Above: Aeternitas Mega details
In 1991, master watchmaker Franck Muller and watch case specialist Vartan Sirmakes united their passions and founded the Franck Muller brand. Established in Geneva, the very heartland of watchmaking, the company has always stayed true to its goal of creating remarkable, prestigious timepieces that honour the mastery of Haute Horlogerie through unique designs and complicated movements.
Although a relatively young company, Franck Muller’s watchmaking expertise has seen the brand gain an impressive reputation over the last thirty years. Their bold designs, innovative ideas and unmatched craftsmanship have positioned the company’s phenomenal timepieces in line with the world’s horology elite, including being awarded the first prize in the men’s category of the Genève Watchmaking Grand Prix in 2002.
Located in a 1905 mansion in Genthod overlooking Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc, the Franck Muller workshop is an inspiring place that pays homage to the artistry and legacy of fine Swiss watchmaking. Within these hallowed walls, each exquisite timepiece is lovingly invented, designed and crafted — carefully taking shape from the initial sketches to the final prototype. One of the most notable timepieces to emerge from this workshop is the Aeternitas Mega. Renowned as the world’s most complex wristwatch, it features 1483 components with 36 complications and a 1000-year calendar.
Above: The Franck Muller manufacture is located in a 1905 mansion in Genthod overlooking Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc.
Although all their creations boast extraordinary workmanship, there is one watch element that Franck Muller is exceptionally skilled at making: the tourbillon. The brand’s history has been marked by a series of impressive achievements with this mechanical piece, including the creation of the first bi- and tri-axial tourbillons, plus the design of the world’s smallest, largest and fastest tourbillon, making them veritable masters in this field.
To honour the company’s excellence in this regard, Franck Muller released the Curvex™ CX Grand Central Tourbillon collection, where the tourbillon is placed front and centre in the timepiece. The design, which references another one of the brand’s impressive claims to fame — it was the world’s first watchmaker to put a tourbillon on the face of a wristwatch — was no easy feat. It took two years of meticulous research and development to get the central positioning of the tourbillon just right.
To successfully achieve this perfect layout, the time display needed to be innovatively rethought, resulting in the hour and second hands being placed around the tourbillon cage. This is then housed in a modern, redesigned Cintrée Curvex™ case, where the sapphire crystal face extends down to the hand-sewn alligator-leather strap, giving incredible visibility to the dial. Further adding to its allure, the watch has a self-winding movement operated by an eccentric micro-rotor, delivering four days of power reserve.
Above: The Curvex™ CX Grand Central Tourbillon.
Like the Curvex™ CX Grand Central Tourbillon, the Franck Muller Vanguard™ Revolution 3 Skeleton is another creation that presents an exceptional technical spectacle. Featuring a breathtaking skeleton movement, this timepiece stylishly reveals open-worked black bridges and red aluminium indicators, offering a glimpse at one of horology’s most beautiful mechanisms: the tri-axial tourbillon.
Unlike the classic, vertical only compensating tourbillon, the tri-axial tourbillon is a mechanical marvel that corrects the force of gravity in all positions. A highly complex invention, it slowly turns through the one-hour, eight-minute and sixty-second cycles of its three carriages while the balance wheel is activated five times per second using power from the gear train. This means there is significant resistance for the gear to overcome, and an abundance of energy is needed — as such, the movement comes with a sizeable ten-day power reserve. To further highlight the magnificence of the tri-axial tourbillon, the watch features a unique sapphire dome on the front and back that is set in a grade-two titanium case treated with a black PVD coating. The red Alcantara® strap, which effortlessly moulds to the shape of the wrist, completes the elegant aesthetic, complementing the movement’s red decorations.
Also part of this collection is the striking Vanguard™ Rose Skeleton timepiece. Boasting a more feminine design, it celebrates Mother Earth with blooming rose motifs hand-painted on the openwork dial. A display of mechanical genius, the tenacity of this design lies in the integration of the roses into the mechanism: instead of just being placed as ornaments on the movement, they are cut from the bridges and the bottom plate, linking the mechanical movements together. The studded balance and the handmade beveling further enhance the watch’s beauty, and those looking to add an extra dash of pizzazz can opt to have diamonds set onto the roses. Embodying the spirit of modern yet refined women, the watch is available in various colours and offers up to four days of power reserve.
Above: The Vanguard™ Revolution 3 Skeleton with a red Alcantara® strap.
Above:The Vanguard™ Rose Skeleton in red.
Adding to its already eye-pleasing array of timepieces, Franck Muller has released another beguiling creation celebrating its thirtieth anniversary: a new rendition of its iconic Crazy Hours complication. Housed in the brand’s characteristic curved Cintrée Curvex™ case, this one-of-a-kind watch combines iconic symbols, such as the famous colour dreams numerals and hologram numbers, with the mind-bending Crazy Hours movement.
The collection, which has an untraditional arrangement of digits, features an incredible mechanical movement that allows the hour hand to cleverly jump from one hour to the next in the correct order. Thus, to read the time, one simply notes the number indicated by the hour hand, while the minute hand follows a traditional sixty-minute cycle. A demonstration of genuine horological talent, this remarkable wristwatch flaunts a new philosophy of time, where the 59th minute of each hour is patiently awaited, just so that the hypnotising jump of the hour hand can be seen once again.
Different from the other timepieces in this collection, the Crazy Hours Thirtieth Anniversary boasts a redesigned dial with off-centred hour numbers. The stamped guilloché with a sun pattern and hologram numbers signifies Franck Muller’s anniversary with the number thirty hand-set with twenty brilliant-cut diamonds — a true work of art worthy of this momentous occasion.
Above: Crazy Hours Thirtieth Anniversary with Franck Muller’s iconic colour dreams numerals.
To find out more about Franck Muller and its timepieces, visit the website, Facebook page or Instagram profile.