An Unexpected Swiss Watchmaker Just Dropped This Gorgeous Vintage-Inspired Chronograph

Frederique Constant was founded in 1988, long after the golden age of auto racing chronographs from the late 1960s and early 1970s.

To match the clout of brands like TAG Heuer and Hamilton and properly honor the spirit of that age, it partnered with one of the most prestigious brands in British racing history: Austin-Healey.

Frederique Constant

First released in 2004, the Frederique Constant Vintage Rally Healey matches the vibe and performance of heavy hitters in the vintage auto racing chronograph game, like the Carrera and Daytona.

The newest iteration sports a shimmering light-blue radial brushed dial contrasted with snailed navy blue sub-dials and a navy blue 60-second track. The central chronograph seconds hand and 30-minute register hand provide a splash of racing red.

Frederique Constant

With no bezel or tachymeter, this is a straightforward racing watch designed to track elapsed time within half an hour. And, damn, does it look good doing it.

Under the hood

As is always the case with Frederique Constant, the real value of the Vintage Rally Healey is the movement. It uses an in-house caliber FC-397 automatic movement, which is based on the Seillita caliber SW510, a gold standard for automatic stopwatch complications.

Frederique Constant

Frederique Constant develops its movements, but unlike other luxury watchmakers, it does not put superfluous decorations on them, such as fancy finishes and ornate engravings. This keeps the price of the watch down without sacrificing any performance.

The Vintage Rally Healey uses 27 jewels, has a 62-hour power reserve and beats at a frequency of 28,800. Its chronograph complication has a standard operation with a start-stop pusher at two o’clock and a fly-back reset pusher at four o’clock.

Frederique Constant

As indicated by the matching red hands, elapsed seconds are registered on the central hand, and elapsed minutes are registered on the 30-minute sub-dial at three o’clock.

The legend continues

With this update, Frederique Constant is moving forward in time, so to speak. Previous iterations of the Vintage Rally Healey have had uniform dials with no texture.

The most common color has been British Racing Green, which Austin-Healey helped make famous. Until now, the collection has taken inspiration from Austin-Healey cars of the 1940s and 1950s.

Frederique Constant

This flashier finish is indicative of racing chronographs from the subsequent era of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

One thing that has not changed with this new Vintage Rally Healey is the accompanying model of a 1953 Austin-Healey NOJ393. This bonus gift is brushed over in the product description, and no images are available, but it comes as part of the decorative box set.

While the $3,395 price cannot be considered “affordable,” it is about 30 percent cheaper than a new TAG Heuer Carrera. It ticks all the same boxes, even the authentic racing heritage, at least by association.

Availability and pricing

The Frederique Constant Vintage Rally Healey will be available in August for $3,395. A “Notify Me When Available” e-mail sign-up can be found on the product page.

As with all previous Healey references, it is a limited edition. But this time it is a higher-than-average piece count of 1,888.

Frederique Constant

Frederique Constant Vintage Rally Healey Chronograph

Specs

Case Size	41mm
Movement	Frederique Constant caliber FC-397 automatic
Water Resistance	50m

• $3,395 at Frederique Constant

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