice.

FC doesn't widely publish accuracy claims, but on one description they said +6/-4. Mine certainly doesn't do that. I'd be OK with +20 which would put it in Miyota territory, but +50 is disappointing. So for me, the jury is out on whether the watch is a neat but flawed technology demonstration-depending on whether or not FC is able to re-regulate my watch better.


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## Rodentman

That rate is a shame. I hope mine is better. Did you get it direct from FC? I didn't expect that design to hack. Hope mine is coming soon.


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## superspectral

Rodentman said:


> That rate is a shame. I hope mine is better. Did you get it direct from FC? I didn't expect that design to hack. Hope mine is coming soon.


I ordered direct from FC. I hope you can report good news with the rate.


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## Rodentman

Last word I got was that mine was due the week ok 13 Dec. I will be sure to post timing rate. Too bad no one but fc can regulate.


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## superspectral

I have not heard back from Frederique Constant with regards to my email yet about the watch running fast. Actual run rate is ~60 s a day.

I work in a high tech profession and I am trained in physics. I have access to a stereoscopic microscope. So being that this is an "open heart design" I thought I'd look at the "silicon balance wheel" both stopped and running; and compare to the photographs.

The good news is that the phsyical structure of the silicon balance wheel and all of its super fine structure components and interconnected stringers look fine and undamaged. They match the appearance of the photographs from the FC promotional video. In particular, the ratchet teeth and ratchet gear looks in nominal shape. No chipped teeth or anything like that. When running the motion of the ratchet wheel looks smooth (albeit very fast). So I think the basic mechanism is sound both in concept and sound in that it is running mechanically OK but just fast.

Regulation of the balance wheel appears to be by rotation of two symmetric weights on either side of the wheel. From physics, turning the weights outward should make the wheel oscillate slower. Turning the weights inward should make the wheel slower.

So here is where I get into educated speculation. The weights probably need to be turn outward. However, they look pretty much adjusted outward as far as was designed. They probably could go outward safely a little bit more. But they are more outward than the FC video of the movement shows them. So I'm speculating that with the parts in hand, the watch is running nearly as "slow as it can". If they were more centered I'd think it would be possible to adjust them.

So here is even more educated speculation: for reasons, the restoring force of this particular silicon balance wheel is probably greater than expected. This might happen because the sub millimeter wafer is slightly thicker than designed; or from some other variation in manufacture. 

So what could fix this? Again educated speculation: replacing the existing weights with slighltly more massive regulation weights. Hopefully FC is pursuing such a fix (which I think would be cheaper than the alternative of fabricating more and more wafters until you got ones with the perfect spring constant).

I am not mad at FC about this, because I know this is very high tech and more of a bleeding edge revolution than most people probably understand. In my own work I design instruments of this type, and I'm quite familiar with the production prototypes working perfectly and then the first mass production suffering from parts that couldn't quite meet tolerances - and then having to go back and tweak the design to accommodate the variance.

Last very big speculation: if someone gets a balance wheel from the same wafer as mine, there is a likelihood of having the same problem. On the other hand, maybe there is just a lot of silicon spring variation from part to part and this could be fixed by putting in an in tolerance wheel (but I think they need slightly larger weights to adjust over larger tolerances - weights are cheep, etched silicon not so much). 

Technically I don't see why this can't get fixed with slightly adjusted parts (or maybe just re-regulation to adjust my weights out a little further). Again a lot of speculation.

So this probably kind of good news and band news. The good news is that from my observation, I saw nothing to indicate that the escapement was damaged or changed in any way from use or shipping. I can't think of any reason why the spring constant should get stiffer from use or damage. The bad news, is that probably means it was like this at the factory. FC may have chosen to ship some of these watches and fix them later. If they needed to get new weights, as we know, supply chain problems may cause huge delays. On the other hand, customers who get their watches later may get better parts.

So, so far, this a really cool technology demonstrator (at least for me so far, YMMV). I'm planning on keeping it (really no matter what) and giving FC time to fix it if they can.


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## Rodentman

I am glad you are approaching the issue in a measured manner rather than a rant. However, you got a raw deal because FC should have checked each piece before shipping them, especially due to the new technology involved. It is disturbing that the adjusters seem to be in the position for the oscillator to be nearly as slow as possible. I am sure FC will address the issue, but it may take awhile.

I patiently await mine, and shall post timing results here. I hope I don't have the same issue.


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## superspectral

*Update on FC810 Monolithic Manufacture*

1) I've checked the power reserve. 82 hours - exceeding specification.

2) The movement exhibits strong isochronism. Meaning it runs faster when fully wound (up to +60s per day in the first 12 hours) and slower when the mainspring is nearing the end (up to -50s per day in the last 12 hours). I've not fully characterized this, but I think it runs fast for more if its' power reserve than slow.

3)I am currently trying an experiment. The power reserve test ended at 8am today. So I gave it 2 winds and tapped it to start. Now I'm wearing it normally for the day. We'll see if it keeps wound until the morning and see how fast or slow it is after a full 24 hour cycle nearing the bottom of its power reserve. Considering the above mention isochronism the watch may on average have a better daily accuracy when used like this.

4)If you back-hack the watch it will likely stop. This is to be expected.

5)Start the watch by tapping from the side. This takes less force and is probably safer than tapping from the top.

7) Given the iscohronism, my previous speculation about just needing heavier weights to better regulate the watch is probably not enough to get the watch near COSC - at least not over the whole power range. There probably is a better regulation for the average price wind state but that will take some figuring out.


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## Rodentman

Thanks for keeping us advised of your progress. I still await delivery and will report here .


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## RunHazlnut

*superspectral*

You still have not received response from FC about the accuracy? This makes me a bit worry about contacting them on service and maintenance related issues.


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## superspectral

RunHazlnut said:


> *superspectral*
> 
> You still have not received response from FC about the accuracy? This makes me a bit worry about contacting them on service and maintenance related issues.


No


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## Rodentman

That is a shame...


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## superspectral

superspectral said:


> *Update on FC810 Monolithic Manufacture*
> 
> 7) Given the iscohronism, my previous speculation about just needing heavier weights to better regulate the watch is probably not enough to get the watch near COSC - at least not over the whole power range. There probably is a better regulation for the average price wind state but that will take some figuring out.


The best way to figure out how much to slow down my watch would be to give it a full wind and wear it for a few weeks every day on my ordinary day-to-day schedule and see what the full 24 hour measure of accuracy is (not the 12 hour extrapolated).

Based on my back-of-the-envelope estimate, it would be best to slow it down to around +8s in the full wind state (or about 45s a day slower than it is now). I think on daily wear basis that it would run on the high end of COSC ~+6 until the last 18-24 hours of power reserve, when it would slow. But since it has an 80 hour reserve, this is no big deal.

So I'm hoping that when and if FC is able to regulate it, it should be possible to get much better.

Since it is the end of the year, and these are pre-order items that were paid in full, I suspect FC is going to try to ship every one they build before Dec. 31 to book the revenue (pre pay doesn't count on the profit and loss statement until the product actually ships).

All this griping aside, it really is a strikingly beautiful and unique looking watch.


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## Rodentman

I will NOT be happy if mine runs ~+50 or so and has such a variation in rate based on mainspring wind status. Brand new design...no excuse for that, and worst of all no one can regulate it but FC and they aren't too responsive. Even if you sent it in who knows how long it would take. Very disheartening.


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## superspectral

Rodentman said:


> I will NOT be happy if mine runs ~+50 or so and has such a variation in rate based on mainspring wind status. Brand new design...no excuse for that, and worst of all no one can regulate it but FC and they aren't too responsive. Even if you sent it in who knows how long it would take. Very disheartening.


Well, my watch may be a unique bad outlier. I haven't seen any other reviews or posts yet out there from other recipients. So this may be the case of me being the squeaky wheel and driving down expectations.

Two other watches from Zenith predate the FC810 with sort of similar tech. The $30,000 limited edition 2017 (10 units) 15 Hz Defy Lab claimed +/-0.5 s accuracy but I've never seen that verified. The "unlimited production" $18,000 2019 Defy Inventor upped to 18 Hz _but_ it appears to be quasi discontinued already. A few posts on this forum from an owner claimed it did not ship with anywhere near COSC accuracy and it took Zenith a few months of repairing to get it to COSC. Note these watches only had a 50 hour power reserve. The Zenith movement used a much larger silicon oscillator (basically the whole dial). Rumor in the forum was that this was fragile. Finally, IMHO the Zenith watches are skeleton Hublot ugly.

The much smaller FC silicon oscillator appears to be much better supported. Lighter weight and smaller means less momentum and torque to deform in an impact. I don't think the FC will be fragile under ordinary use (don't drop your watch onto concrete though).

The FC810 is finished and looks like a $5000+ watch. Very good looking. 

Now it is disappointing that the accuracy is just about the max tolerance of a Seiko 7S26 3Hz with a 40 hour reserve. If the FC810 was +25 like an unregulated 4Hz Sellita SW200 this would be better. 

That being said, the FC810 is brand new tech, operating at 40 Hz, with an 80-hour reserve, and _much_ better finishing than either of those movements (which we would expect nice finishing 100% given the price). The FC buzzes, it doesn't tick. It has a smooth sweep second hand. And you need to video it in slo mo with an iphone to see the oscillator. So the FC810 is a perfectly fantastic beautiful conversation piece - with the issue being invisible to the person you are showing off the watch to.


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## Rodentman

@sleepyhead123 posted a thread in the public forum where he said:

"It is +3 seconds after 5 days of almost complelely sitting in one position (getting a long strap in a couple of days). Quite good."

So at least one of them runs well. I still wait and hope for the best.


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## sleepyhead123

Rodentman said:


> @sleepyhead123 posted a thread in the public forum where he said:
> 
> "It is +3 seconds after 5 days of almost complelely sitting in one position (getting a long strap in a couple of days). Quite good."
> 
> So at least one of them runs well. I still wait and hope for the best.


Yeah, and it was dead on when I started wearing it for a week. So at least I got a good one. Hopefully most people won't have issues. Well, at this rate, hopefully most people get watches.


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## superspectral

sleepyhead123 said:


> Yeah, and it was dead on when I started wearing it for a week. So at least I got a good one. Hopefully most people won't have issues. Well, at this rate, hopefully most people get watches.


Well shoot, sounds like I got a sub-par watch. I wonder why FC hasn't responded to my service email? I'll be quite interested to learn Mr. Rodentman's accuracy.


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## Rodentman

The poor, poor, and much maligned Rodent shall post accuracy here but first the bloody watch needs to make an appearance! Stay tooned.


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## RunHazlnut

I remember clearly that FC's international website had an article saying that the Slimline Monolithic is within COSC +6 to -4 standard. But I can't seem to find that article anymore now. Hopefully FC will reply to you soon.


----------



## superspectral

RunHazlnut said:


> I remember clearly that FC's international website had an article saying that the Slimline Monolithic is within COSC +6 to -4 standard. But I can't seem to find that article anymore now. Hopefully FC will reply to you soon.


Their international website describes +6/-4 standard, but doesn't claim it will be COSC certified.








Monolithic Collection


Marking a world premiere, Frederique Constant presents a silicon oscillator beating at an unprecedented pace of 288,000 vibrations per hour, or 40 Hz. Redefining the principles of mechanical watch regulation, the Slimline Monolithic Manufacture ticks ten times faster than most mechanical movements.




frederiqueconstant.com





*WORLD PREMIERE
40HZ*
Marking a world premiere, Frederique Constant presents a silicon oscillator beating at an unprecedented pace of 288,000 vibrations per hour, or 40 Hz. Redefining the principles of mechanical watch regulation, the Slimline Monolithic Manufacture ticks ten times faster than most mechanical movements. Thanks to its innovative design and reduced size, this revolutionary high-frequency silicon oscillator fits inside a traditional movement configuration and offers an average daily precision of -4/+6 seconds.


*KEY FEATURES*

40Hz
80 MOVEMENTS PER SECOND (288'000 BEATS/HOUR)
AN OSCILLATOR AMPLITUDE OF 6 DEGREES
80-HOUR POWER RESERVE
100% ANTI-MAGNETIC
A NEW DESIGN FITTING INTO A STANDARD MOVEMENT


----------



## sleepyhead123

superspectral said:


> Well shoot, sounds like I got a sub-par watch. I wonder why FC hasn't responded to my service email? I'll be quite interested to learn Mr. Rodentman's accuracy.


Did you get yours from FC direct or an AD? I mean, even if you got it direct you might get a better response from an AD if they ask. Can't speak to why they haven't responded to you though. I wonder if maybe they're holding back to see if you are a one off or there's a whole batch that's bad and waiting to see if they need to get a group response for this?


----------



## superspectral

sleepyhead123 said:


> Did you get yours from FC direct or an AD? I mean, even if you got it direct you might get a better response from an AD if they ask. Can't speak to why they haven't responded to you though. I wonder if maybe they're holding back to see if you are a one off or there's a whole batch that's bad and waiting to see if they need to get a group response for this?


I ordered online from FC. My nearest AD is 50 miles away.


----------



## superspectral

*Frederique Constant FC810 Monolithic Manufacture Slow Motion Video*​
On a more upbeat note, I used my iphone to take a slow-motion video of the movement:


----------



## RunHazlnut

Yes, they claimed the standard is +6/-4 but they couldn't get the COSC (COSC can't measure the accuracy due to the uniqueness of the watch). If you really can't accept this accuracy and want to do a return, you can call their customer service but their customer service number is actually Citizen's. The CS rep was nice, I believe she can assist you on the return since I asked about return related questions before. As for the exchange I think you might need to wait a while for that. I hope to see how they followed up with you.


----------



## Rodentman

Yes, I recall that I think in one of the videos touting the new technology.


----------



## palletwheel

I'm following your adventures with great interest. On behalf of similar members thanks for all the reporting. As to the Zenith story, which I also followed, that was an out and out failure. It could not be regulated to get a proper rate, extraordinarily difficult to manufacture, and in general not particularly useful as it was not shockproof in any way. It is completely discontinued. Worse, Zenith acquitted themselves quite poorly by ditching owners and not taking back the watches. They literally slinked away from the whole debacle, not a word. The poster on the Zenith forum who told us his story was able to get satisfaction from his AD, who ate the cost. He also bought one of these 😀 I wish him well.


----------



## Rodentman

I follow FC on FACEBOOK and they posted an ad for the Monolithic. So maybe there is supply in the USA. They said that the watch is not available in Germany.


----------



## Brey17

Rodentman said:


> I follow FC on FACEBOOK and they posted an ad for the Monolithic. So maybe there is supply in the USA. They said that the watch is not available in Germany.


Any word yet? My AD is completely in the dark.


----------



## Rodentman

No notice on shipping. No notice of any delay. I sent email yesterday enquiring about delivery which is scheduled for this week. No response. I will post asap upon any news!! 

I DID get this response a few days ago to my enquiry on FB though:

Dear Mr. Rodentman, We would like to thank you for your message, and we sincerely apologize for the delay in the delivery of your Slimline Monolithic Manufacture timepiece. A World Premiere and a technological breackthrough in the watchmaking universe, the large-scale production of this unique movement requires a very specific process, which suffered a delay given the partial unemployemnt due to the Covid-19 Sanitary Crisis. Our teams of watchmakers are now back at working full time to ensure the delivery of the Slimline Monolithic Manufacture timepieces in the shortest possible time, and we are happy to announce that the first watches ordered have been shipped already. We would like to reiterate our thanks for your comittment to Frederique Constant, and for your patience. Should you have any additional inquiry, please don't hesitate to contact us as we'll be pleased to answer it. Yours Sincerely, Frederique Constant


----------



## RunHazlnut

This is weird. Why customers can get response from Facebook but when emailing to their customer service it's radio silence. Did you ask them here? Log into Facebook


----------



## Rodentman

I'll post any news I get from FC in this thread. FB is not my friend.


----------



## sleepyhead123

RunHazlnut said:


> This is weird. Why customers can get response from Facebook but when emailing to their customer service it's radio silence. Did you ask them here? Log into Facebook


A lot of companies respond immediately on social media but not customer service. If you rant at customer service it's between them and you. If you just so much as post about mild dissatisfaction the internet trolls will pile on and pillory the company in public. The cost of not responding on social media immediately is too high in our lynch mob society. We value immediately perfunctory responses much more than thought out well considered feedback.


----------



## RunHazlnut

sleepyhead123 said:


> A lot of companies respond immediately on social media but not customer service. If you rant at customer service it's between them and you. If you just so much as post about mild dissatisfaction the internet trolls will pile on and pillory the company in public. The cost of not responding on social media immediately is too high in our lynch mob society. We value immediately perfunctory responses much more than thought out well considered feedback.


Make sense, you are 100% right


----------



## Rodentman

Just to keep current, no word on shipment, nor any response to my email except an automated confirm of receipt. BUT no notice of any delay which I got when the previous Nov ship date arrived. Again, stay tooned.


----------



## superspectral

An update: 
1) I've heard nothing from FC after two emails. 
2) I've kind of been waiting for others to maybe get their watch to see how they work before/if I do further escalation (sounds like Mr. Rodentman has not yet gotten his watch).
3)If I let the watch run either from no power reserve or max reserve and let it just settle into its groove of typical self wound state, it runs about +35 a day.


----------



## Rodentman

I remain hopeful for shipment soon.


----------



## Rodentman

Just got email from FC. Delivery now delayed until end of Jan 2022.


----------



## Rodentman

Yes it is sad, but I am sure I will get it, later not sooner.


----------



## superspectral

As an update, Citizen Watches of North America contacted me regarding my emails with my concern that my monolithic manufacture is running fast. The watch is now on route to Citizen and will be sent to Switzerland for diagnosis and correction. I'll post back about the results when I have news or the watch is returned. I expect that might be a while. Good luck to all and happy holidays!


----------



## Rodentman

I hope you get this resolved. I wonder how common this is. We have a tiny sample size.


----------



## Brey17

Got bad news… AD still knows nothing except that it’s looking like maybe end of January now.

Strange thing is the AD asked for my mailing address so they can have a FedEx package sent. Give them my office, so we’ll see what happens.

Contemplating a full refund at this point based on delivery and other problems users are having.


----------



## superspectral

Brey17 said:


> Got bad news… AD still knows nothing except that it’s looking like maybe end of January now.
> 
> Strange thing is the AD asked for my mailing address so they can have a FedEx package sent. Give them my office, so we’ll see what happens.
> 
> Contemplating a full refund at this point based on delivery and other problems users are having.


Do you have links to any other purchasers having problems? Other than delays? The watch really is cool. I'm looking forward to getting it back. Even if it isn't quite COSC.


----------



## Brey17

superspectral said:


> Do you have links to any other purchasers having problems? Other than delays? The watch really is cool. I'm looking forward to getting it back. Even if it isn't quite COSC.


No, just what I am reading here in the forums. Yours is a pretty big red flag for me. Coupling that with the delays makes me wonder if they maybe had some production problems other than the normal struggles of pandemic manufacturing.


----------



## superspectral

Brey17 said:


> No, just what I am reading here in the forums. Yours is a pretty big red flag for me. Coupling that with the delays makes me wonder if they maybe had some production problems other than the normal struggles of pandemic manufacturing.


1) I love the unique high tech here. I want to get my watch back, regardless if FC improves the speed.
2) Consider the situation where FC builds every watch (I think they can) but then they decide a 2nd generation isn't worth it. Then we all have extraordinarily unique watches. I'm not saying they will do that - and I think there is room to improve a 2nd generation watch. But if they do, then we have really unique collectors pieces.


----------



## Rodentman

I've waited longer for less, so I will hang in there. My Breguet is delayed from service as is my Sinn U50 MOP. Stuff is slow these days.


----------



## sleepyhead123

Delays on a limited edition is always something to expect. While I got mine here earlier than anyone else, I always go in expecting them to never hit their expected release date, even more so during the holiday season in a pandemic with supply chain issues. Anyone who has dealt with Omega's LE's would know that you don't really start complaining until it's been a year.


----------



## palletwheel

superspectral said:


> 1) I love the unique high tech here. I want to get my watch back, regardless if FC improves the speed.
> 2) Consider the situation where FC builds every watch (I think they can) but then they decide a 2nd generation isn't worth it. Then we all have extraordinarily unique watches. I'm not saying they will do that - and I think there is room to improve a 2nd generation watch. But if they do, then we have really unique collectors pieces.


If Citizen is really committed, unlike Zenith was, then you can expect them to keep your watch to completely understand what went wrong and send you a replacement, or at least the innards replaced. If its just manufacturing teething pains and not a showstopper (like tolerances that are too difficult to maintain,  which happened with Zenith's design) then this is just the beginning. According to FC this first generation is a process study with the next to be focused on superior chronometry. And from there, if all goes well, one would assume further refining generations of both process and chronometry. Given Citizen's involvement, you can expect an interest in driving down cost and scaling up volume if accuracy and service lifetime is better than current technologies.


----------



## Brey17

Well this is something. Quite a nice note actually.


----------



## RunHazlnut

Hope they can ship out the watch soon otherwise they are looking to prepare a lot of chocolate!


----------



## Rodentman

They already sent me the chocolates; now I'd like the watch!


----------



## palletwheel

Well, you folks inspired me despite the hiccups, so I went and ordered a blue stainless steel one and joined the club. When I think of why I enjoy watches its because of the way the science of chronometry has always been predicated on and contributed to a technological edge, and this certainly qualifies. I can babble on about why I think these may be harbingers of the future (no watch batteries or electronics, hopefully greener tech depending on the carbon cost of making these), but its probably better to just wait and see how it really evolves and enjoy this for what it is. I'm going to be very much looking forward to this. I hope I get a box of chocolates too 😁


----------



## Rodentman

Now that's it's paid for I can easily denude myself into thinking it's a "gift" when the blessed thing finally arrives. I also await a Sinn U50 MOP which I ordered in July. At least I feel that both FC and WB are reliable. I also requested a Rolex GMT II BLRO and whilst Rolex is surely a solid entity its fulfillment is, well you know.


----------



## sleepyhead123

Can't believe it's been a month and a half already. Still almost dead on accurate.


----------



## Rodentman

That's good news. I await mine.


----------



## sleepyhead123

Rodentman said:


> That's good news. I await mine.


My AD probably has one for sale, assuming they aren't spoken for given how quickly he got the first two.


----------



## Rodentman

Still hoping for delivery in Jan.


----------



## palletwheel

I was thinking that it might be worthwhile to change the title of this thread to something like "Monolithic Slimline Experience", and perhaps even make it sticky. This is really a long term science experiment, so I would say our periodic feedback over the course of a few years on how we are making out with these would probably help FC a great deal if they read this, which I'm sure they do. Even if everything is great from the start, it will be interesting to see how well the rest of the gear train really keeps up. Will we really need service in 2 years or 5? What quirks will we discover? This will all be great stuff we can report on here over the long haul. What do you folks think?


----------



## Rodentman

I agree, as I still await word on my order.


----------



## palletwheel

Rodentman said:


> I agree, as I still await word on my order.


Is there a way to contact the mods to make this change (PM them?)?

Let's hope with all the current dislocations happening in the world these days that FC can stick with a Jan delivery date. But I would personally cut them a break if it slipped a month.


----------



## sleepyhead123

palletwheel said:


> I was thinking that it might be worthwhile to change the title of this thread to something like "Monolithic Slimline Experience", and perhaps even make it sticky. This is really a long term science experiment, so I would say our periodic feedback over the course of a few years on how we are making out with these would probably help FC a great deal if they read this, which I'm sure they do. Even if everything is great from the start, it will be interesting to see how well the rest of the gear train really keeps up. Will we really need service in 2 years or 5? What quirks will we discover? This will all be great stuff we can report on here over the long haul. What do you folks think?


Not a bad idea. After a year the thread's question is kind of pointless since everyone will have one. It's going to take me forever to get back to the FC in the rotation given where I am and how many watches to cycle through so I'm not the best to ask about longevity. Of any watch actually.


----------



## Rodentman

I am beginning to think I will never get mine.


----------



## palletwheel

Rodentman said:


> I am beginning to think I will never get mine.


Well we're only half way through January so there's time. But I wouldn't be surprised if it got pushed out. Since the current COVID variant is so contagious, there's so much upheaval, I would be both happy and amazed if they kept to schedule.


----------



## Rodentman

Just saw this on the FC Website: (I placed my order in Aug) I will advise if I hear anything from FC.

*This is a highly demanded preorder timepiece.
Clients who placed an order by January 13th will receive a communication from our customer care team with an update on their shipment.
Orders placed after this date will ship in April 2022.*


----------



## sleepyhead123

The watch was to release in October originally. It's only been 3 months. Any other brand and a 3 month delay would be considered a one year early release.

So says the guy who's had the watch for two plus months now. 

Per my AD, he got the only six shipped to ADs in the US for 2021. I don't know if that includes people who bought from the website. Two golds, four steels.


----------



## palletwheel

Life is like a box of chocolates...

Looks like I'll be getting a box of those too...


----------



## Rodentman

I don't like the delay, but it's par for the course now. I planned on buying a new car in the spring but went to the dealer to sniff out the situation. They had none of the model I wanted, 5 "on the way" due in 6-8 weeks, which is the time frame I wanted as I hate to buy a new car and present it with winter. So I put a deposit on one of the incomings. We'll see how long that takes. Good thing I did that though!

I bought a Breguet XXI in Oct used. It was 8 years old. I had the AD send it to Swatch in NJ for a service. It did not need to go to Switzerland. Was supposed to be done in Dec, now they tell me mid March. 

Such is life now.


----------



## sleepyhead123

Rodentman said:


> I don't like the delay, but it's par for the course now. I planned on buying a new car in the spring but went to the dealer to sniff out the situation. They had none of the model I wanted, 5 "on the way" due in 6-8 weeks, which is the time frame I wanted as I hate to buy a new car and present it with winter. So I put a deposit on one of the incomings. We'll see how long that takes. Good thing I did that though!
> 
> I bought a Breguet XXI in Oct used. It was 8 years old. I had the AD send it to Swatch in NJ for a service. It did not need to go to Switzerland. Was supposed to be done in Dec, now they tell me mid March.
> 
> Such is life now.


When I customed my AMG, it took 14 months to deliver. Though I made the mistake of doing it on MY1 and didn't want to order it until I got to try the regular car first. I think even outside the pandemic this watch would take a while. Remember this is a different watch altogether. It's not like its a mass produced model that they've perfected the manufactering for the last few years and now they are just putting on a new caseback with a fancy picture. So this is a relatively low volume relatively bespoke watch. So even in normal times there were going to be delays.


----------



## Rodentman

Waddaya mean our treats are on a boat somewhere??


----------



## Brey17

Monday or Tuesday maybe…


----------



## Rodentman

Did you get some news from FC? I have not -- ordered in Aug 21


----------



## Brey17

AD just talked to Roger. They called me.


----------



## Rodentman

Ok thx, keep us advised!


----------



## sleepyhead123

Into month three with the watch! I finally took some pictures of the different colorations. Here's blue and purple. Can't do black and green though as those angles only work without the camera getting in the way. Well, at least I'm not going to put in that much effort.









This just in, Frederique Constant Slimline Monolithic...


So according to my AD he has the first of these FC-810MC3S6 in the US. He has one to show, and I have the first sold in the US here. So lucky me! :love: This is my first FC, and boy have they improved from when I was last looking at them. Quality is much better. Very well fitted and very...




www.watchuseek.com


----------



## Tshado

Here in Brussels, the watch is available at AD. I did not like the blue color with the white hands of this one.


----------



## Rodentman

I have not received any response to my enquiry regarding shipping.


----------



## Brey17

Rodentman said:


> I have not received any response to my enquiry regarding shipping.


Did you go to the website or an AD? I cannot recall.


----------



## Rodentman

Ordered from fc website.


----------



## Rodentman

Just got email with shipping ups #. Should have by Wednesday or Thursday


----------



## palletwheel

I haven't gotten this yet but in advance would like to know how many turns of the crown to fully wind this? Given my current lack of places to go, I need to manually wind my watches these days. FC website says 15-20 winds of the crown, but they don't say if that's to get it going well or is actually a full wind. Thanks!


----------



## Rodentman

I suspect the 15-20 is to get the watch going, but is not a full wind.


----------



## RunHazlnut

I finally received my FC shipment tracking number. It's arriving Wednesday, I will share when it arrived!!


----------



## sleepyhead123

palletwheel said:


> I haven't gotten this yet but in advance would like to know how many turns of the crown to fully wind this? Given my current lack of places to go, I need to manually wind my watches these days. FC website says 15-20 winds of the crown, but they don't say if that's to get it going well or is actually a full wind. Thanks!


No clue. I'm not sure anyone's going to try it to find out. I mean, you'd need to wind n times, time it for hours, then do n+1, time it for hours, rinse and repeat. I think most people would rather just wear the watch.


----------



## palletwheel

sleepyhead123 said:


> No clue. I'm not sure anyone's going to try it to find out. I mean, you'd need to wind n times, time it for hours, then do n+1, time it for hours, rinse and repeat. I think most people would rather just wear the watch.


I would rather wear it too, just not one of those guys who wear it between the bedroom, kitchen table, and the bathroom 🤣 

If anyone can ask their AD, I'd appreciate it. I bought this via the website and Citizen is very corporate in their responses, meaning only if it really impacts the bottom line.


----------



## sleepyhead123

palletwheel said:


> I would rather wear it too, just not one of those guys who wear it between the bedroom, kitchen table, and the bathroom 🤣
> 
> If anyone can ask their AD, I'd appreciate it. I bought this via the website and Citizen is very corporate in their responses, meaning only if it really impacts the bottom line.


Well, you can ask my AD. I put him on the thread I did for the watch. He got the second watch in the US. Actually both of ours arrived at the same time, though I took the lower number so I guess I was first? Or the other four who got theirs from him. Though I don't know who they were.


----------



## palletwheel

sleepyhead123 said:


> Well, you can ask my AD. I put him on the thread I did for the watch. He got the second watch in the US. Actually both of ours arrived at the same time, though I took the lower number so I guess I was first? Or the other four who got theirs from him. Though I don't know who they were.


Edit: 

Thanks much, got to speak with one of the owners. Very nice, very helpful. Unfortunately he didn't have a definitive answer. It appears there's no bridle click in the barrel when you hit the end, unlike other watches. He said 20 winds will get it going, after that, as you say, one has to experiment, though he guesstimated around 40 to 50 turns of the crown. This is why these days I prefer manual wind watches, but in this case it's worth the exception. Appreciated the contact.

P.S. After waiting on endless hold on the customer service line I sent them a note with the question. Let's see if I get an answer.


----------



## Rodentman

Watch is on the UPS truck. Will advise upon receipt. I won't wind it until it warms up to room temp, as outside it is -17°F now, but it should be +24° later when it arrives. We are at the end of the UPS route. Funny I almost regret not getting the white dial, but had I done so I probably would have regretted not getting the blue. As long as it keeps good time.....


----------



## RunHazlnut

I just got my watch! It's very pretty, it sounds a bit like chirping of cicadas. I got freaked out when I was unboxing it because they didn't put the watch inside the watch box, instead they put it in a sealed bag and lay it inside the shipping box. I didn't see this sealed bag and I thought my watch got stolen.
I now have a question about the watch. It is easy to pull the crown out to its 2nd position to adjust the date, however I can't get the crown pulled out to the 3rd position to adjust the time. Do I need to apply more force to pull?


----------



## Rodentman

I will check mine but it is still on the truck! Temp is up to 13 so it should warm up quickly.


----------



## RunHazlnut

I did it. Just need a microfiber cloth and apply a bit more force to pull.
Now I'll try to measure the accuracy with my eyes.


----------



## Rodentman

It has arrived. Oscillator is hard to see compared to the white dial version...??? Does not hack which I knew so I set it as close to RC time as I could. Will report on accuracy tomorrow. Strap is quite stiff but at 20mm I have choices. So far so good, but we aren't that far yet. If it runs COSC or better I will be chuffed.


----------



## Rodentman

I didn't have any trouble pulling the crown out to set the time. Note that it doesn't hack (how could it) so it's tricky to set exactly to RC time. I got it set at -9 which is fine as a reference point to test timing. Hopefully tomorrow will show a decent result!


----------



## Rodentman

I was able to reset the watch to RC time to the second at 3 AM so we shall see how it holds. I am quite disappointed in the strap. It is so stiff that the areas that wrap around the wrist are darn near vertical, not conforming. And if this is a navy blue strap it is and angstrom or two different than black. It is also too short for my 7.5" wrist I have a spare navy strap which is quite nice and supple. Unfortunately it has the quick release springbars. One works fine the other no longer has the removal nub for some reason. The springbar does not have a decent shoulder for removal. 

I am heading to the AD today along with the Uncle Seiko bracelet for the Tudor GMT. I installed one endlink ok, but the other I cannot.

Stay tooned.


----------



## Brey17

Was able to get pick mine up and play around with it a bit.

Wondering about back hacking. You can do it for sure, in fact unlike other watches I have, it will hold the second hand in place (stopped even when the crown is released) until you shake vigorously. The second hand in my other back hackable movements starts moving immediately after letting go of the crown. Whether doing this on the Monolithic is smart or not, don’t know.

Like many others here, it catch light very well. Especially the oscillator. Green, gray, blue and purplish.


----------



## Rodentman

Update. The AD installed the jubilee on the Tudor no problem, and I used a B&M dark blue gator strap on the FC to replace the stock POS. I set it to RC time at 3 AM and now, wearing it, at 11 AM it is +2. Not much of a test, but will watch it.


----------



## Rodentman

@Brey17 Odd your oscillator is visible mine appears not to be! Timing update about +10. Yes the back hacking works and that's how I set it to RC time. I can live with the +10 - I sure won't send it back to Switzerland for that! Obviously I have an oscillator but can't seem to see it. Very strange!


----------



## RunHazlnut

I tried back-hacking to make the second hand stop when adjusting time, however when I pushed the crown in and shook it, it would not restart. It needs at least 15 minutes before I shake it again to restart it. Are you guys' watch acting like this? I don't know how to adjust the time now. I hope my watch is okay.


----------



## Rodentman

Mine started with a bit if a shake. It is fiddly though and I would not make a habit of it. I'd wait til it's a minute off and not mess with the seconds.


----------



## RunHazlnut

I tried again, back-hacked the watch, pushed the crown in, then shook it immediately, and it worked. This is odd. I will monitor it for few more days.


----------



## Brey17

RunHazlnut said:


> I tried back-hacking to make the second hand stop when adjusting time, however when I pushed the crown in and shook it, it would not restart. It needs at least 15 minutes before I shake it again to restart it. Are you guys' watch acting like this? I don't know how to adjust the time now. I hope my watch is okay.


No way… I can restart with a vigorous shake no problem. I only tried after pushing crown back in. Will try with crown out. 15 minutes would concern me.


----------



## Brey17

Rodentman said:


> Mine started with a bit if a shake. It is fiddly though and I would not make a habit of it. I'd wait til it's a minute off and not mess with the seconds.


I can’t live my life like that haha. I literally reset my watch to the second everyday, even my high accurate watches.


----------



## Rodentman

I see, but I don't want to mess up the FC. Not sure if the back-hacking and shaking would cause any issue. I DO hear you on the accuracy issue though. I set to RC clock when the watch hits the rotation, so to speak.


----------



## Brey17

Well not off to a great start accuracy wise.

After wearing the watch all day to make sure it it had plenty of juice, I set the watch to my phone clock. Either my phone lost 8 seconds or the watch gained 8 seconds in 9 hours. This was in the 6 down position overnight.

I’ll wear it a few days in a row to see what happens. I prefer it to gain a few if it’s going to be in accurate.


----------



## Rodentman

Yes, I have high tolerance for +spd and little for-


----------



## RunHazlnut

After my 2-day observations, I noticed that it seems to be accurate when laid flat, but when I wear it or change its position, its time runs a lot faster. It's +45 sec in almost 24 hours. (But I can't assure whether my watch is fully wound or not. I can only feel that it gets harder to turn the crown , I will continue to monitor this weekend)

The strap length fits me well since I have a small wrist (6.2"). And I love this folding clasp, it's easy to put on and looks gorgeous. The watch is comfortable to wear overall, it's light, and you can see oscillator changing color at different angle, which is beautiful. 

How is everyone's accuracy?


----------



## Rodentman

I notice that the accuracy fluctuates. I think it is more position dependent than the state of wind but we'd need to come up with some test criteria. Wind fully every day but change position; let the power run down put leave in one position, etc. Overall I am pleased but for some reason my oscillator is not as visible as the ones with the white dial...???


----------



## RunHazlnut

I spent most of the time looking at the oscillator. When look from top it's gray-ish black, the blue-ish purple only shows at certain angle under certain lighting condition. It's fascinating.


----------



## Brey17

Mine is about +17 a day worn. 6 down at night makes it run fast, flat seems to run the same as wearing.

By the way, has anyone put this watch up to their ear? Holy moly… sounds like electricity flowing. Silent, away from the ear, quite dramatic at the ear.


----------



## Rodentman

I set mine to RC time on 26 Jan. It ran to about +10 on the winder. I took it off the winder overnight and it went to +4 sitting crown up. So it's either position or wind sensitive. Or both. It would require more careful study to determine. I have watches that run worse (and many that run better) so overall I am ok with it. None of my watches are "daily wearers" as there is heavy rotation. And yes it makes odd noise. Too bad though that the accuracy or rather consistency isn't better.


----------



## Brey17

Not a complaint about the sound. I think it’s awesome!

I’ll try crown up tonight and see about it.


----------



## Rodentman

Yes we should compare notes since there aren't many around and no anecdotal history.


----------



## superspectral

Rodentman said:


> Yes we should compare notes since there aren't many around and no anecdotal history.


I sent my slimline in for repair as it had greater than +60 per day. I have not received it back. It sounds like there is some variation between individual watches from slightly fast to very fast. I had mine from Nov-Dec before I sent it in. 

Some advice for the newbies:

1)Despite running fast, my watch really had 80 hours of power reserve.
2)My watch ran much closer to "at spec" on the last 1/3 of power reserve. So something to try is to give it only a few winds from stopped; and just keep wearing it every day. Treat it like a 40 hour reserve watch.
3)The watch may stop when changing time, particularly when back hacking.
4) Starting the watch was best accomplished by gently side tapping; not top tapping -which required much more force.
5) The accuracy of the watch seemed to depend on wind state; not position. The physics of the escapement would suggest that it should not be position-dependent because the escapement is so light to achieve 40 Hz. However, the escapement being a brand new design, may not incorporate compensation for main spring torque - like the Breguet overcoil on traditional balance wheels.


----------



## superspectral

Rodentman said:


> I set mine to RC time on 26 Jan. It ran to about +10 on the winder. I took it off the winder overnight and it went to +4 sitting crown up. So it's either position or wind sensitive. Or both. It would require more careful study to determine. I have watches that run worse (and many that run better) so overall I am ok with it. None of my watches are "daily wearers" as there is heavy rotation. And yes it makes odd noise. Too bad though that the accuracy or rather consistency isn't better.


So it sounds like I was on the far side of the bell curve of accuracy. Hopefully FC adjusts and returns my watch soon.


----------



## Rodentman

Thanks for that analysis. It makes sense. On some watches you can get a rough idea of the wind by how freely the rotor spins but this one seems very tight ...


----------



## Brey17

I reset a little over 48 hours ago and my watch is +38. Fairly inline with the +17 I observed the first day I wore. 

I’d like better accuracy sure with this one if possible.


----------



## Rodentman

That is shamefully fast. It should not have left the factory that way, assuming it did and wasn't jostled in transit.


----------



## superspectral

I will let you know when I get my watch back from FC whether they were able to improve the accuracy.

The watch may be a bit more of a technology demonstrator. I still think the tech is cool and I'd like to have my watch back, even if the accuracy is more uncalibrated Miyota than Rolex superlative chronometer.

That being said, my experimentation was that if you let the watch run out of power and then only wind a few turns and then wear; it will run in a range of torque where it is not as fast.

Good luck to all!


----------



## Brey17

superspectral said:


> I will let you know when I get my watch back from FC whether they were able to improve the accuracy.
> 
> The watch may be a bit more of a technology demonstrator. I still think the tech is cool and I'd like to have my watch back, even if the accuracy is more uncalibrated Miyota than Rolex superlative chronometer.
> 
> That being said, my experimentation was that if you let the watch run out of power and then only wind a few turns and then wear; it will run in a range of torque where it is not as fast.
> 
> Good luck to all!


I’m gonna try it. I’m letting it run down for a couple days I have reset it to my phone.


----------



## RunHazlnut

*superspectral *I have the exact same senario. I tried fully wind the watch on weekend (about 40-50 rotations), my observation result was +25 to+45 sec per day on average. When you wear it on wrist it will run faster. I think it has something to do with the self-winding movement that increases the power reserved. However as the power reserve reduced to half or less, it became more accurate. It became +10 sec per day. Like what superspectral said, I believe 1/3 power reserve would give an accuracy closer to +6/-4. This is totally different than the traditional mechanical watch we know since the traditional mechanical watch is more accurate when it has more power reserved.

I'm glad to discuss this cool watch with you all here.


----------



## Rodentman

Too bad it lacks a power reserve meter!


----------



## RunHazlnut

Yes, if the watch has the power reserve indicator, it should be easier to know what's going on. There is a contradiction though, FC says this watch has 80 hours of power reserve but it only runs accurately when the energy is low (at least in my case). I have been in contact with FC's customer service in the last couple of days. They were polite and willing to help, they were also collecting customers' feedbacks on the watch at the same time. I believe FC will have much more improvement in the future. I look forward to when *superspectral *got his watch back so we can have more accuracy input to share.


----------



## Rodentman

I have had mine one week. I set it to RC clock on 26 Jan. Went as fast as +12 total but between time on wrist, winder, and rest6 it is now exactly at rc time. I can't be specific about what position or which of the above conditions it was in for how long...unscientific I know, but it's proven to be a good watch.


----------



## Brey17

I am at -14 right now in 24 hours. That was winding down from full power to about 42 right now. Quite bombastic so far.


----------



## Rodentman

Seems like we are beta testers.


----------



## Brey17

Rodentman said:


> Seems like we are beta testers.


hehe yep. 

Meanwhile my GS White Birch is +9 seconds in 14 days. That’s with me wearing it maybe six or seven days of those 14 days.


----------



## Rodentman

Woke up and the FC was -6 after being at 0 last night. I gave it a good wind and will leave it dial up today and see what happens. Looks as though the evidence strongly supports state of wind as a variable in its timekeeping. Maybe the tiny mass of the oscillator is reacting to changes in torque more than a conventional movement would. Sounds logical. Mine is manageable enough, as it's not a daily wearer, so I don't plan to send it off for 6 months or however long it will take. (My Breguet is serviceable in the US and if it returns when projected it will have been gone 5 months.)


----------



## Brey17

Yah, so mine is definitely waaaay out of spec. I was at -14 yesterday, right now I am at -58. I’m guessing anywhere from 10 to 14 hours of power reserve left right now.


----------



## Rodentman

I fully understand that making this a hacking watch would pose issues. Too bad it isn't though, as that would make it easier of course to set since it appears that it will be needing it. I suspect that most of us won't be wearing this every day, but still -58 is not easy to accept. I am disappointed that it isn't better, starting with a clean slate....


----------



## Brey17

Rodentman said:


> I fully understand that making this a hacking watch would pose issues. Too bad it isn't though, as that would make it easier of course to set since it appears that it will be needing it. I suspect that most of us won't be wearing this every day, but still -58 is not easy to accept. I am disappointed that it isn't better, starting with a clean slate....


I will be sending it back for adjustment, but curious how that can be accomplished considering it doesn’t seem to be a positional variance issue.


----------



## Rodentman

There are 2 metal sliding adjusters on the oscillator analogous to the screws on a Rolex balance wheel. They move the mass of the oscillator more to the inside making the watch run faster or to the outside for the opposite effect. Moving them probably isn't tough. Measuring the timing requires FC's special laser equipment.


----------



## Brey17

Rodentman said:


> There are 2 metal sliding adjusters on the oscillator analogous to the screws on a Rolex balance wheel. They move the mass of the oscillator more to the inside making the watch run faster or to the outside for the opposite effect. Moving them probably isn't tough. Measuring the timing requires FC's special laser equipment.


Yes. More thinking about how it can be adjusted with the -22.5 a day with mid and lower power and +17 a day with high power reserve… if the problem is power reserve affective.


----------



## superspectral

Rodentman said:


> There are 2 metal sliding adjusters on the oscillator analogous to the screws on a Rolex balance wheel. They move the mass of the oscillator more to the inside making the watch run faster or to the outside for the opposite effect. Moving them probably isn't tough. Measuring the timing requires FC's special laser equipment.


I'm not sure adjusting the sliders will do more than make the escapement run more to one's liking of accuracy over one's preferred state of wind. The monolothic silicon escapement seems to be fairly sensitive to changes in torque. This really can only addressed by a)making an 80 hour mainspring with a flatter torque profile; b)limiting the mainspring to 42 hours or less; or c)redesigning the escapement to be less sensitive to torque. None of these are especially easy or inexpensive retrofits.


----------



## Rodentman

Ok yes I agree with that.


----------



## Brey17

OK so if I don’t even know what to say here. All of a sudden this thing is pretty accurate. Whatever it gains on the wrist with about 10 hours of wear, settles back overnight. It’s done this two days in a row now. I’m guessing the power reserve is pretty much back to full since I’ve been wearing for a few days.

It’s not been gaining much, right now I am +2 after 10 hours of wear and about to take it off for the night.


----------



## Rodentman

I haven't worn mine for 2 days and it is up to +13, but that's the total error since I first got it 26 Jan. But I cannot determine an accurate spd rate. It is truly bizarre.


----------



## Brey17

Yeah that’s interesting, when I took it off after that first week and let it sit on my nightstand for a couple days it consistently lost time. This is still true, but way less now. I haven’t back hacked it in a few days either. So I’m wondering if the back hacking maybe had something to do with it.


----------



## Rodentman

I thought with the new technology they'd make a great effort to achieve at least COSC accuracy. In fact, that's what the ad videos stated, but it doesn't seem to have panned out. It's the inconsistency of rate that is disturbing. Ultimately, as it goes into rotation it won't be running all the time and I won't obsess about it. 

OTOH had I known it would be like this, I would have put the $5k toward the JLC I have my eye on.


----------



## Brey17

Like you, I am not fussed in the long run because of rotation.

I have my eye on this Laine.


----------



## Saswatch

Timegrapher reading anyone?


----------



## Brey17

Saswatch said:


> Timegrapher reading anyone?


How? It’s a 6 degree of amplitude 40hz watch? I think @Purple Hayz may have some ideas, but a normal timegrapher is powerless against this beast.


----------



## Rodentman

That Laine is nice. I am waiting delivery of a new car which is on the boat, maybe even landed in Tacoma, so I'll need a good chunk of cash for that. So watches are on the back burner now.


----------



## neptunepic

My FC Monolithic came in slow by more than 60sec/day. Within 3 days it was closer to 4 minutes slow. FC is working on sending a replacement piece. Having been an owner of the Zenith Defy Inventor and having an absolutely terrible experience with Zenith when that watch had similar timekeeping issues, I was hoping FC would do better. We shall see. But in the meantime, this isn't a watch. It's a pretty thing to wear on your wrist that can't tell the time with any reasonable accuracy.


----------



## Rodentman

That is a shame. Mine runs roughly +7 on full wind but runs slow when power decreases. I can't specify it any better. I am sure I could track spd after x hours after full wind etc. But what would that do for me? I don't intend to try to keep it at a certain % wind. In my case, in my random rotation, it doesn't pose a problem. That said, I am disappointed and if I knew then what I know now I would have put the $5k toward a JLC or one of the many other fine reliable watches out there. 

Sad that with a clean slate they couldn't do better. Very sad.


----------



## grizzlykoala

I came to this thread because I was searching for whether this movement hacked. Glad I read through it all. As much as I was fascinated by the tech, tech ultimately has to work. Maybe in the end it will work, but I don't feel like being a beta tester.


----------



## Rodentman

By putting backward pressure on the crown you can effectively stop the movement. But setting it going again usually is delayed and needs a shake. Thus it is very tough to set to the second. Why bother when it will be so far off in a day or so. I repeat my disappointment. Unfortunately it has no value to sell. I guess I should be lucky that mine isn't worse. They should have a US service center able to regulate it. I don't think they do. And assuming they regulate it before shipping, why is it so poor?


----------



## Brey17

Mine has to go back for sure. It’s all over the board. I’m not sure why a mechanical piece would be as bombastic as it is. Consistently in accurate for a while, then pretty accurate for a few days. 

I thought it was settling in for a few days, but not really sure if that’s a thing with mechanical watches.


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## Rodentman

Seems clear the watch was pushed out prematurely. This isn't their first movement and with the world watching they failed.


----------



## Brey17

Yeah, if they know what the problem is and they can adjust it, then it’s all good. If they can’t…


----------



## neptunepic

I spoke with the big service center here in Los Angeles and they haven’t been trained on repairing the Monolithic yet. That means any service requires sending the watch back to Switzerland and they warned it could take months to be returned to the owner.

They actually suggested I try to get a replacement since that would be faster than trying to have it serviced. So that’s what I did, waiting on a replacement due in a few weeks.

After dealing with very similar issues from Zenith I think there’s something fundamentally flawed about this technology that causes it to be very unreliable in real world usage. My guess is the mechanism is overly sensitive and can’t withstand the shipping process.

The only alternative would be that both Zenith and FC knowingly sold and shipped defective watches to customers which seems unlikely.


----------



## Rodentman

IMHO the US SC should have been trained by now. Why wait? I agree that the oscillator seems quite susceptible to shock and power applied. A clean slate-should have had a better result. I don't relish the idea of wearing mine for more than a day.


----------



## superspectral

neptunepic said:


> After dealing with very similar issues from Zenith I think there’s something fundamentally flawed about this technology that causes it to be very unreliable in real world usage. My guess is the mechanism is overly sensitive and can’t withstand the shipping process.
> 
> The only alternative would be that both Zenith and FC knowingly sold and shipped defective watches to customers which seems unlikely.


I wore my FC Monolithic for about a month before I sent mine back for service. At the time there was only one poster claiming accuracy within 10s a day. These claimed good results are largely why I sent mine in for service. I probably would have tolerated it as an interesting experiment had I known the results were common. 

I examined the mechanism running and stopped on high power using a stereoscopic microscope. I regret not taking pictures to show with you. I saw no evidence of damage or incorrect operation under the microscope. I don't believe the mechanism is overly sensitive and those issues with the Zenith design are significantly mitigated in the FC design.

The FC silicon oscillator seems to have fairly high sensitivity to torque, making it pretty isochronous (runs slower with decreasing torque). It does have 80+ hours of power reserve, so it does make the grade of being very efficient.

Mainspring torque Isochrony was a big problem with more traditional escapements until the development of the Breguet overcoil - which makes the spring slightly non-linear. Nearly all escapement hairsprings today use the Breguet overcoil today. 

Before the overcoil, one method used was to restrict the mainspring. Restricting the FC monolithic to the middle 50% probably would give it > +20 seconds a day with 42 hours of reserve - entirely within the Miyota and Seiko range.

If FC and their partners try to continue developing this technology there are probably 2 options for future designs: 1) incorporate some sort of torque compensation into the silicon oscillator [this seems only possible for new watches]; 2)Develop a flatter torque mainspring.

In any case, I hope to get my watch back soon. I think the watch is a conversation piece even with its limitations. I haven't pinged FC yet but probably will do so soon.


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## Rodentman

I hope you get a new watch or yours working properly. I agree with your comments based on my experiences. It is disappointing 😞


----------



## Rodentman

I am sorely tempted to send it back for repair or replacement even though it would take a long time. It's rather useless now and will just sit. I'll consider setting it half a minute slow and let it get half a minute fast in a couple of days, which is about what a watch in rotation gets. I don't have a regular rotation-I just pick a watch when the spirit moves.me. I posit at this point I don't know if it is a design flaw or if it can be regulated. As it is all over the spectrum depending on wind level I rather doubt it can be made to be consistent.


----------



## Legionary

I wonder if they will call it quits due to the failure this movement seems to be or they will keep improve it until it gets to decent precision levels. 

I don't understand why didn't they made a batch of 100 watches, distribute them to employees and testers, observe the issues and fix them before releasing the movement to the general public.


----------



## Rodentman

Yeah, and the worst part is we don't know if it is fixable. Maybe FC doesn't either. At least with a mainstream movement there are SC's and watchmakers who can address issues. With this one, there are probably just a few folks in Switzerland who can. I don't want to send mine back and have it end up in a black hole somewhere. I am so disappointed.


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## Legionary

I would rather stay 6 months without the watch rather than having a defective watch. But I would probably ask for a refund and maybe buy another one after an year if the issues are fixed.


----------



## Rodentman

Are there any updates from those who sent the FC back, or tried to get a replacement?


----------



## Brey17

I got to take mine back. I’ve just been lazy about it.


----------



## Rodentman

I am delaying doing so in order to wait to see if there IS indeed a fix. If the issue is inherent to the design, I don't what the fix could be. It's put away, I never wear it, as I deem it defective, not just a poor time keeper.


----------



## superspectral

I've received my Monolithic Manufacture back from FC. FC didn't really provide any detail as to what was done. It did appear to me as if the weights on the oscillator were not in the same position. And they buffed out a mark on the case.

I fully wound the watch yesterday afternoon, wore it until about 2 am, slept, and then tested with tool watch at 14 hours. I got a -1.9s accuracy under this condition. This very well could be a real improvement, but I think I'll make a few more measurements while wearing the watch for a few days.

I'm not nearly as down on the watch as some of the previous posters. I'm a tech lover, and being a very new piece of tech, I gave a great deal of scrutiny.

I think it is a very beautiful watch and it still has a wow factor. And so far, the accuracy is fine for my use today. So I'm not planning to hand wring about accuracy any more - I'm just going to enjoy the watch.


----------



## Rodentman

Thank you for that info. Seems that it is worth sending back. I expect it will take a while but it's certainly not doing me any good now. Thanks again.

ETA I have contacted FC for instructions for returning the watch for service. No need to leave it as a $5k paperweight.


----------



## ericmcn

Read this with interest - here is what I think.

Whatever one’s disposable income, I would not be pleased with this watch that costs in or around $5k - just not acceptable, accuracy is all over the shop.
FC bodged up this I think big time, I was thinking of Grand Seiko (even before the lovely watch that was shown here) and the Spring Drive...600 prototypes and 20 years - That is how long the Japanese at Seiko took to get the spring drive mechanism out to customers, if they launched this watch, they would not be able to sleep at night with the guilt – looks to have been launched far too prematurely.

I have a FC mind you, a slimline monophase but it’s with the standard 702 movement and very accurate, it has no second hand but it has hacking and I can see the minute hands line up pretty perfectly to the indices when I compare to my RC time even after a few days after wearing it.


----------



## Rodentman

I agree. But I have not heard from FC yet. If I don't hear tomorrow I will call the SC and get instructions on sending it in.


----------



## ericmcn

wouldnt surprise me if they offered a refund to customers soon - unless they can get it fixed up correctly which I dont think is going to be very easy


----------



## superspectral

After wearing my serviced FC monolithic for several days - without any winding; the watch has settled into an average accuracy of -18 s a day (several measurements). As I said before, I'm done handwringing about accuracy. The watch is very handsome, and it has a completely unique and conversation worthy movement.


----------



## Rodentman

Well that is a shame but I see your point. In a rotation or special occasion, I think accuracy isn't paramount and it seems the design itself has its faults. Thx for the info-very helpful !!


----------



## neptunepic

I just got a second unit directly from Geneva after sending the first back due to REALLY bad accuracy (losing 60secs per day).
Good news is, the accuracy is better.
Bad news is, it still loses time.
The weird part is that the watch keeps better time on the wrist and the minute you take it off it starts losing time more aggressively to the point where if I put it down overnight, I need to reset the time in the morning.
I still consider this unacceptable performance so it’s likely a refund is in my future.


----------



## Rodentman

@neptunepic May I assume that you have had the bloody thing more than 30 days. (I am not sure what the return period is...) What is your contact at FC and how will you pursue the refund? I ask because I intend to do the same. Based on comments from several owners here, the design is unreliable and unpredictable. If a watch is consistent, even if it is -60 spd it can be addressed. Seems that these FC's are all over the place in timekeeping, or attempts thereof. I know mine is. I can't afford a $5k paperweight. Can you keep us advised on your progress?

I emailed FC customer service but got no response.

ETA I have changed my view expressed in post #226 above.


----------



## ericmcn

Sham of a watch, if I ordered one of them I would be looking for a refund and buy a GS Spring Drive - at least that is a watch you can rely on for accurate time. A $50 Miyota looks more accurate than this. My FC702 keeps accurate time with or without wearing it - there is a line to draw when you are talking watches that cost thousands and I think that line has crossed now


----------



## Rodentman

You are correct sir! It's the worst performing watch I have ever owned. A clean slate and an opportunity to show their chops as a manufacture, and this is what they come up with. I don't think that any of the buyers on WUS have had consistent decent performance.


----------



## ericmcn

Rodentman said:


> You are correct sir! It's the worst performing watch I have ever owned. A clean slate and an opportunity to show their chops as a manufacture, and this is what they come up with. I don't think that any of the buyers on WUS have had consistent decent performance.


Are you going to seek a refund or what are you thinking? Its a beautiful looking watch but clearly flawed and you cannot flog off a watch like that to horology minded consumers, especially one that costs 5k.


----------



## Rodentman

@neptunepic posted above that he is likely to pursue a refund, and he has apparently dealt with FC since he got a replacement. I intend to see what he says about his refund process. I will call the FC SC in CA and see what they say. I may call FC as well for their input. I DO NOT intend to try to sell this. I wouldn't sell a poor performing watch to someone unless they REALLY wanted it, and I would fully disclose the issues. Frankly, I'd rather dump it back to FC to demonstrate to them that no one wants a POS.


----------



## neptunepic

@Rodentman I worked through a dealer to get the replacement. If FC thinks they can fix it I might give them one more opportunity. I’ll keep you all informed of the progress.


----------



## neptunepic

I’ve been testing the watch for about 40 hours, all on the wrist or on the dresser, not on a winder. I wanted to not only test the accuracy under normal conditions but also throughout the power reserve.

The watch is losing about 15 seconds every 12 hours in normal use. Unfortunately it never gains enough time back during normal wear to ever catch up, so you will always need to manually correct the time every day or two.

This sucks at this price point IMO.


----------



## Rodentman

Mine is quite fast. I have a VERY informal rotation: I wear my favorite pieces most often, naturally, and part of what are my favorites is the accuracy. Not the only factor, but part of it. Thus my Rolexes, Panerai, and Omegas get worn, along with the Polaris, Sinns....but the watches that aren't as precise get less time. So the FC is one of those. I still feel the fault lies in the design based on the experiences of posters here, and the fact that the degree of wind affects the timing so much. I doubt that a regulation will bring consistency. Yes it does such for $5k. FC should issue a recall, but that's not likely.


----------



## ericmcn

I can only comment for my slimline moonphase below - that once fully wound keeps accurate time for around 2 days - or its hour reserve with no issue - only can refer to how close the minute marker is to the indice and compare to my RC time.

wouldnt be too surprised if FC pull the plug on this monolithic watch, it might be good to keep as one of those things that never quite worked out and turns out to be a gold mine in future years - who knows


----------



## Rodentman

Right...but I have 5 grand in something that never quite worked out, sadly.


----------



## sleepyhead123

Wow this thread brings back memories. The FC was like . . . 8 watches ago? 

Well, mine is still pretty accurate. I probably wear it less than pretty much anyone here given the size of my rotation. But anyways looks like a decent number of people have had issues with theirs. That's too bad. Have any of you all paid attention to the position of the weights from when it arrived to when you started noticing issues? I wonder if the weights are loose.


----------



## Rodentman

I cannot say if the weights moved since it arrived but they surely look quite skewed now. FC never responded to my email about returning for examination. I have been busy but will call the SC tomorrow to see if I can send it to them, and they will send to Switzerland if needed. So I will be w/o it for months. It's better to wait and have it run decently, if possible.


----------



## ericmcn

Poor customer service from FC here, not keeping people informed on an expensive purchase.
They better start replacing chocolates with cheque soon...!


----------



## Rodentman

I have decided to renew pursuit of resolution of the FC810 POS since I cannot afford a $5k paperweight. If I get no response I am considering sending it to FC Switzerland directly. Why should I accept it running so poorly?


----------



## ericmcn

Have you sent it back to FC? It's a poor effort by them, I expect they will pull the plug on that monolithic experiment soon.


----------



## Rodentman

The Citizen CA SC does not work on the FC810. They didn't know where to send it. I await response to my email to FC. If no answer I will keep calling until I get thru. They are always "busy." I wonder if perhaps other FC810 owners are calling! It's a shame as it's really well made and attractive. If only it kept decent time.


----------



## Rodentman

There are no FC AD's in MN so I called CRAIG HUSAR in Brookfield WI and they put me in contact with the RC rep who sent me a UPS label to send the watch back to a specific person at Citizen in CA who will make sure it gets sent to Geneva for service. Most noteworthy is this statement by the FC rep:

"I’m sorry you are having an issue with your Monolithic. The first batch had some timing issues and needs to be adjusted."

So they acknowledge an issue. That's a good start. Will advise, but it may be several months...


----------



## Rodentman

I packed up the Monolithic and it is on its way to the Citizen CA SC from which it will be dispatched to Geneve. I am relieved that the issue will be addressed and if I get it back at COSC I will be properly chuffed. Bacciagalupe helped me box it up.


----------



## Rodentman

The FC has arrived at the Citizen SC in CA and should soon be off to Switzerland. I will post any updates here and certainly advise on the results whence watch is returned. I am glad I waited until they acknowledged the known problem, and equally glad I didn't just say WTF and keep it.


----------



## Purple Hayz

Damn fellas this thread is depressing. Finally got the call from my local Omega/FC AD telling me I had my choice of white or blue, but based on your experiences, I think I'm a hard pass.

IIRC, the inside word from Zenith on the Defy Lab fiasco was that they never could dial the bloody thing in beyond a single position, and eventually just abandoned the project (and the kit) as a lost cause. Sounds like FC couldn't quite crack that nut either.

As for the isochronism, I suspect a constant force mechanism (not all of which are that complicated/expensive) could have smoothed out the torque delivery enough to mitigate any problems, but if oscillator-based escapements are inherently vulnerable to posture errors, _there is no "fix,_" yeah?

Like the Wankel, brilliant in theory, but tough (perhaps impossible) to implement in practice. Too bad, cuz I _really _wanted this watch to succeed. So much potential... 😢

Mad respect (and thanks) to all of you who jumped in with both feet, likewise for keeping the community informed.


----------



## Rodentman

I will be sure to post timing after the work in Geneva. Perhaps you can have the AD test the timing for a day or two before you buy. Maybe you will have a good one.


----------



## Brey17

Have we had any ‘good ones’ on WUS? Mine is going back.


----------



## Rodentman

I just got this email about mine:

<<Sorry for the delay but I took a couple of days off. It has been received by our Torrance Facility and has been sent to Geneva for the adjustment. I will keep you posted on the progress as I receive it. Thank you for your patience and understanding.>>

And I shall keep the forum updated. If it can run at COSC I'll be happy.


----------



## Rodentman

Update...no word yet....


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## Rodentman

I enquired about the status of my repair. I know it's been only 2 months....Just got response from rep and he has initiated an enquiry from his end.....stay tooned.


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## ericmcn

I wont hold my breath on this, I would be looking to keep one of these as a museum exhibition piece that never quite worked out. GS took 20 odd years to perfect the spring drive movement, it would be remarkable of FC can correct the issues with this watch in this timeframe suitable for mass production


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## Rodentman

Well in that case FC can keep it in their museum, along with others, and give me my $5k back. They should not have released it if they could get at least COSC out of it, touting a "new" technology at that price point. I think Europe is largely in their summer "siesta" now but I am willing to wait if they can get it right.


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## Rodentman

No word from FC yet, as I expected. I note that the FC site shows that the Monolithic cannot be "pre-ordered" now. Either they sold out of the initial run of 810 white and the same # blue dials. Or they are flooded with returns!


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## ericmcn

Rodentman said:


> No word from FC yet, as I expected. I note that the FC site shows that the Monolithic cannot be "pre-ordered" now. Either they sold out of the initial run of 810 white and the same # blue dials. Or they are flooded with returns!


Like I suggested It wouldn't surprise me if they pulled the plug on it, really terrible comms and customer service from them, I bet that's a watch they rushed out a few years too soon.


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## Rodentman

Got word from FC Rep that my watch is fixed and on its way back to me. I'll be quite anxious of course to see how it runs!


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## superspectral

Zenith's Defy Labs version had a much larger oscillator escapement that ran at fewer beats per second. 

The FC design's isochronism is an unfortunate characteristic, although not outside the realm of possibility one might expect in debugging a new watch like this. IIRC FC did design a custom movement for the oscillator. Adequate time and dollars for debugging a prototype should have revealed that that they needed to add a constant force mechanism, which as the poster below mentions, aren't necessarily that complicated. It probably would have increased the price of the watch and robbed some of the 80 hour power reserve. And it does get 80 hours.

Regarding postural errors, these are kind of hard to quantify quickly on a mechanism like this that exhibits so much isochronism. In some sense, one might think a low mass oscillator running as quickly as this does would not be too susceptible to gravity. On the other hand, the isochrony indicates that the oscillator is super sensitive to the torque. Positional friction could also be an issue.

Another issue is that FC apparently uses some laser based device as a timegrapher. It may not be positionable like a traditional audio based timegrapher. Lack of an adequate timegrapher may have hindered development.

In any case, I'm keeping mine. It is as, as was said by another poster, and interesting piece of "museum tech." I understand why others might not see the same. But I like the high tech quirky stuff.



Purple Hayz said:


> IIRC, the inside word from Zenith on the Defy Lab fiasco was that they never could dial the bloody thing in beyond a single position, and eventually just abandoned the project (and the kit) as a lost cause. Sounds like FC couldn't quite crack that nut either.
> 
> As for the isochronism, I suspect a constant force mechanism (not all of which are that complicated/expensive) could have smoothed out the torque delivery enough to mitigate any problems, but if oscillator-based escapements are inherently vulnerable to posture errors, _there is no "fix,_" yeah?


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## Rodentman

I will surely keep it and perhaps it will indeed be "museum tech." In rotation it won't get many days in a row to accumulate error anyway. I am glad I sent in back to give them a shot at improving the timing, but I won't send it back again nor ask for a refund.


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## Rodentman

Watch is scheduled for delivery Monday 8 Aug. Of course I will check the timing and advise. It would be so rewarding if it ran COSC for example. I will compare the position of the adjusters to my initial photos and see if those were perceptively moved.

I think poster @superspectral had good luck with his. Hoping for a good result. Stay tooned.


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## Rodentman

FC Monolithic back from Geneva! I attach before and after photos of the oscillator showing the position of the adjusters. (The first watch photo is AFTER). I also attach FC's timing documentation. Odd that Dial Up it is +19sec/24 hours, if I am reading it correctly. I accept FC's work, and as a new technology, it's ok with me. It wasn't touted as COSC or +/- 2spd like Rolex (which is highly selassie IMHO). Anyway I accept it and will keep it on a winder for a few days and shall report results of that soon.


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## Rodentman

I remain disappointed. Since setting it Monday, now 48 hours later, it's lost 45 sec. I don't know how they got the +19. Watch has not gained in any position, even dial up overnight. I'll wear it as a "novelty" piece, and the timing won't cause me to miss anything. But still, they should not have released this until they had done more work on the technology. And I should not have bought a watch that MUST go back to Switzerland and despite their evaluation, it does not conform. Live and learn.


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## Steelersnation

Hey guys, I'm interested in this new tech but after reading it seems like it's unreliable. My question is, will this be a better movement than GS SD? I think it's really hard to beat spring drive. Thoughts?


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## Rodentman

If you have $5k to buy a novelty piece, fine. If you expect a consistent, accurate watch, then no. I don't wear any one watch for more than a couple of days in a row, so accuracy isn't a huge issue for me, technically but I want a watch to be consistent and reasonably accurate. Had I known the FC would be the way mine is, I would have said the cost/novelty isn't worth it. 

Yet there are brands with movements which run +/- 15-30 spd which have a large following and sales. But for $5k and new design, FC could have done better. OTOH there are some owners who report excellent accuracy. However, it is well made and attractive.


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