Some watchmaking collaborations aim for more than simply pairing two names or two worlds. They tell a story. The one imagined by Frédérique Constant and the Légion étrangère (the French Foreign Legion) explores a universal notion: time.
On this page
- A collaboration built around time regained
- Highlife Automatic x Légion étrangère: deliberate restraint
- The seven-flame grenade, signature of the Légion étrangère
- The FC-303 calibre and three interchangeable straps
- Classics Index Small Seconds Automatic: a more civilian interpretation
- Green and red, the colours of Legion tradition
- A 39 mm case and small seconds
- 888 pieces: a nod to the Legion’s marching pace
- A presentation box that extends the collaboration
- Two watches, one shared vision of time
- Frédérique Constant Highlife Automatic x Légion étrangère
- Frédérique Constant Classics Index Small Seconds Automatic x Légion étrangère
- Frequently asked questions
Since 1831, the Légion étrangère has brought together men from all over the world around courage, commitment, loyalty and surpassing oneself in the service of France. Frédérique Constant, for its part, has built its identity around precision, the passing on of know-how and a particular vision of fine Swiss Made watchmaking.
For their first collaboration, the two worlds meet around an idea deliberately removed from depictions of military operations and feats of arms. What is celebrated here is the time that comes after: the return to comrades, family and loved ones. The time when one regains control of one’s personal time.
Two watches embody this vision: the Highlife Automatic x Légion étrangère and the Classics Index Small Seconds Automatic x Légion étrangère.
A collaboration built around time regained
The choice made by Frédérique Constant is particularly evocative. A watch measures time, but it can also symbolise the freedom to live it.
For this collaboration, the Geneva-based brand and the Légion étrangère chose to highlight personal time, precious time, the time one regains after service. This approach gives the special edition a dimension that goes beyond a mere aesthetic transposition of military emblems.
The two houses also share several stated values: precision, discipline, transmission and the demand for a well-mastered gesture.
The Légion étrangère expresses them through its traditions and its esprit de corps. The watchmaker translates them into watches designed around legibility, precision and craftsmanship.
Highlife Automatic x Légion étrangère: deliberate restraint
The first creation belongs to the Highlife Automatic collection.
Its 39 mm case alternates polished and brushed surfaces. The watch favours clear reading, with three central hands and a date display.
The dial is one of the defining features of this collaboration. Its golden sand hue draws directly on the colour palette of the Légion étrangère.
This shade gives the watch a distinctive identity while remaining true to Frédérique Constant’s watchmaking approach. It also reflects the brand’s attachment to the Swiss Made tradition, to the passing on of know-how and to high standards of workmanship.
Around the dial, the black minute track provides a sharp contrast. It underlines the precise purpose of the instrument while echoing the rigour associated with Legion discipline.
The result rests on a deliberately measured aesthetic. Nothing seems superfluous. Above all, the watch aims to be legible, precise and controlled.
The seven-flame grenade, signature of the Légion étrangère
At 6 o’clock appears one of the symbols most instantly associated with the Légion étrangère: the seven-flame grenade.
The spherical grenade, hollowed out at its centre and topped with seven stylised flames, originates from the insignia of 17th and 18th century grenadiers. The Légion étrangère has carried on that heritage and those traditions ever since.
On the Highlife Automatic, this emblem closes the dial at 6 o’clock.
It is therefore not merely a decorative element added to the watch. It is one of the main identity markers of this special edition and immediately establishes the link with the military institution.
The FC-303 calibre and three interchangeable straps
The Highlife Automatic x Légion étrangère is powered by the FC-303 calibre, sourced from La Joux-Perret.
This automatic movement offers a 68-hour power reserve.
The watch is also designed to change its look to suit the occasion, thanks to three tool-free interchangeable straps: a golden sand leather strap, a steel bracelet and a black rubber strap.
This versatility lets the piece move from a dressier expression to a more casual configuration while keeping its identity.
Classics Index Small Seconds Automatic: a more civilian interpretation
The second creation takes a different approach.
The Classics Index Small Seconds Automatic x Légion étrangère borrows the institution’s colours and some of its codes, but places them in a more classic, more civilian register, in keeping with its place in the Classics collection.
The dial thus swaps golden sand for a dark anthracite, understated and elegant.
At 12 o’clock, the “Frédérique Constant Genève” signature appears in brown. At 6 o’clock, the emblem of the Légion étrangère sits at the heart of the small seconds subdial, also rendered in brown.
A touch of red completes the composition.
It appears at the tips of the applied indexes and is the only real splash of colour on this creation.
Green and red, the colours of Legion tradition
Green and red have held a special place in the identity of the Légion étrangère since the 19th century. They appear notably on its pennants and insignia.
According to Legion tradition, green symbolises France and hope, while red evokes the blood shed in combat and the sacrifice made in the service of the mission.
Here, Frédérique Constant uses only a touch of red, deliberately discreet.
This restraint preserves the elegance of the Classics collection while creating a recognisable link with the world of the Légion étrangère.
The brand also finds in this story an echo of its own beginnings.
In 1988, two foreign entrepreneurs left the Netherlands to embark, with their own resources, on the adventure of fine Swiss Made watchmaking, with the ambition of offering authentic and accessible watches.
Nearly forty years later, Frédérique Constant thus places this new collaboration within a history that is likewise founded on commitment, perseverance and transmission.
A 39 mm case and small seconds
The Classics Index Small Seconds Automatic x Légion étrangère features a polished steel case measuring 39 mm in diameter.
Inside beats a self-winding movement.
The watch comes with two straps: one in steel, the other in brown. Its caseback is engraved with the logo of the Légion étrangère.
The whole retains the classic elegance of the collection while incorporating the distinctive signs of this collaboration.
The small seconds is naturally one of the key visual elements of this version. Placed at 6 o’clock, it hosts the emblem of the Légion étrangère and thus becomes the meeting point between watchmaking function and institutional identity.
888 pieces: a nod to the Legion’s marching pace
Both models are offered in limited editions of 888 pieces.
This number was not chosen at random.
It refers to the slow march of legionnaires on parade, at the distinctive cadence of 88 steps per minute, as well as to the eight combat regiments that make up the Force opérationnelle terrestre et de l’outre-mer.
The number 888 thus becomes another element in the story of this collaboration.
On each watch, the words “Légion étrangère” are engraved on the case, along with the inscription “L.E. Code 1831”, a reminder of the year the Légion étrangère was founded.
A discreet way of inscribing the institution’s history directly into the timepiece.
A presentation box that extends the collaboration
Both watches are presented in a wooden box specially designed for this edition.
They also come with a detachable embroidered patch, a visual signature of the collaboration between Frédérique Constant and the Légion étrangère.
The package therefore goes beyond the watch itself. The box and its accessories are part of the experience and extend the dialogue between the world of watchmaking and the codes of the Legion.
Two watches, one shared vision of time
With these two limited editions, Frédérique Constant and the Légion étrangère offer two interpretations of the same story.
The Highlife Automatic favours a sportier, more contemporary expression, with its golden sand dial, 39 mm case and three interchangeable straps.
The Classics Index Small Seconds Automatic takes a more classic approach, with its anthracite dial, small seconds and touches of red.
Beyond their aesthetic differences, the two watches come together around one idea: time as a personal space.
After the time of service comes the time of return. A time of reunions, transmission and shared moments.
A watch then accompanies this regained time in an almost intimate way. It no longer simply measures the passing hours. It also reminds us that personal time is precious precisely because it can be chosen, lived and shared.
Frédérique Constant Highlife Automatic x Légion étrangère
| Limited edition | 888 pieces |
|---|---|
| Case | steel, 39 mm |
| Movement | FC-303 calibre, sourced from La Joux-Perret |
| Winding | automatic |
| Power reserve | 68 hours |
| Functions | hours, minutes, seconds, date |
| Straps | golden sand leather, steel and black rubber |
| Interchangeability | tool-free |
| Special features | Légion étrangère emblem at 6 o’clock, “Légion étrangère” engraving and “L.E. Code 1831” inscription |
Frédérique Constant Classics Index Small Seconds Automatic x Légion étrangère
| Limited edition | 888 pieces |
|---|---|
| Case | polished steel |
| Diameter | 39 mm |
| Movement | automatic |
| Functions | hours, minutes, small seconds |
| Dial | dark anthracite, brown details and touches of red |
| Straps | steel and brown |
| Caseback | engraved Légion étrangère logo |
| Special features | “Légion étrangère” engraving and “L.E. Code 1831” inscription |
Frequently asked questions
Two watches created with the Légion étrangère (French Foreign Legion) around the idea of time regained after service: a Highlife Automatic and a Classics Index Small Seconds Automatic.
888 pieces each, a number that refers to the marching cadence of the Legion.
The automatic FC-303 calibre, sourced from La Joux-Perret, with a 68-hour power reserve. It is delivered with three tool-free interchangeable straps: golden sand leather, steel and black rubber.
It is the more civilian interpretation: a 39 mm polished case, small seconds, an anthracite dial with brown details and touches of red, on a steel and brown strap.
The seven-flame grenade, the engraved emblem, the words “Légion étrangère” and the inscription “L.E. Code 1831”, as well as green and red, the colours of Legion tradition.
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