The latest from Franck Muller’s Watchland

by Gary Girdvainis

Bordering the west coast of Lake Geneva and just a short drive from downtown Geneva lies the sleepy little village of Genthod. Taking a left as you parallel the west shore of the lake, you curl past a roundabout onto a road that gently rises into the village proper. As you wind past the Ecole Genthod you find yourself on a road so narrow that you actually need to pull over to let oncoming traffic pass. Continuing on route Malagny, you pass through a quaint community of typical Swiss style domiciles interspersed with open fields bordered by old-growth forests.

It is in this idyllic setting that the Franck Muller brand has created the amazing campus that is Watchland. Hidden behind a perfectly trimmed hedgerow, the chalet architecture of the main building rises above the greenery to hint at the scope of the demesne beyond.

Technical prowess

Within the ever-expanding Franck Muller complex, you’ll find a remarkable array of watchmaking capabilities and in-house technical prowess. Having toured my fair share of watch making manufactures over the past couple of decades, I can honestly say that any connoisseur would be amazed by what this Franck Muller has created in such a relatively short time.
Watchland is a must see for any watch enthusiast touring the Geneva area. While the exterior of the various buildings on the campus evoke the feeling of a Swiss mountain chateau, within the walls are artisans, engineers and master watchmakers that meld old world skills with cutting-edge machinery to create a panoply of amazing timepieces – almost wholly developed and manufactured in-house.
Since its inception Franck Muller has always melded tradition with innovation. Even when first entering the market the brand combined classical mechanical watchmaking with a less-traveled design path – the shapely case of the iconic Cintree’ Curvex collection. In an industry where more than ninety percent of the watches are crafted in the round, the elongated and elegant curves of the Cintree’ Curvex were an unusual focus for any brand, especially a new one.

The Curvex

Franck Muller created a tonneau shape that has found more than a few imitators over the years. And although many have tried to emulate the type, there is no doubt that the Franck Muller brand is today this shape’s standard bearer. So much so that any tonneau watch might easily be mistaken as a Franck Muller from across the room.
Adding a twist to the original lines of the Cintreé Curvex case, the Vanguard series is a tonneau, like its predecessor, but compressed vertically with a bit more girth on the “hips”. The tripartite case also allows for a contrast element between the top and bottom with an overall effect that creates a more casual and sporty effect.
A total of seven Franck Muller Vanguard families capture the essence of the functionality-based movements within, but also capture the design ethos without. From playful to sporty, casual to technical, Vanguard’s shape lends itself well to each variation and once again highlights the fecundity of the manufacture.
Vanguard prices range from $6,800 for the simplest edition up to the rarified air of $340,000 for the tourbillon with minute repeater.