If you are going to give your watch brand a tagline, “Master of Complications” is a pretty good one. Founded in 1991 by casing and gem expert Vartan Sirmakes and…you guessed it…Franck Muller, they are responsible for some of the most visually exciting and technologically impressive watches on the market. In fact, Franck Muller holds the title of "World's most complicated wrist watch” with its Aeternitas Mega, a piece featuring no fewer than 36 complications and well over 1000 components. However, measuring 42mm wide, 61mm long, and 19.15mm thick, you really do need arms like Popeye to pull it off. Thankfully though, there are plenty of models in the Franck Muller range for those of us with more sensibly sized limbs.
Franck Muller's The Crazy Hours
The watch industry more than most is conservative, and for many who operate within it, tradition trumps change every time. Not so for Franck Muller, who in 2003 introduced perhaps their most iconic watch, the Crazy Hours. Utilising a jump hour mechanism, the dial displays its numerals in an apparently random jumble with the hour hand leaping accurately from one to the next every 60 minutes whilst keeping perfect time.
FRANCK MULLER - an 18ct yellow gold Crazy Color Dreams wrist watch, 34x41mm.
Price Realised: £5,980
Anybody who has worn a watch with a twenty-four hour dial like the Breitling Cosmonaute for example, knows just how tricky it is to recalibrate that bit of the brain that tells the time. At least initially, it requires a lot more conscious effort than a conventional timepiece. I’ve not had the fortune of spending a prolonged period with a Crazy Hours style watch, but can only imagine it is the best thing since sudoku for keeping your noggin in tip-top condition.
A Unique Approach to Watches
In 2004, a year after the introduction of its Crazy Hours complication, Franck Muller created another world first in the form of a tri-axial tourbillon. Rather than the conventional tourbillon which only negates the effects of gravity in vertical positions, this three-axis version corrects these forces in all positions. And if that wasn’t enough, this watch named the Revolution 3, was further developed later on to include a perpetual calendar; the Evolution 3.1.
Whilst we won’t be seeing any of these mega complication pieces in the next luxury watch sale, we do have three other models from the Genève manufacturer up for grabs. Like the Crazy Colour Dreams watch above, two of the other lots feature the signature case style used by Franck Muller since 1987. Named Cintrée Curvex, the aesthetic provides a refreshing alternative to the round or rectangular cases seen in 99% of watches. These three-dimensional tonneau designs have subsequently become part of the brand's DNA, making them instantly recognisable in a horological sea of sameness.
Master Banker and Conquistador King by Franck Muller
The most complex of the Franck Mullers available, featuring a conventional time display with date, alongside two additional time zone indicators. Created in 1996 and named the Master Banker (before we all hated them), it too is housed in an 18ct yellow gold case with an alligator strap.
FRANCK MULLER - an 18ct yellow gold Havana Master Banker wrist watch, 31mm.
Price Realised: £4,160
If like me you prefer a bracelet rather than a leather strap on your wrist, fear not, there is an option for you too. The beefiest of the quartet is a 38mm wide stainless steel Conquistador King. A traditional three-hander with date aperture to six.
FRANCK MULLER - a stainless steel Conquistador King bracelet watch, 38mm.
Price Realised: £2,470
Franck Muller's Take on Pink
If the Pink Panther needed to be somewhere on time, he would likely be wearing this. Not only would it perfectly compliment his skin tone, but it is also likely the most accurate, being the only model in the four-lot lineup using a quartz movement. With an 18ct white gold rectangular case, this Long Island reference is the odd one out both in terms of aesthetics and mechanics. However, with the familiar Arabic numerals seen frequently throughout the catalogue, it is unmistakably Franck Muller.
The Franck Muller company, now mostly owned by co-founder and CEO Vartan Sirmakes, is as colourful as its watches. Whilst Franck Muller the man is no longer involved to the same extent, he was a rock star among watchmakers during his heyday. Friends with Elton John, he provided watches for a host of celebrities, becoming one himself to some extent. ‘Watchland’, the company’s headquarters had a reputation like that of the Playboy mansion and it seems some of the pitfalls of such a lifestyle may have taken their toll. Significant friction between the owners, controversy surrounding the use of cheap Russian movements, dishonesty, deception and even an 8-day bankruptcy all form part of the 32-year story so far.
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