Frederique Constant Men's FC-303S5B6 Classics Index Analog Display Automatic Self Wind Black Watch

Being a big fan of Omega, I was about to pull the trigger on a new Deville before I came across this brand. It’s exactly what I was looking for in a quality dress watch and is an absolute steal at this price. These photos won’t do it justice. It’s the real deal and must be experienced in person. Classic, elegant, accurate. What else can you ask for?

Needed a decent dress watch but hesitant to spend a lot of money on one (my other watches are all divers or chronographs, & wasn't sure if this "style" would suit me), so I figured I would get this as a trial due to it's very "Calatrava homage" classic look and 40mm size. It fits the bill very well, and has persuaded me that my next watch purchase will be a similarly styled piece. I love the way it makes me feel "put together" when worn with a dressier outfit.My only 2 complaints are these:1) The strap needed to be immediately replaced with one more "substantial". I went with alligator-embossed Hirsch Duke straps in dark blue and dark brown which pulls it all together. The stock strap was FC's thin, poorly bonded "croco calf" (I also have their Breguet homage, the FC-303MC4P6, and that strap was also substandard, and quickly replaced). It creases very easily, and the top layer of embossed leather separates within a few wears. A small gripe however, as the replacement straps were <$50 and make the watch (both watches) much better wearing, in my humble opinion.2) The crown is rather large and protrudes from the side of the case a bit too much. Mine is also a little stiff and difficult to wind, but that's a minor inconvenience, as the FC-303 (SW300) winds up without any trouble whenever it's time to set & wear it.Time keeping averages +3 sec/day on my wrist, which is more than acceptable and even a bit remarkable for a watch at this price range.Power reserve seems to be quite a bit less than the advertised 40 hrs, but I haven't really honestly tracked it, as I only wear it when my other watches would be out of place. I'm sure that it would be more than adequate if worn daily.It wears average for it's size, not too big and not too small. I find that a 38-40mm diameter is perfect for me in a dressy watch. A little on the thick side, but not enough to complain about at all. (10.3mm thick, according to FC website.)The dial and indices are finished well enough, with flaws only visible under magnification or with close inspection by a very sharp eye.All in all, a solid purchase that I would highly recommend to anyone seeking a great value in a Swiss-made dressy watch. You truly get more than you are paying for with Freddy C.

I have very mixed feelings about this watch. That is why I gave it 3 out of 5 stars.One the positive side, I really love the design. I have never ever seen any other automatic watch that were so elegant.On the negative side, I have serious concerns about the quality of Frederique Constant products. I weared my watch carefully everyday, and I needed to wind it manually only once in a couple of weeks. So, I was very surprised that my watch had been gradually behaving worse and worse. First, it began to stop spontaneously. Then, it began to refuse running immediately after winding. After some time, I noticed that automatic winding mechanism had not been able to reserve enough energy to keep the watch running overnight, and I began to find the watch stopped in the morning. Finally, one morning, I felt a strong resistance of a crown when I wanted to wind the watch. At that moment, I decided to not wind them, because I was afraid to damage the mechanism. Now, I am in search of a watch repair shop...P.S. I purchased this brand new watch 15 months ago.Upd. (Jul 1, 2016). I have reduced the rating from 3 to 2 stars. I visited a watch repairer and he told there is no economical sense in repairing that. He explained that Frederique Constant takes a movement available on the market and fine tune it. As a result of that "fine tuning", the quality of the movement significantly worsens, and the movement becomes no longer interchangeable with ones available on the market. He could not spot the problem immediately. He said, he would need to completely disassemble the movement. He did not recommend that for economical reasons and recommended to choose a new watch from different brand.

What a beautiful, classic, and simple design. The band may be a little stiff at first but it helps keep its shape around your wrist. The indices' are cut at an angle to allow light to bring them to life and shine. Accurate to a fault...I could really use an extra minute some days.This is what I wanted and this is what I received.

This watch has a simple, elegant, understated yet sophisticated design. I have looked around for several years for a watch like this and it is exactly what I want.Each watch is different and mine is running about 10 seconds fast per day. This is acceptable to me and it's easy to correct vs having a mechanism that is slow and then having to reset the watch daily.I was very hesitant to purchase something so expensive online but I am glad I did.Overall I am very satisfied.

This is a fantastic watch for the discounted price on Amazon. It is very attractive and wears well. A swiss automatic for this price is a steal.Unfortunately, the one I received ran 24 seconds/day slow, well outside Frederique-Constant's specs for this watch (-5 to +15), so I am returning it.I think I just got a lemon, as FC watches have a good reputation. Oh well.

I sent the watch to my friend, this month he told me the watch stopped while he took off on the night, the next day he put on it and adjust it to right time, it run again. I wonder to know why the watch stop while it took off? Does it have some problem?

Good Quality