Frederique Constant proudly extends its manufacturing facilities in Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva’s watchmaking hub

In 2006, the brand first felt the need to enlarge its production facilities and strategically decided to move into a 3,200 m² building in Plan-les-Ouates, where big players of the Swiss watch industry were settled, becoming a key geographical spot in Geneva for Swiss made horological production and development manufactures.
After thirteen years, the group (which includes Frederique Constant, Alpina Watches and Ateliers deMonaco), has been running out of space due to its rapid growth and high demand from its worldwide markets. 

Two years were needed to achieve the construction of an additional 3000 m² space, bringing the Frederique Constant Group’s headquarters up to 6200 m², enabling to completely re-organize the implementation of the different working spaces. 

On the ground floor, the visitors will find an exclusive dedicated space where guests will have the chance to go through a Manufacture Experience and discover each brand’s universe and history. Amongst many displays and settings, the visitors will be able to discover heritage timepieces, the manufacturing process of the brands’ in-house calibres, details of some of the most iconic watches, innovative savoir-faire, specific watchmaking functions, connected watches and more.

The rest of the floor will be taken up by the new staff canteen, the after-sales service workshops, conception & industrialization, quality control and the company’s connected watch lab.

On the first floor, the whole production workshop from T1 to T4 will be regrouped, optimizing watchmaking workflow and logistics. 

Offices including top management, finance, human resources, marketing, sales and administration departments will be spread on the second floor. 

The overall goal is to increase the production capacity from 160,000 to 250,000 watches per year within the next 5 years. 

Since 2004, when Frederique Constant had launched its first manufacture caliber, the watchmaker has reached 29 in-house movements as of today and is looking to develop its internal know-how even further, creating more in-house movements for both its mechanical and smartwatch models. To name just a few, Frederique Constant has released several watchmaking beacons over the past years such as the iconic Heart Beat Manufacture, the FC-700 caliber series including the successful Worldtimer Manufacture and Flyback Chronograph, or high-end complications such as the Perpetual Calendar or the newly released Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar Manufacture timepiece. 

The Frederique Constant Group is optimistic and continues to implement its sales-focused strategy by defining strong guidelines for its two flagship brands: extending accessible luxury for Frederique Constant, developing key markets and distribution channels while developing growth for Alpina (especially after the huge success of the AlpinerX outdoors smartwatch launched in 2018). Ateliers deMonaco remains an important brand, where our Master Watchmakers can innovate and create new movements, while pushing the boundaries of the highest watchmaking complications possible, which can then be spread to Frederique Constant and Alpina models.

After the Grand Opening ribbon cutting ceremony, honourable hosts including the Chairman of the Citizen Group, Mr Tokura, the President and Co-President of Frederique Constant Group, Peter and Aletta Stas; and Niels Eggerding, Managing Director of Frederique Constant, invited guests to walk through the Manufacture Experience and visit the floors while enjoying a nice, sunny outdoor musical cocktail. 

Peter Stas said: “Frederique Constant is producing watches in the heart of Plan-les-Ouates since 2006. Frederique Constant is a pioneer of innovation and excellence in the Swiss watch industry and worldwide thanks to the first Swissmade horological Smartwatch and Hybrid collection. The strong tradition of investing in new technologies, new in-house mechanical movement at an affordable price tag reflects the brand’s commitment to make more people enjoy luxury worldwide.”

Niels Eggerding also gave his thoughts by saying: “The new building represents the industry’s most cutting-edge facility for watch assembly, training and quality control. Having grown very rapidly in the last years we needed a truly innovative workspace to improve efficiency. We now combine our R&D, production, assembly and quality control processes under one roof. That means a complete consolidation of work that will help our brands to become even more productive and streamlined than ever before.” 

With the opening of this new building, the group has now equipped its facilities for the future, preparing its brands to meet their demands for future growth.

frederiqueconstant.com