August 23th, 2024 –
Back in the late 90s, if you had money to burn and wanted a watch that looked like no other, one whose dials made the Rio Carnival look like an Amish funeral, you wore one of two brands: Alain Silberstein or Franck Muller. These were watches with the volume turned up LOUD . Indeed, Alain Silberstein was heavily influenced by the ever-colourful designs of the Swatch brand, while none other than Elton John declared Franck Muller ‘the Picasso of watches’.
They boasted large cases, eye-watering palettes, and seemed to radiate the belief that the quartz crisis was history and mechanical watches were back with a vengeance. While the latter proved to be true, Alain Silberstein somehow fell by the wayside, while the far more technically accomplished Franck Muller had its thunder stolen by a brand that brazenly took its signature tonneau case and dazzling dials and ramped things up a level.
We are, of course, talking about the watch star du jour , Richard Mille. Yet despite being somewhat eclipsed by Richard Mille in recent years, Franck Muller has proved it can still bring out the big guns when it needs to.