As smartwatches become more widely adopted, a burgeoning new segment of watches– the so-called hybrid smartwatch — has emerged to combine the traditional elements of analog watches with the digital functionality of a smartwatch. The hybrid smartwatch has up to this point relied on a battery-operated quartz movement as the basis for smart augmentation, but now Frederique Constant — an early adopter of hybrid smartwatch technology — has just created the Hybrid Manufacture, a hybrid smartwatch based upon an automatic mechanical movement.
It utilizes a traditional automatic movement that controls the time and date, ticks at 28,800 bph and has a 42-hour power reserve. Add to that an electronic module that can track activity and sleep (it also has a world timer). Those features are de riguer for hybrid smartwatches in general, but the unique new addition is a function that can measure and analyze parameters of the movement’s performance and health of the movement and will inform you if a service is needed. The electronic module only has a battery life seven days long, but the watch’s box serves as a battery charger and a winder for the automatic movement.
The watch doesn’t have much in the way to distinguish itself from a standard watch save from some questionable “HYBRID” lettering on the dial and a subdial at 12 o’clock monitoring your goal progress and battery life (you can switch between these using the pusher). The movement is wrapped up in a 42mm case and the dial features guilloche patterning. Four different designs are available and they’ll start at $3,495.
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