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Brand News: Frederique Constant’s New HeartBeat Watch; Two Diamond Veterans Join Synthetics Company January 27, 2016 (0 comments)
Frederique Constant Introduces The New Slimline Auto Heart Beat
Geneva, Switzerland—Swiss watch manufacturer Frederique Constant this year is enhancing its Slimline collection and introducing the new Slimline Auto Heart Beat.
Three brand new models are among the slimmest of Frederique Constant, with 40 mm cases available in polished stainless steel or rose gold plated, A jeweled mechanism is visible through the dial at 12 o'clock.
The Slimline Auto Heart Beat timepieces incorporate extreme simplicity with thin polished baton-type hour markers and dark grey or silver dial.
It houses the FC-312 caliber, an automatic movement that is one of the most slender in its category and drives the heart beat, hours, and minutes functions. This movement beats at a frequency of 28,800 alt/h, has 25 jewels and a 42-hour power reserve. The case is water-resistant down to 30 ATM. The watches come with an alligator strap, either black or brown depending on case color.
Two versions of the new Slimline Auto Heart Beat watch.
Manmade Diamond Foundry Hires Two Industry Veterans
San Carlos, CA—Diamond Foundry, the manmade diamond company that counts Academy Award-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio among its investors, has hired luxury diamond jewelry veterans Maarten de Witte (below left) and Israel Itzkowitz (below right).
De Witte, a master diamond cutter and brand builder, has been involved with gem diamonds for more than 40 years. Perhaps best known as the “Diamond Wizard” at Hearts On Fire, he traveled to jewelry stores around the country for in-store cutting demonstrations for the brand. De Witte also has served as director of the American School of Diamond Cutting, shop foreman for EightStar Diamonds, and executive director, USA, for Canadian-based EmBee Diamonds.
Israel Itzkowitz also has joined the company as master cutter. Itzkowitz, who began cutting diamonds at age 13, innovatively applied the proportions of brilliant cutting to a square diamond, rocketing the princess cut to the most popular style after the round brilliant. Over the years, Itzkowitz developed iconic private label designs for such notable names as De Beers, Tiffany & Co., and Graff. Itzkowitz has been particularly renowned since the 1980s for his invisibly-set designs incorporating a delicately-crafted continuous setting with no spaces or prongs. In 1991, Itzkowitz won the Platinum Guild award for Design, and in 2008, Itzkowitz perfected an Asscher cut princess.
“A diamond is a diamond is a diamond,” commented Itzkowitz after inspecting diamond created at Diamond Foundry. “I am impressed with the quality of the diamond gemstones made at Diamond Foundry. This is the future of the industry.”