This Elegant Travel Watch Is Dripping With Affordable Patek Vibes

If you’re $50,000 short for that Patek World Time, listen up.

a closeup of a frederique constant watch dial

Published February 13, 2025

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For several years now, Frederique Constant has produced one of the best world-time watches under $5,000. The brand’s Manufacture Classic WorldTimer not only offers classic world time functionality in a dressy package, it also boasts an in-house movement — something practically unheard of at its $4,695 MSRP.

But the watch also has its drawbacks. Its 42mm case size is oversized for this style of watch, and its date complication — executed via a large subdial at 6 o’clock — obscures a portion of the dial’s cities ring, negating some of the watch’s world-time functionality.

a Frederique Constant watch on a desk — Frederique Constant’s Classic WorldTimer is a nice watch, but it’s not without its flaws.

But now FC has come up with a new version of its WorldTimer with some help from the horological community Watch Angels, and it’s a complete reinvention of the model that’s just dripping with Patek Philippe vibes.

What Time Is It? World Time!

The new Frederique Constant + Watch Angels WorldTimer Manufacture makes some significant changes to the original FC model. In fact, outside of the movement, it’s an entirely new watch.

Let’s start with the case. The 42mm mirror-polished case of the OG has been swapped for a smaller 40mm one in stainless steel, but it’s not a one-to-one reduction. The new case is a complete redesign and is far sleeker than before with more graceful curves, a mix of brushed and polished finishes and a more subtle, modern crown in place of the original’s old-school onion crown. It’s both better looking and more wearable.

a Frederique Constant watch — Yeah, this is more like it.

Moving onto the dial, that’s all-new too, and has been cleaned up and refined. The obstructive date subdial has been jettisoned from the design, resulting in a dial that makes it easy to simultaneously read the time in all 24 displayed cities — which is the key requirement of a world-time watch, after all.

The three-piece dial features a sunburst blue disc in its center that features both a white crosshair motif and a subtle pattern of gold specks that resemble stars upon close inspection. Applied arrow markers continue the watch’s modern makeover and pair naturally with the sharp alpha hands.

Moving outward from the center of the dial, there is a blue 24-hour disc featuring applied half-globe markers for the sun and moon representing day and night. The sun is polished and gold-colored, while the moon is silver and sandblasted with a polished crescent. Finally, the watch’s inner bezel is a darker shade of blue with its 24 cities printed in white and with red markings denoting Greenwich Mean Time.

Like on the existing Classic WorldTimer, the movement powering the watch is Frederique Constant’s in-house Cal. FC-718 automatic. This movement is impressive, as all of its functions, including those related to the world-time bezel, are controlled through the lone crown at 3 o’clock. It’s visible through a sapphire caseback and features FC’s typically attractive decoration.

the display caseback on a Frederique Constant watch showing an automatic movement — The in-house FC-718 movement is practically the only thing carried over from the old FC WorldTimer to this one.

Patek Vibes

A lot of Frederique Constant’s watches take stylistic influence from Patek Philippe, from their general designs to their movement decoration to even the brand logo on their dials. But the brand’s watches are far more affordable than Pateks, making FC a popular option for anyone who wants a Patek but lacks the substantial necessary budget.

This new WorldTimer reminds me of some of the elegant world-time watches Patek has released over the years, most notably the ref. 5230P that launched in 2022. That limited-edition watch — which originally retailed for around $75,000 and currently trades for about $55,000 — featured a platinum case and a blue dial with sun and moon indicators on its 24-hour ring.

The new FC WorldTimer certainly isn’t a copy of the Patek, but it looks similar enough that it should scratch the itch for anyone who loves the idea of this type of elegant travel watch but lacks the $50,000+ budget needed to procure one.

a patek philippe world time watch — Patek’s ref. 5230P World Time has similar vibes to the new FC WorldTimer but at a much, much higher price point.

Pricing and Availability

Frederique Constant is considered an affordable luxury watch brand, but this is a relative term. The new Frederique Constant + Watch Angels WorldTimer Manufacture costs just a hair under $5,000 at $4,995, which is a lot of money for most normal people to spend on a watch. But considering it’s less than a tenth the cost of the Patek, I’d consider it a steal.

This is easily the most beautiful and desirable WorldTimer Frederique Constant has ever made, and it finally gives the impressive Cal. FC-718 movement a worthy vessel. I really hope this case and dial pattern pop up in future, non-limited versions of the WorldTimer, but we’ll just have to wait and see if that happens.

For now, the Frederique Constant + Watch Angels WorldTimer Manufacture is available to pre-order exclusively through Watch Angels until March 13. But if you miss the pre-order, don’t fret. In October of this year, the watch will go on sale directly through Frederique Constant.