How did Frank Muller and Vartan Sirmakes manage to transform what was originally intended to be a small watchmaking company into a thriving watch company? Original design combined with traditionally complex mechanics gives Franck Muller models that unique harmony that has captivated the whole world from the very beginning of their incredible success story. And the beginning was like this…
The fateful meeting between Frank Müller and Vartan Sirmakes took place in the late 80s, in the beautiful city on the shores of Lake Geneva, Geneva. The desire to create something new and unusual has combined the rich experience of two outstanding people from different areas of the watch world into a single, well-oiled mechanism.
At that time, the young watchmaker Frank Muller developed and produced his own watch models under the Franck Genève brand. Since 1986, Müller has annually taken part in prestigious watch exhibitions, where he presented his unusual models based on unique complex functions, which subsequently secured him the unofficial title of “horology genius”. As for Muller’s future partner, Vartan Sirmakes, at that time he was manufacturing watch cases for large Swiss companies in a rented workshop on the shores of Lake Geneva.
The starting point in the history of the brand can be considered 1991, when Frank turned to Vartan with a request to develop an unusual watch case for his new models. It was then that the two masters realized that together they could create a company producing watches that would be unlike any other brand. In the same year, a new watch manufacturer, Franck Muller, was officially founded in the town of Gentod, located near Geneva. Three years later, the factory for the production of exclusive watches changed its registration, settling in an ancient castle of the early twentieth century, still in the same town of Zhentod. This picturesque corner overlooking Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc has since turned into a real watch country (WatchLand) with an area of 16 hectares.
How can we explain the uniqueness of Franck Muller models? The fact is that in the early 90s, the Swiss watch industry was still recovering from the crisis caused by the appearance of cheap quartz movements on the watch market. It was extremely risky for the new partners to swim against the tide and bet on producing mechanical watches with various kinds of complications.
Moreover, at that time it was extremely difficult to gain the trust of large watch companies that had been present on the watch market for more than a hundred years. The watch industry in general and haute horlogerie in particular were closely tied to the traditions of watchmaking and, as a result, showed little interest in innovation, especially when it came to design. And it was necessary to have a certain amount of courage and even audacity to introduce a completely new case shape to the watch market, the likes of which had no analogues in the watch industry. The three-dimensionally curved case of the Cintrée Curvex watch, coupled with brightly colored dials, became a high-profile world premiere, if not a revolution.
Independent production
It is worth noting Franck Muller’s competent approach to establishing internal control at all stages of production. Industrial verticalization allowed the brand to experiment more and create innovative watch models without violating the traditions of Swiss watchmaking.
Today, the Franck Muller group has 6 production units in Switzerland, 48 company stores and 600 sales points in more than 100 countries. The unique collections of the independent brand ensured the brand commercial success and worldwide recognition. It’s worth remembering at least the “fun” watches from the Crazy Hours and Vegas collections or the most complex wristwatch Aeternitas Mega, which contains 36 different functions and is assembled from 1,483 parts. The latest model cemented Franck Muller’s reputation as the Master of Complications.
Over more than 20 years of existence, the Franck Muller brand has managed to gain worldwide fame, which is based on rapid development and unshakable financial stability. In terms of numbers, the company annually produces more than 40,000 watches per year.
