Franck Muller - World Premieres!

Since 1986, Franck Muller has released many new World Premier Watches (now deemed The World Premiers) under the guises of Frank Genève and the now Franck Muller Genève brand. These timepieces are created using prestigious complicated mechanisms, and focus on creating something that the watch making industry has never seen before. Many of the World Premiers are now patented, adding to their value and exclusivity. Take a look at some of the accomplishments Franck Muller has made within watch making over the past 30 years:

1986 – OSCILLATION TOURBILLON WRISTWATCH

This was Franck’s second attempt at a Tourbillon wristwatch and the first timepiece that kicked off the World Premier lines. It featured his prestigious complication which he built on his own. This particular model featured jumping hours. In the following years Franck adds to his Tourbillon World Premiers by adding extra features such as minute repeaters and perpetual calendars, until he creates his first masterpiece...

1992 – THE MOST COMPLICATED WRISTWATCH IN THE WORLD

Yes, this particular wristwatch was given the title “most complicated wristwatch in the world”. It is a piece which had left its mark on the industry and will forever go down as one of his finest creations. Never before has such a complicated wristwatch been made, and this is a testament to the passion and skill possessed by Franck Muller.

The Spec: Grande and Petite Sonnerie, Minute Repeater for the hours, quarters and minutes, a perpetual calendar programmed to the year 2100 with date, day of the week, month and monthly retrograde equation, leap-year cycle, 24 hour moon phase indicator and indicator of the internal temperature of the mechanism.

1998 – THE MOST COMPLICATED WRISTWATCH IN THE WORLD

Not content with the success of his 1992 World Premier, Franck sets out to break his own record by adding to his already iconic 1992 and 1995 Tourbillons. This time he managed to add a Chronograph with 60 minute counter and power reserve indicators to the striking mechanism and movement. It leads to the watch being classed as the “most complicated wristwatch in the world” for a second time.

2007 - AETERNITAS MEGA 4 (NOT PICTURED)

Fast forward 10 years and Franck Muller has done it again. In 2007, he presents the Aerternitas Mega 4 which has 36 complications and 1483 components. Yet again, it is classed as the “Most complicated wristwatch in the world” as Franck Muller pushed the boundaries of what is possible in a timepiece.

This time the watch features: Grande and Petite Sonnerie (Grand-strike) Minute Repeater, Westminster Carrillon have been added to the Aeternitas basic movement. Grand Tourbillon, Grande and Petite Sonnerie, minute repeater, Westminster carillon, split-seconds chronograph, eternal calendar with retrograde date at 12, days, month, 24h day and night indicator, normal leap-year cycle, indication of secular years, moon phases, time equation and two additional time-zones.

2011 – GIGA TOURBILLON

This year Franck Muller released the Giga Tourbillon. The brand had already previously released the smallest Tourbillon in the world, so they went the opposite direction by integrating the biggest Tourbillon ever seen in a wristwatch. The brand managed an unprecedented technological advancement by developing a Tourbillon 20mm in diameter - barrels of 16 mm of diameter paired in series with a power reserve of 10 days.

This Giga Tourbillon was added to the Franck Muller World Premier range due to this advancement, the fact that it had never been done before, and its special technical features.

As you can see, Franck Muller is a name that is synonymous with pushing the boundaries of watch technology. They are striving to reinvent what is ‘normal’ and breaking their own records on a regular basis. The World Premier collection is admired by enthusiasts, collectors and watch makers alike, and now you have the chance to own your very own Franck Muller thanks to TIME².