Franck Muller: The Art of Making Time Personal

21 October 2026

Technical ingenuity, unmistakable design and a willingness to challenge convention have given Franck Muller a distinctive place in Swiss watchmaking. For Veltracon Lifestyle, the connection is also a personal one.

Franck Muller is a family-owned Geneva watch manufacture, founded in the early 1990s by the watchmaker Franck Muller and the case maker Vartan Sirmakes and based at Watchland in Genthod, just outside Geneva. It is known for the curved tonneau case of the Cintrée Curvex and for Crazy Hours, a watch from 2003 whose hour hand jumps between numerals placed out of order. Nicholas Rudaz has been chief executive since 2021, and the house presents its novelties at its own event in Genthod rather than at Watches and Wonders.

A fine mechanical watch offers a curious proposition in a world where the hour is displayed on almost every screen. Its appeal lies in the ingenuity of its movement, the proportions of its case and the pleasure of discovering a detail that only its wearer might notice. Choosing one is an expression of taste, often deeply personal.

Few watchmakers have explored that freedom as confidently as Franck Muller. The house brings an exuberant visual language to a discipline built on precision, creating watches that invite both technical appreciation and an emotional response.

Who founded Franck Muller, and who leads the house today?

The story begins with the watchmaker himself. Trained at the Geneva School of Watchmaking, Franck Muller established his reputation restoring timepieces before developing his own complicated wristwatches. That experience provided an intimate understanding of traditional mechanisms and a foundation for exploring what they could become. His first wristwatches appeared in 1983; in 1992, he founded the brand with Vartan Sirmakes, bringing together watchmaking invention and expertise in the production of fine watch cases.

The house's account of its founders describes how auction houses and collectors sent the watchmaker their rare pieces to restore, and how Sirmakes, trained as a gem-setter, moved into the making of watch cases; by the house's account, the two met in 1991. The house dates the brand and its workshop to 1992, while Europa Star gives 1991 as the year the company was established. Its list of world premieres begins with a tourbillon with jumping hours in 1986 and includes the Aeternitas Mega of 2007, a wristwatch with 36 complications and 1,483 components.

Franck Muller himself left the company in 2003, remaining at the time a shareholder and a member of the board, as JCK reported. Since 2021 the house has been led by Nicholas Rudaz, who joined in 2007, according to a profile in Luxuo. Europa Star describes Franck Muller as a family-owned house in which a new generation of the Sirmakes family is preparing to take over. The family's watchmaking reaches beyond the house: CVSTOS, the Geneva watchmaker we profiled in 2019, was founded in 2005 by Vartan Sirmakes's son Sassoun together with Antonio Terranova, as its own history records.

What makes the Cintrée Curvex so recognisable?

That combination of invention and case-making remains central to the house's appeal. A Franck Muller watch has a strong identity before its movement is even discussed. The Cintrée Curvex, with its elongated, curved case and expressive numerals, established a silhouette that is immediately recognisable. It gives the watch a sculptural presence, making the case itself an essential part of the experience.

The house dates the Cintrée Curvex to 1992 and describes it as a tonneau case curved in three dimensions, a form it says did not exist on the market before. The large, stylised numerals became the other half of that signature: in the house's words, its watches became instantly recognisable for their numeral design.

How does the Franck Muller Crazy Hours work?

The relationship between invention and enjoyment becomes particularly clear in Crazy Hours. Its numerals appear in an unconventional order, yet the watch keeps time through a mechanism that sends the hour hand jumping to the correct numeral. The minute hand continues its familiar circuit.

Franck Muller introduced Crazy Hours in 2003. In the original model, as the house explains, a jumping-hour module on an automatic movement moves the hour hand to the next correct numeral at the end of every 60 minutes, about 150 degrees across the dial, while the minute hand follows its normal 60-minute cycle.

The result is wonderfully engaging: an ordinary change of hour becomes a small event worth watching. There is serious mechanical thought behind that moment of surprise. Crazy Hours demonstrates how a complication can create pleasure as well as perform a function, giving its wearer a different relationship with the passing day.

What is Watchland?

Behind this expressive character sits Watchland, the house's headquarters in Genthod, near Geneva. Set around a restored mansion overlooking Lake Geneva, the estate brings together activities including watchmaking, assembly, case manufacturing and engraving. Other group production sites supply elements such as dials and stamped cases for finishing and assembly at Watchland.

According to the official description, the mansion was built in 1905, the village is where Franck Muller began working in 1983, and the house makes all of its own cases and dials. Europa Star places the group's dial making in Les Bois and its case stamping in La Chaux-de-Fonds, both in the Jura Arc. Watchland is open to visitors by appointment.

This organisation gives physical substance to the brand's creative independence. A distinctive idea must ultimately become a working object, requiring designers, technicians and craftspeople to resolve its smallest details. Watchland offers a setting in which those disciplines can work closely together.

Which novelties did Franck Muller present in 2026?

Franck Muller does not exhibit at Watches and Wonders. It shows its new models at its own World Presentation of Haute Horlogerie (WPHH) at the Domaine du Grand Malagny in Genthod, which in 2026 took place from 14 to 18 April, the same week as Watches and Wonders Geneva. The house groups eight models as its 2026 novelties; the picture at the top of this article comes from its own banner for them.

Three references, each limited to 8 piecesVanguard Aero Revolution 3 SkeletonSkeletonised tri-axial tourbillon in the Vanguard caseIn Curvex CX and Long Island Evolution casesMaster Jumper SkeletonJumping hours, minutes and date on five discsNominated for the GPHG 2026Round Triple Mystery SkeletonHours, minutes and seconds shown on three discsAlso shows moon phase and retrograde dateCintrée Curvex Crazy Hours Répétition Minutes TourbillonCrazy Hours with a minute repeater and a tourbillonAlso as Vector Master Banker SkeletonVanguard Vector SkeletonSkeletonised VanguardLadies' models in 32 and 35 mm casesVanguard Crazy Hours JisbarSecond collaboration with the artist JisbarA 37 mm Imperium Bloc Lady followed in SeptemberImperiumThe Imperium Bloc, a new case shapeFour interpretations of the characterCintrée Curvex Hello KittyFirst collaboration with Hello Kitty

The Round Triple Mystery Skeleton and the Vanguard Curvex Cut Flower are among the nominees of the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève 2026. The house adds limited editions through the year; the most recent, the Vanguard Slim Amador Montes, was announced on 21 October 2026.

What does a Franck Muller watch cost, and where can you buy one?

Franck Muller does not publish prices on its website; it asks for an enquiry instead. Nicholas Rudaz told Europa Star in 2025 that some customers want a Franck Muller for CHF 7,000 and that the house makes this possible; the magazine put the average price at CHF 24,400, with annual production of 30,000 to 40,000 watches. Further up the range, the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève lists the Cintrée Curvex Crazy Hours Minutes Repeater Tourbillon, reference 7885 RM T CH, launched in October 2025, at CHF 362,135, including VAT. Personalisation is part of the offer: according to the same portrait, any watch can be customised for around 30 per cent more, with about three months' wait. Rudaz describes the house's approach in terms a concierge recognises: “First we learn how to say yes to the customer and bend over backwards to satisfy their request, whatever it may be.”

New watches are sold through Franck Muller's own boutiques and authorised retailers. The store locator lists boutiques in Geneva at Rue de la Tour-de-l'Île 1, in Dubai at The Dubai Mall and Raffles The Palm, in Hong Kong on Queen's Road Central and, since January 2026, in IFC Mall, and in Germany in Frankfurt. In Zug, Zurich and Düsseldorf the watches are sold through authorised retailers.

For our clients we obtain limited editions, sold out models and Grande Complication pieces without waiting time, through the luxury concierge service. We are not an authorised dealer for any watch house; we act for the client. On the secondary market the paperwork matters more than the discount, and every piece is checked for provenance, service history and authenticity before a number is discussed. Our guide to Patek Philippe follows the same questions for another Geneva house.

Why is Franck Muller personal to Veltracon Lifestyle?

For Veltracon Lifestyle, the connection with Franck Muller carries a human story of its own. Our brand ambassador, Gabriele Rossicarri, created the link between the two brands, bringing a personal dimension to our appreciation of the watchmaker.

Their lasting fascination is in that balance: the precision required to measure time, and the imagination to make the experience personal.

Personal relationships matter because they make an introduction meaningful. They create the opportunity to understand the people, ideas and dedication behind an object. In fine watchmaking, that understanding can transform the way a watch is seen and appreciated.

It is an approach that resonates with Veltracon Lifestyle. Helping a client discover an exceptional timepiece begins with understanding the individual: their curiosity, their tastes and what they hope to enjoy each time they fasten it to their wrist.

Franck Muller offers a compelling answer for those drawn to individuality. Its watches combine the discipline of traditional watchmaking with a confident sense of play. Their lasting fascination is in that balance: the precision required to measure time, and the imagination to make the experience personal.

Explore the world of Franck Muller with our very own brand ambassador, Gabriele Rossicarri.