Niels Eggerding doesn’t mince his words. It deeply hurt the managing director of Frederique Constant to know that some watch brands portray themselves to be 100 percent Swiss made. “We are fully transparent. Frederique Constant has an in-house manufacture that produces and assembles the timepieces, but we source certain components from outside of Switzerland. If we don’t do this, we can never offer it at the current prices.”
He’s peeved because it’s only a matter of time before governments impose sustainability regulations. Brands will need to reveal their sourcing and production processes for auditing and certification. One rogue watchmaker might ruin the industry.
Eggerding is a breath of fresh air in an industry replete with carefully crafted, media approved statements and friendly, but guarded talking heads. A watchmaking veteran, the Dutch-Indonesian worked in the Swatch Group for over a decade before joining Frederique Constant in 2012 after a chance and inspiring meeting with founder Peter Stas. His rise through the ranks coincided with multiple landmarks in the brand’s history, including its eventual sale to Citizen Holdings. Life came full circle for Eggerding.
Photo: The Hour Glass.
“My first watch was a Citizen,” he recalls. It was a birthday gift from his grandparents when he turned 15. The timepiece is still with him today and he cherishes it, not so much for the function, but for the emotion it evokes within him when he wears it.
It’s the same strategy he employs now at Frederique Constant, which started with the Highlife series, “classic timepieces but with a sporty touch”. The range took 18 months to develop and went through multiple prototypes before its current iteration. Eggerding and team knew they had to find the right ambassador for the Highlife. They landed on French deep house DJ and producer, The Avener. While still unknown in this part of the world, Eggerding reveals that he’s a popular name in the European circuit, especially among youths. Watches and music share certain similarities, one of which is their shared association with emotions.
Eggerding professed, however, that he felt ambivalent about its latest offering, the all-black Classics Worldtimer Manufacture Globetrotter Edition, recently released to celebrate the Worldtimer range’s 10th anniversary. He felt it was too edgy, but relented after being convinced of the merits. “My opinion doesn’t matter,” he laughs. The results speak for themselves; the watch is sold out.
On the business front, Frederique Constant has returned to pre-pandemic levels, with 2022’s performance surpassing 2019. Production cannot keep up with demand, with wait times for its timepieces reaching up to nine months. Some watchmakers might be jubilant, but Eggerding is wary. He understands the space that Frederique Constant operates in doesn’t afford them the ability to employ that strategy. Customers might wander to another brand within the same price point.
“We are the first timepiece that people buy when they are looking for their first dress watch. Frederique Constant has a progressive line-up with different categories for the different stages of our customer’s life. Then, they turn 40 and have enough funds to get that Patek,” Eggerding smiles.
Record setting inflation rates across the globe have also furrowed his brows. He envisions many cutting back on discretionary expenses, which include watches, and has prepared for the team for a tough year ahead.
Still, he forges ahead. There are plans to release more timepieces with advanced complications to add value to his customer. In 2023, Frederique Constant celebrates its 35th year anniversary and 15 years of its first tourbillon, and Eggerding hints at something special in the works.
Photo: The Hour Glass.
He recently ventured into the metaverse, too, after being introduced to it by his son who wanted to buy skins in Roblox. “He asked once for 5 Euros to buy a Batman skin. A year later, he showed me how he could sell his skins for 500 Euros. It floored me,” Eggerding says. He admits he’ll never understand it, but has never allowed his emotions to impede business decisions. In March, Frederique Constant released 888 NFTs in the Time To Travel Worldtimer NFT collection. They sold out in a day. While not a core business strategy, Eggerding will revisit the Web3 space if it makes sense for the watchmaker.
“Ultimately, I am protective of Frederique Constant’s DNA. We are still a young watch brand and we don’t want to go too far to the edge and lose our identity.” Frederique Constant is in excellent hands.
