The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2023 - Issue 34

35th Anniversary Passion bitewatches A relatively new Swiss luxury watch brand compared to older established watch com- panies, Frédérique Constant, based in Plan-les-Quates, Geneva, was founded by Dutch entrepre- neurs and authors Peter Stas and Aletta Stas- Bax in 1988. The name derives from their great-grandparents, Frédérique Schreiner and Constant Stas; the latter established a company making clock dials for the watch in- dustry in 1904. Today, Frédérique Constant is one of the largest Swiss watch manufacturers. Previously, the couple worked at multina- tional companies in the Netherlands. Howev- er, they preferred working in an environment where they could choose their path. “We both had a passion for watches, and during a trip to Switzerland, we bought a beautiful mechanical watch for Peter,” Aletta told The Naked Watchmaker. “We noticed mechan- ical watches were expensive and wondered who could afford such a watch when you just started your career? The store had its own brand [so could] offer a lower price.” Peter and Aletta’s mission was to produce in-house mechanical watches at accessible prices, not restricting them to wealthy con- noisseurs. The first watches from the 18th Century Collection were unveiled at a Hong Kong trade show in 1992, a collection of six models with outsourced Swiss movements.