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The company was founded in 1988 by Aletta Francoise Frédérique Stas-Bax and Peter Constant Stas (a Dutch couple). The name is derived from the names of each founder's great-grandparents - specifically Frédérique Schreiner (1881-1969) and Constant Stas (1880-1967), the latter of whom founded a company producing dials for watches in 1904.

To diversify the Frédérique Constant group, Aletta and her husband acquired Alpina Watches in 2002, a manufacturer of Swiss sports watches founded in 1883.

Frederique Constant has become one of the larger Swiss watch brands. In 2011, production reached more than 120,000 watches. The watches are sold in more than 2,700 retail outlets in more than 100 countries. Frederique Constant positions itself in the accessible luxury segment, with most of its watches sold in the CHF 1,000-5,000 retail price range. In 2011, the company reported that it expected to continue to grow annually at a rate of 25%, doubling in size every three years.

In 2013, Aletta and Peter Stas (along with two other employees) wrote a book entitled "Live Your Passion - Building a Watch Factory," about their passion for watchmaking and the history of Frederique Constant.

In May 2016, Citizen Holdings (which also owns Bulova) announced its intention to acquire Frederique Constant Holding SA, including Union Horlogère Holding B.V., which in turn included Frederique Constant SA, Alpina Watches International SA and Ateliers deMonaco SA. In the same year, the Frederique Constant Group acquired its main distributors, including its largest market, Macher SA in Switzerland, founded in 2002 by Alexis Gouten.