Franck Muller

Franck Muller (born July 1958) is a noted Swiss watchmaker known for creating complicated timepieces. His brand of watches carries the slogan, "Master of Complications".

Its timepieces are appreciated by some watch enthusiasts.

Franck Muller watches are worn by various celebrities, among them: Demi Moore, Robin Williams and Elton John.

Franck Muller timepieces are famous for their fusion of "modern" style (mostly inspired by American watches from the thirties, like Elgin tonneau) and traditional Swiss watch manufacturing. The president of the company that holds its name is a watchmaker himself. He claims to design the mechanism of every watch by himself.

Biography

Franck Muller was born in 1958. He spent his childhood in La Chaux-de-Fonds with his Italian mother and Swiss-born father. When 15, he enrolled in a watchmaking school.

In the early 1980s, he graduated from the Swiss school of watchmaking ( _fr. Ecole Horlogerie de Genève). Afterwards he began repairing top-quality pocket watches. Close to an independent watchmaker by the name of Svend Andersen, Franck Muller became responsible for handling watches from the collection of Patek Philippe.

Most of the clientele were private individuals and museums. While he was working with complicated timepieces, he became passionate about their mechanisms and began to think of building his own workshop.

Business

Very soon, in 1984, Franck Muller designed his own tourbillon wristwatch. In the 1980s, few watchmakers were capable of creating such complicated timepieces, among them Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin. The private clients of Franck Muller continued to come for new timepieces and thus his business started growing.

The House of Franck Muller opened in 1991 and his ultra complicated timepieces instantly became famous in Europe and the United States. Today his factory, which is also the headquarters of Franck Muller, produces a limited number of watches for private clientele. Today, Franck Muller's collections include a variety of designs and price ranges.

He thought of building a factory in the heart of Genthod, a village situated outside of Geneva. Surrounded by a vineyard-covered hill and Lake Geneva, he is continuously inspired to create new original, complicated and exclusive watches.

He knows that the first thing that catches the eye of the client is the design of a watch. This is why he created a well-known Curvex Tonneau case, easily recognizable on any wrist. Today, collections of watches from Franck Muller include: Chronograph, Color Dreams, Tourbillon and Conquistador Cortez King.

World Premieres

Franck Muller is also known for its "World Premiers". Each year, the manufacturer launches at least one new line of timepieces featuring something special and exclusive, that has never seen before in the watchmaking industry. The first such world premiere was launched in 1993. It had split seconds chronograph minute repeater as well as a perpetual calendar. In addition, it included an indicator showing the internal temperature.

Many of the world premieres from Franck Muller are patented. It is important to know that all Franck Muller watches are mechanical, having either a manual or self-winding movements. That said, it is important to note that some of their watches use movements based on standard ETA calibers, refinished or not.

Notable timepieces include Revolution2, Revolution3, Crazy Hours and Colour Dreams. Further examples of Franck Muller's watches include the Endurance, which is a simple chronograph, the Master Banker, which is a tonneau-shaped watch capable of multiple time zone indication, and the Curvex Minute Repeater Tourbillon, whose production is limited to 25 pieces.

Legal Issues

Franck Muller has been in the heart of a huge legal issue, concerning the founder, M. Muller, and his associate, Vartan Sirmakes. Mutual accusations, concerning fictive employees, tax evasion, and even drug use have tarnished Franck Muller's reputation.

Also, a persistent rumor has stated that Franck Muller ordered a batch of 10.000 Russian chronograph movements, some of which found their way into regular production watches. At the time, Franck Muller stated that they had indeed bought a batch of movements, but only for R&D needs.

Lately, M. Muller and M. Sirmakes finally reached a financial agreement, and all accusations were withdrawn.

Notable timepieces

* Aeternitas
* Revolution2
* Revolution3
* Crazy Hours
* Colour Dreams

External links

* [http://www.franckmullerusa.com/ Official US website]
* [http://www.franckmullerwatches.co.uk/ Official UK website]
* [http://www.franckmuller-japan.com/ Official Japanese website]