Part Timepiece, Part Disco Ball: A Watch Drowning in Glam
Frederique Constant’s latest release might be its most glamorous yet. Dubbed the Classics Manchette, this new collection revives the jewelry-meets-watch designs that dominated disco-era wrists.
It's brutalist elegance with a soft edge, rockstar glam translated into stainless steel. And, unlike its high-luxury peers, Frederique Constant delivers all this energy without the overbearing price tag.
For the uninitiated, manchette is French for cuff, a term that refers to bold, wide bracelet watches where the lines between accessory and timepiece blur.
Piaget and Chopard helped define the genre in the '70s and '80s with extravagant gold designs and stone dials that now command serious attention at auction. Frederique Constant taps into that same spirit, with a bit of its own flair.
The watch itself is dainty, with a 25.7 x 20mm square dial set into a flexible seven-link bracelet, sculpted in a Clou de Paris pattern that catches light like disco ball shards.
There are four dial options: one diamond-set, two mineral stone dials in malachite and onyx, and a final one in matte white steel. The diamonds bring the flash, but the stone dials are the real scene-stealers.
Stone dials are having a moment across the industry, just ask any vintage-obsessed collector scrolling late-night listings for Piaget on Chrononext.
Starting at $1395 and available on Frederique Constant’s website, this is technically a ladies’ watch. But in 2025, that label’s more of a suggestion than a rule.
Smaller case sizes are back in a big way, especially among those who know their way around a vintage jewelry watch.
I even spotted Time+Tide’s Andrew McUtchen wearing a Classics Manchette, and it somehow looked both understated and star-studded at once.
If your feed is full of pieces from Mr. A, Heist-Out, or the broader fashion underground, you’ve seen the signs. There’s a growing thirst for watches that are as glamorous as they are wearable. And the Manchette fits right in.
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