Peter Stas is a discreet man whose name and face have been part of the watchmaking landscape since 1988, the year he founded Frederique Constant. Convinced that luxury watchmaking should and could be more accessible, the then 25-year-old Dutchman threw himself, together with his wife Aletta, into creating a brand that would take up the classic codes of watchmaking and offer them at the best possible price.
On this page
- Which watch are you wearing as we speak?
- What is your greatest watchmaking achievement?
- What is your favourite watch complication?
- What passions do you have besides watchmaking?
- What is your dream car?
- What is your favourite wine?
- How would you define luxury?
- Which brand best embodies luxury in your view?
- Who inspires you?
- Which quality do you value most in others, and which flaw do you wish you didn’t have?
- Is there a quote you are particularly fond of?
- What time is it?
This innovative approach brought them swift and lasting success. In 2002 Peter and Aletta Stas acquired the Alpina brand to offer watches with a sporty, innovative character, still in the spirit of “accessible luxury”. But Peter Stas’s passion for watchmaking drove him, in 2009, to create a Haute Horlogerie brand with his longtime watchmaker partner Pim Koeslag.
Frederique Constant, whose name combines the first names of Aletta’s grandmother (Frédérique) and Peter’s grandfather (Constant), is now a group. In 2016 it was acquired by the Japanese giant Citizen, which asked Peter to keep driving its development as President of the group. In France, the group is represented by Yohan Bizy, President of Templus, the French subsidiary of the Citizen / Frederique Constant group.
Let’s get to know Peter Stas, a 56-year-old family man, Harvard graduate, native of Gouda in the Netherlands, and brilliant business leader.
Which watch are you wearing as we speak?
I’m wearing a Frederique Constant Hybrid Manufacture.
What is your greatest watchmaking achievement?
Apart from building our group and its success, if I had to pick one of our watches, it would be our Frederique Constant Heart Beat Tourbillon with silicon escapement, launched in 2008.
What is your favourite watch complication?
The combination of the perpetual calendar and the tourbillon.
What passions do you have besides watchmaking?
I’m Dutch, so I love sailing! I also really enjoy reading.
What is your dream car?
The Tesla… and I’m lucky enough to drive one.
What is your favourite wine?
Château Margaux
How would you define luxury?
For me, luxury is defined by an infinity of small things. Attention to detail and craftsmanship are the keys.
Which brand best embodies luxury in your view?
Hermès
Who inspires you?
Bernard Arnault, the chairman of LVMH.
Which quality do you value most in others, and which flaw do you wish you didn’t have?
Loyalty is the quality I value most, and the flaw I wish I didn’t have is impatience…
Is there a quote you are particularly fond of?
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
What time is it?
6:00 a.m…. calm and serenity before the challenge of a very busy day.
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