One of the most remarkable rises to fame in modern watchmaking isn’t a brand or even an independent maker. Rather, it’s a former financial auditor turned watch modifier named Romeric André who has perfected the fine art of watch humour, making witty statements on the tiny canvases of watch dials, all under the name of seconde/seconde.

First, starting with customising one-off vintage pieces, as seconde/seconde rose in fame, he started on limited editions and collaborations, each tailored to the identity and story of the watch, to create something remarkable that often accentuates the overall premise of the watch he works on. This is exactly the case with the seconde/seconde twist on the Frederique Constant Slimline Moonphase Date Manufacture limited editions, offered in two versions, steel or steel with rose gold highlights.

For his first collab with Frederique Constant, seconde/seconde left the cartoon characters and witty wordplay at home, instead choosing to shine a light on the ‘hand-made’ nature of fine watches. A quick passing glance at this watch and you might not notice anything amiss. Look closer, though, and the hour markers are scattered all over the dial — a far cry from their typical orderly alignment. Look closer still, and the perfectly printed dial text — from the brand name to the pointer date and even the ‘Swiss Made’ text is seemingly hand drawn. This cartoonish quality extends to the moonphase display, where the moon looks less than perfectly spherical, and the stars a little squiggly.

The rationale for this charmingly unhinged take on Swiss precision can be found on the caseback; “How do we tell the world that manual assembly is at the core of our Manufacture? We asked artist seconde/seconde/. He took it too far.” Of course, the ‘he took it too far’ line is slight hyperbole, as the artist’s treatment doesn’t detract at all from the charm of the Slimline Moonphase Date Manufacture design — instead, it accentuates everything that makes the watch great and makes it even greater.