It comes as no surprise that at a time when digital technology has allowed us access to the most accurate timekeeping since the beginning of known history, the nostalgia and demand for all things mechanical remain unabated.
Increasingly, watchmakers seek to heighten the pleasure of owning a mechanical timepiece by revealing its moving parts.
The tourbillon, invented over 200 years ago in an attempt to achieve greater accuracy for timepieces, is no longer necessary. But necessity and luxury don’t exactly go hand in hand.
From a very young age, Franck Muller seemed to shun simplicity and chose to delve into the mechanical world of watch complications. He is among the few watchmakers who have been given the title of Master of Complications, and even though the timepieces that carry his name are no longer made by Muller himself, they still carry the title.
Muller created, for the first time, a tourbillon visible from the front. In all other brands, tourbillons could only be seen from the back. Among the most eccentric of his creations is the Crazy Hours watch, introduced in 2003, that displays numerals in complete disorder while still keeping perfect time thanks to a jumping hour mechanism. In 2004, after years of development, Muller created the very first tri-axial tourbillon in the world.
