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Franck Muller is known by his peers as the “Master of Complications”, find out why?

Franck Muller Watch

Franck Muller is known by his peers as the “Master of Complications”.  As child his interest in what makes clock “tick” set him off to study watch making at the prestigious Geneva School of Watch on 1981. After four years of extensive studies with him graduating with honours, Muller decided to set up how own shop as opposed to joining the already established watch companies. Franck Muller is a watch-maker in the truest sense of the word.

In no time, Muller’s reputation as an excellent watch maker spread.  Watch collectors and prominent auction houses were sending Muller time pieces for repair.  In 1983, Muller presented his first line of wristwatches. Each year from then on he unveils a new creation and invention.  The first watch that premiered under Franck Muller was the Long Island Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Dia.  The Revolution Tourbillon is a “flying tourbillon” where the tourbillion carriage comes up levelled to the sapphire glass and remains so until the push-button is released.  The hour and minute hands “fly” to 12 o-clock then “fly” back to the real time when the push-button is released. His first patent was The Tourbillon (1983) where a single axis was used.  A classic example of this invention is the Crazy-Hour Tourbillon. The watch is unique because aside from the new concept-tourbillion, the numbers on the dial are not in the expected sequence. The normal 1 to 12 clockwise rotation does not happen as the numbers skip all over the dial.

Other inventions that premiered are:  Revolution 2 Tourbillon; Totally Crazy; Master Banker Lunar Tourbillon; Crazy Hour Tourbillon; Minute Repeater Tourbillon; Irregular Retrogade Hour with Moon Phases and the Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar and the Curvex Minute Repeater Tourbillon of which there are only 25 pieces made.

In 1992 Franck Muller established his own watch company aptly named The House of Franck Muller. He was compelled to establish a watch factory for his growing clientele. In 1998 marked the year that Franck Muller conceptualized, designed and created the “most complicated” watch in the history of watch-making. The wristwatch is combination of Petite  and Grande Sonnerie with 3 positions, a flying Tourbillon,  Perpetual Calendar with a traditional monthly equation, 24-hour indicator, Minute Repeater,  a split-second Chronograph with a 60-minute timer, an internal temperature indicator, a power-reserve movement and a power-reserve striking-mechanism.

In 2001 Muller saw to the construction of the “Watchland”- his company’s factory where guests can make appointments to tour the place. This concept made it possible for the public to view the manufacture and assembly of a watch from start to finish.

Today Franck Muller creations are more accessible to consumers as production does not depend on personal orders anymore. There are now dealers from the United States and Canada. Franck Muller watches are elegant, efficient, innovative and precise aside from being “quite” complicated. Each Franck Muller watch is stamped with the words “Master of Complications”. The phrase could be taken literally or figuratively. Telling the time using Franck Muller’s Crazy Hour watch is such an ingenious and fun idea. Truly the man has every right to be called a genius!

To date, Franck Muller has several collections that showcase his innovations and talent.  The Mariner debuted in 2008 and is a chronograph that displays hours and minutes, seconds and date.  The Cintree Curvex is a complicated watch but with new contour.  Other collection lines are: Casablanca; Chronograph; Colour Dreams; Conquistador; the Jewellery line; Long Island line; Master Banker; Master Calendar; Perpetual Calendar; the Tourbillon and the Grandprix.

The Colour Dreams collection is for the young-at-heart as the very colourful watches in Crazy Hour or Master Square details are “hip” and “young”.  The Perpetual calendar will give its wearer the most accurate reading of time.  The Jewellery line has the accuracy and precision of a Franck Muller watch plus Top Wesselton diamonds.

Franck Muller merges the traditional and the modern to make beautiful and precise one-of-a-kind watches.

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 22nd, 2010 at 11:20 am and is filed under Franck Muller, Watch Info and tagged with Casablanca, Chronograph, Colour Dreams, Conquistador, franck muller, Frank muller, Grandprix, Long Island line, Master Banker, Master Calendar, muller, Perpetual Calendar, the Jewellery line, the Tourbillon. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.