Lake Success: Frederique Constant Continues Its Collaboration with Riva Boats

If you have had the opportunity to spend your summer vacation on Lake Como – heck, even if you’ve only ever screened The Talented Mr. Ripley – you know that the Italians have mastered laid-back, lakefront chic. Stunning scenery and stylish summer suits and dresses help sell the promise of summer romance, but the perfect holiday would not be complete without the boats.

Perhaps the most enduring image of the “dolce vita lago” is the beautiful people skipping across the water in a legendary Riva Runabout pleasure boat.
 

Built by Carlo Riva and inspired by American luxury cars, these timeless vessels – known for their polished wood, gleaming chrome, and glistening glass – were introduced in the 1930s but are still considered the epitome of Italian waterway elegance today.

Since 2009, Frederique Constant has celebrated these beautiful boats through a series of limited-edition timepieces named “Runabout.”
 

Now, the brand’s latest Runabout launches – 36mm and 42mm limited-edition releases created in collaboration with the Riva Historical Society – pay tribute to Italian waterways themselves with a bright blue dial.

Let’s take a leisurely look at this lake-inspired timepiece.

As you know, the story of the family-owned, Geneva-based Frederique Constant started in 1988. In that same year, a few hundred kilometers further south in Italy, the Riva Historical Society was founded to preserve one of the country’s most celebrated icons: the legendary Riva, a motorboat maker whose early models epitomized a relaxed coastal existence.

Jumping ahead to 2013, the brand and the non-profit decided to partner up to create limited-edition watches that will pay homage to these historic vessels and help support efforts to preserve them. And since Frederique Constant’s whole mission is to provide accessible luxury, these limited editions also allow dreamers to get as close to the Riva experience as possible without actually owning one.
 

The schedule for these launches is usually every two years, with the most recent editions being chronographs in 2020 and 2021 and a classic three-handed in 2023.

However, for 2024, the collaboration combines elements of all these predecessors. That is why the new Classics Runabout Automatic is a three-handed-plus-date edition featuring a bold and sporty dial that evokes the speed and sleekness of the Riva Runabout.
 

And with its rounded case – available in either 36 or 42mm – the new Runabout looks as if it could just as easily skip across the calm lake waters as easily as a smooth pebble or a racing boat. 

Because even the calmest waters reflect the light of the sun and the moon, the defining feature of this year’s editions (and a first for the collection) is an electric blue dial that mimics the azure blue of Italy’s lakes and coastlines.
 

The play of light is also emphasized by the numerous decorations on the dial, each reflecting the light in its own way. The Classics Runabout collection’s characteristic Clou de Paris guilloche finish pulls the light deep into the recesses of its pyramid-studded surface.

A satin-polished finish on the hour circle radiates a gentle glow. And in another first for this series, the hour and minute hands are painted with a teal-tinted lume to match the dial. Then, to complement these textures, the stainless steel case has been mirror-polished.
 

Like the speedboat, these two new Classics Runabouts are long on style, engineering, and performance. Thus, the watches are powered by the Sellita-based FC-303 automatic movement with a 38-hour power reserve and water resistance of 50 meters.