franck muller

Another year and another "world's most complicated watch." Also the 4th in the coveted Franck Muller Aeternitas watch series of high complex watches that are either amazing looking or ludicrous looking - depending on how you see it. The financially troubled brand is putting the finishing touches on this limited series (of no specific disclosed amount) watch (even though the first of them was already finished and presented to an American watch collector recently at a dinner). Inside are a whopping 36 complications! I am not going to list them all here, but you can consult with the image in the gallery below for a spec sheet of the various functions that it has. 25 of the 36 complications are visible on the dial. Franck Muller is surprisingly brief on the details. We don't know materials or size of the watch yet. I would imagine that it is on the larger side though. The movement has 1,483 parts to it! Wow, talk about complex and fragile. The watch took 5 years to design.

Some functions include, but are not limited to, a monopusher split-second chronograph (no idea how that is done with one button), a 1000 year calendar, very accurate equation of time (between solar and clock time), complex sonnerie chiming functions, multiple timezones, moon phase indicator, and of course, more. The obvious competitor to the Aeternitas Mega 4 watch is the recently released Jaeger-LeCoultre Hybris Mechanica Grande Sonnerie watch. While the Hybris Mechanica only has 25 complications, it is arguably more pleasing to the eyes. Plus, for a bit less price you get three watches and a fancy safe.

The Franck Muller Aeternitas 4 watch is the high horology equivalent of a fancy Texas Instruments graphing calculator. Sure it does a lot and it gets us mechanical nerds excited, but it isn't going to get you any action from the ladies (but sharing with them the price tag of $2.7 million might).

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com

I recently spoke about Arnold Schwarzenegger visiting a Franck Muller store. He might have gone in to check out a watch such as this. Right out of a financially troubled Franck Muller comes this beast of a luxury timepiece. I've never seen anything like it from the brand, and this Conquistador Singapore Grand Prix watch certainly is aimed at one of the few places right now where you can bet on luxury watch sales still taking place.

There are other versions of this new style Conquistador watch. The dramatic colors and design are what really get me. It is like Franck Muller is targeting Roger Dubuis in some odd manner it seems with these "talk to me designs." This particular watch looks like a perfect compliment to Batman's The Joker attire. Don't you think?

Case comes in two forms. Either titanium and ergal (a type of aluminum alloy - think the red color on the watch case) or titanium and 18k rose gold. Size is 48mm wide by 62mm tall, and 14mm thick. Front and rear crystal is sapphire, of course. Inside the "statement rich" timepiece is an automatic Franck Muller FM caliber 7000 chronograph movement. Notable is the high level of decoration and platinum automatic rotor in the movement. The watch is limited to 80 pieces in the titanium and ergal, and 80 pieces in the titanium and gold.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

The State of California and the watch maker brand and group Franck Muller have something in common. They are both in dire financial straights. Both have likely over extended themselves financially, and both seem to continue in operation somehow.

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was recently spotted in Milan, Italy shopping at a Franck Muller boutique store. While Schwarzenegger is a well known watch lover, I was not previously aware that he was a fan of Franck Muller timepieces. Now I know. For those of you that don't know, Arnold is a big fan of big watches. Luxury watch brands have been known to make special timepieces just for him. One relatively recent watch I hear that he purchased was sized at a whopping 60mm wide. To my knowledge, Franck Muller doesn't make anything this large, but they have some hefty timepieces.

The reports aren't clear as to what, if anything Schwarzenegger purchased. He spent some time in the store, as you can see by the candid security camera images. Perhaps if he is helping to save one fiscally troubled entity, he might also refocus his efforts on the State over which he is currently presiding as governor - that probably needs his help more.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Via Business Montres (in French).

Pierre Kunz could be another luxury watch brand that will fall victim to "the crisis" or as the luxury watch industry is less than affectionately referring to the current economic downturn. I reported a while ago that Franck Muller was about to cut a large number of jobs. Looks like things are worse than expected at the company who owns watch brand Pierre Kunz, among a couple of other more boutique brands - Pierre Kunz being the most well known. According to the Tribune De Geneve, Franck Muller can "no longer support its young brands." It is unclear whether this means Franck Muller operated brands like Pierre Kunz will cease operation, be sold, or be "consolidated" somehow.

Pierre Kunz has some innovative and beautiful models under its catalog including the pictured G703 T STR Tourbillon and the Infinity Looping Black Steel watches. They have even announced new watches recently. In instances where a brand is highly marketable but its parent company does not have the funds to continue to support it, there is often an interested outside buyer who will save the small manufacture. It is unclear in today's economy how likely this is for Pierre Kunz. Other Franck Muller brands likely to kick the bucket are ECW, Rodolphe, and Barthelay.

Via WorldTempus (in mostly French).

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Metaphorically related to the name behind the "Crazy Hours" watch pictured above, times are crazy at Swiss Franck Muller, which this month is beginning a round of layoffs designed to help maintain survival for this luxury watchmaker. The company has been quiet the last couple of years, but for a while in the early 2000s, was one of the most popular luxury watch makers with their flamboyant good looks. Now, the 550-person company is feeling the sting of the economy and is letting go at least 92 people, a large chunk of their work force. The good news at least is that the people being escorted out will have a nice severance package to enjoy, based on their seniority in the company, and dependents. The truth is that European companies are loathe to engage in mass layoffs given the often personal relationships they enjoy with their employees. Only grave times call for such action, and the parties affected are often always taken care of to the best of the company's abilities. This is in stark contrast to the US, where layoffs are often complimented with just 2 weeks pay, no pension, and a friendly "get the hell out of here."

In addition to the friendly treatment the ex Franck Muller employees are getting, Franck Muller is also hiring a professional "career repositioning firm" whose goal it is to help the laid-off employees find new jobs! Wow. The problems at Franck Muller are not unique, as vastly decreased luxury watch sales are common across the board these days.

Ariel Adams publishes the popular watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

There's a commercial on television with Jessica Simpson in her full Daisy Dukes attire going on about some HDTV. At the end she says, "I don't what that means but I want it." I feel a bit like that about the Franck Muller Aeternitas watch. Do you really need a watch that can go for 1,000 years without a correction? Probably not but still it's an amazing accomplishment.

One look at the Franck Muller Aeternitas and you can tell it has a lot going on. This watch is for those who really get into complex mechanical complications. Instead of a regular perpetual calendar this watch is designed to follow a 1,000 year cycle without correction and takes into account the rule governing the Gregorian calendar. An article in Europastar breaks down the details. The watch comes in four version and uses a Cintrée Curvex curved automatic movement. The traditional perpetual calendar has the day, date, month and moon phases taking in to account the variations in each month. It also takes into account leap years but hast to be adjusted three times in a row every 100 years because in the Gregorian calendar every 400 years, the leap year is canceled for three centuries in a row and is re-established on the fourth century. The Aeternitas eternal calendar is a module on the watch which takes this into account. It has two sets of wheels, the first is a set of a wheel of 10 years, a wheel of 100 years and a wheel of 1,000 years; the second set is designed for the setting. The watch also has the retrograde date at 12 o'clock, days, months, 24h day and night, normal leap year cycle and indicates the time equation. The equation of time is coupled with the calendar, which means that even when the watch is not wound for many years, at the moment of its correction, the equation of time follows the calendar.

With so many complications to keep track of and that big tourbillon obliterating the six o clock spot, the dial is a bit cluttered. It's a bit of a case of Dance Ten, Looks Three. The watch sells for around one million euros. Pricey yes, but consider it a bet that the world as it is will continue another thousand years (and looking at it that way it works out to only 1,000 euros per year).