Tokyo, Japan

The Slimline Monolithic Manufacture watch designed by Frederique Constant and Citizen Watch Design Group is a technological breakthrough and the first in the world of its kind.

In this world premiere, Frederique Constant has redefined the principles of mechanical watch regulation.

Thanks to its innovative design and reduced size, this revolutionary high-frequency silicon oscillator fits inside a traditional movement configuration.

For its groundbreaking design, the Slimline Monolithic Manufacture has recently been awarded a 2022 Good Design Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

With a silicon oscillator beating at an unprecedented pace of 288,000 vibrations per hour, or 40 Hz, the Slimline Monolithic Manufacture ticks ten times faster than most mechanical movements.

In a regular mechanical movement, the second hand makes eight moves to complete one second.

With Monolithic Manufacture, the second hand performs 80 moves per second to deliver the smoothest possible motion that ticks faster than the eye can see.

This is the first watch in the world to boast a 40Hz frequency combined with a price that reflects the brand’s commitment to accessible luxury.

Frederique Constant powers the Slimline Monolithic Manufacture with its in-house FC-810 automatic movement.

Naturally, the brand’s new monolithic silicon oscillator balance is the centerpiece of this design, developed in partnership with Dutch advanced materials company Flexous.

Beyond the immensely fast 288,000 bph beat rate, the silicon oscillator carries several key benefits over a traditional sprung balance wheel.

Since the oscillator itself is made from a single piece of monocrystalline silicon, this element is completely anti-magnetic, and boasts superior temperature resistance, shock resistance, and a quarter of the weight of a traditional balance wheel.

Because of this lighter weight, as well as the lack of mechanical couplings, this also results in far lower torque and amplitude than an average mechanical movement, while simultaneously improving mechanical wear rates and removing the need for balance oiling altogether.

While this new oscillator balance concept offers a wide array of benefits, it does come with several drawbacks, and Frederique Constant has extensively customized the rest of the FC-810 to adapt to its requirements.

In particular, the gear train of the FC-810 is dramatically reworked to handle the incredibly high beat rates generated by the oscillator, featuring four wheels between the mainspring barrel and the escape pinion rather than the usual three.

Power reserve for the FC-810 stands at a hefty 80 hours thanks to the oscillator’s reduced torque requirement.

Given the importance of the FC-810 as a milestone for the brand, Frederique Constant nicely decorates the movement with perlage, blued screws, and circular Côtes de Genève pattern across the bridges.

To complete the classical look of the Slimline Monolithic Manufacture series, Frederique Constant pairs each watch with a traditional alligator leather strap.

For the silver dial stainless steel model, this is rendered in simple black, while the navy blue dial variant receives a matching navy blue strap and the rose gold model is paired with a deep tobacco brown.

Project: Slimline Monolithic Manufacture
Designers: Citizen Watch Design Group
Lead Designer: Frederique Constant
Manufacturer: Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.