What We Know
At Geneva Watch Days this year, Frederique Constant introduces two new references that continue to build on the momentum the brand generated at Watches and Wonders. The Highlife Moonphase Date adds a moonphase complication to the Highlife collection; the Classics Moneta Handwinding is the first mechanical movement in a collection that launched in 2024 with a quartz movement and added a solar version earlier this year. Together, the two references display the range of what the manufacture builds in-house, from a complicated moonphase module to a hand-wound caliber developed exclusively for the brand.
The Highlife Moonphase Date measures 39mm and comes in two dial colors. The rosé champagne dial uses a sunray finish that radiates outward from the moonphase window at 6 o’clock rather than from the center, with gold and copper tones set against a blue moon disc. The night blue dial uses a lighter sunray finish closer in tone to its own moon disc, with a red “31” marking the final day of longer months.
The moon disc is rendered with grey shading and surface relief rather than a flat metallic disc. Both versions use applied, mirror-polished, lume-filled indexes and hands. By comparison, the Classics Moneta Handwinding measures 38.5mm and comes in a single dial color: a smoked salmon-tone gradient that darkens to black at the edges, with applied mirror-polished hour markers, two dauphine hands, and a small seconds sub-dial at 6 o’clock.
The Highlife Moonphase Date runs on the FC-716, a self-winding movement built at Frederique Constant’s manufacture in Plan-les-Ouates. A new alloy in the barrel spring, housed in a redesigned barrel, brings the power reserve to 72 hours. The date and moonphase are linked in one module: the date change advances the moon through its 29.5-day cycle, and both are set through the crown. The movement is finished with perlage and Côtes de Genève decoration, visible through a sapphire case back.
The Classics Moneta Handwinding, in contrast, runs on a hand-wound movement developed and produced exclusively for Frederique Constant by La Joux-Perret in La Chaux-de-Fonds, a manufacture under the same Citizen Group ownership. It beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour and holds a 63-hour power reserve, with the barrel and escapement visible through a sapphire case back alongside Côtes de Genève-decorated bridges and the coat of arms Frederique Constant has used since 1988. The movement is hand-wound rather than automatic, which keeps the case slim and leaves the decoration unobstructed by a rotor.
Both watches come in steel cases, though the strap options differ. The Highlife keeps the interchangeable system introduced at the collection’s 2020 relaunch, swapping tool-free between a blue Saffiano leather strap and a five-link steel bracelet. The Classics Moneta Handwinding comes on a single black alligator strap with a small-scale pattern.
The Highlife Moonphase Date is priced at $5,595 USD, and the Classics Moneta Handwinding, limited to 999 pieces, is priced at $2,595 USD.
What We Think
These are two different releases, but they feel cohesive when shown together, and the two look good paired side by side. The Moneta is a genuinely interesting release, and its resemblance to one of its neighbors in Plan-les-Ouates is quite close, but I prefer the Highlife Moonphase Date. It’s a strong follow-up to the Worldtimer the brand introduced at Watches and Wonders this year, and the FC-716 inside it, like the Worldtimer’s FC-719, is built entirely at Frederique Constant’s own manufacture in Plan-les-Ouates — proof the brand keeps pushing what its in-house watchmaking can do. It’s also the first time Highlife has offered the moonphase on its own rather than folded into the full perpetual calendar, giving the complication room to breathe on the dial. Another good showing for FC in 2026, if you ask me.
The Basics
Brand: Frederique Constant
Model: Highlife Moonphase Date / Classics Moneta Handwinding
Diameter: 39mm (Highlife) / 38.5mm (Moneta)
Case Material: Stainless steel (both)
Dial Color: Rosé champagne or night blue (Highlife) / Smoked salmon gradient to black (Moneta)
Indexes: Applied, mirror-polished (both)
Strap/Bracelet: Interchangeable blue Saffiano leather strap or five-link steel bracelet (Highlife) / Black alligator leather strap with small-scale pattern (Moneta)
The Movement
Caliber: FC-716 (Highlife) / Not named in press materials — produced by La Joux-Perret (Moneta)
Functions: Hours, minutes, date, moonphase, hacking seconds (Highlife) / Hours, minutes, small seconds (Moneta)
Power Reserve: 72 hours (Highlife) / 63 hours (Moneta)
Winding: Automatic, self-winding (Highlife) / Manual, hand-wound (Moneta)
Frequency: 28,800 vph / 4Hz (Highlife) / 28,800 vph / 4Hz (Moneta)
Jewels: 26 jewels (Highlife) / Not given in press materials (Moneta)
Pricing & Availability
Price: $5,595 (Highlife Moonphase Date), $2,595 (Classics Moneta Handwriting)
Availability: Now
Limited Edition: No (Highlife), Yes (999 pieces, Moonphase)
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