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Frederique Constant Highlife Heart Beat 41mm Mens Watch
Ref. FC-310B4NH6B
Sits in Frederique Constant’s upper tier here — more premium than three quarters of the Frederique Constant watches we list, which start at £850.
Price range £850 to £3,995 across 22 Frederique Constant watches in stock.The Highlife line is more than twenty years old, and the integrated-lug sports case it pioneered has since become one of the defining shapes in the category. The Heart Beat variant adds a further reason to look at the dial: an aperture at twelve o'clock that puts the oscillating balance wheel in plain sight, framed against an engraved globe motif that sits quietly behind the indices without competing with them. At 41mm and just under 11mm thick, this wears flatter than the integrated-bracelet format typically allows, and it slips beneath a shirt cuff without the bulk that usually forces a choice between sport and formal. The bracelet itself uses twin push-button release and pairs brushed and polished links in the way the case does, so the transition from case to wrist reads as a single piece rather than two components meeting. The quick-change system underneath means an alternative strap drops in without tools — a small thing that makes the watch considerably more adaptable in practice. The FC-310 movement underneath is built on the Sellita SW200-1, a calibre that watchmakers know well and can service almost anywhere. The 38-hour reserve is honest rather than generous, but the movement's reputation is for consistency, and that matters more across years of daily wear.
- Reference
- FC-310B4NH6B
- Brand
- Frederique Constant
- Collection
- Highlife
- Case size
- 41mm
- Case thickness
- 10.84mm
- Lug width
- 25.5mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Black
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- FC-310
- Water resistance
- 50m
- Bracelet / strap
- Stainless steel bracelet
- Strap colour
- Silver
- Clasp
- Folding clasp
- Lume
- Luminous
- Retailer
- Goldsmiths
Additional specifications
- Power reserve
- 38 hours
- Origin
- Swiss made
Learn more about Frederique Constant
Peter Stas and Aletta Bax, a Dutch couple, founded Frederique Constant in 1988 with a straightforward objective: make Swiss watches with genuine watchmaking content at prices well below where that content normally starts. The name combines those of two ancestors, Frédérique Schreiner and Constant Stas, the latter a manufacturer of watch dials from the 1900s.
The company designed its own movement, the FC-910 Heart Beat, in 1994 — an aperture cut into the dial to expose the balance wheel, which became the brand's signature and is now widely copied. It began manufacturing calibres in-house in 2004, an unusual step at its price point, and has since produced over thirty in-house movements including perpetual calendars, tourbillons, and a monolithic silicon oscillator replacing the traditional escapement entirely.
That last development, the Slimline Monolithic of 2021, was a serious technical achievement: a single silicon component oscillating at 40 Hz, delivering high-frequency regulation without lubrication.
Frederique Constant also produced one of the first Swiss-made connected watches, the Horological Smartwatch, with analogue hands and hidden activity tracking.
The company built a manufacture in Plan-les-Ouates near Geneva, shares it with Alpina, and was acquired by Citizen in 2016. It also owns the vintage-focused Ateliers deMonaco.
- 1988
- Peter Stas and Aletta Bax found the company.
- 1994
- The Heart Beat dial aperture becomes the house signature.
- 2004
- In-house movement manufacturing begins.
- 2016
- Acquired by Citizen.
- 2021
- The Slimline Monolithic introduces a silicon oscillator.
Also in 4 collections
This watch appears in the Frederique Constant Highlife range (5), Back in Stock (4,652), Stainless Steel Watches (3,115) and Automatic Watches (1,724).
Manufacturer’s guarantee
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch for everyday wear.
Strengths
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
- One of Frederique Constant's more premium watches
Worth knowing
- 50m suits rain and handwashing, not swimming
- 38-hour reserve means winding it after a day off
Frederique Constant Highlife Heart Beat alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | FC-310B4NH6B | 01 754 7741 3167-07 5 20 58BR | YA126390 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £1,995 | £2,050 | £2,130 |
| Case size | 41mm | 40mm | 40mm |
| Water resistance | 50m | 50m | 50m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Stainless steel bracelet | Leather strap | Stainless steel bracelet |
| Power reserve | 38 hours | 38 hours | — |
| This watch | Closely matched | Closely matched |
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
Showering yes, swimming no. 50m covers splashes and brief immersion, but a swimming stroke generates well above the pressure that figure describes.
Water resistance explainedWill the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Sapphire, mineral and acrylic comparedDoes it need a battery?
No. It is automatic — the motion of your wrist winds it, and there is no cell to replace.
Quartz, automatic and solar comparedHow long does it run for when it's not worn?
About 38 hours fully wound — so it will usually stop if you leave it off overnight.
What size strap does it take?
25.5mm. Any strap of that width will fit, and on most modern watches quick-release bars make the swap a two-minute job with no tools.
Is it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as men's.
Cheapest place to buy
Goldsmiths is the only UK retailer we track stocking this reference, so there is nothing to compare it against today.
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