Complicated romance

THE Master of Complication is also a Romeo at heart. Along with the roll-out of 2 unique tourbillons this year, Franck Muller also unveiled a colourful skeletal watch for the lady, the Vanguard Rose Skeleton. This comes in different colours and precious metals, decorated with roses and diamonds. And romance is the theme.

The 2 tourbillons appeared one each in 2 of the brand's key collections for the first time. The Vanguard Revolution 3 Tourbillon, a three-axis gravity defying mechanism far more spectacular and superior than the original single-axis tourbillon, is now at home in the Vanguard family, which is a showcase of Franck Muller's greatest creations.

The Grand Central Tourbillon marks the entry of a centre tourbillon into the Cintree Curvex line, while at the same time introduces a timely redesign of the brand's iconic shape.

The Grand Central Tourbillon

IF YOU find this watch familiar, it's not surprising. The unique cushion-shaped case is the face of Franck Muller's Cintree Curvex - a collection of timepieces that has come to be synonymous with the brand.

And it has been around for nearly 30 years, long enough not only to be easily recognisable, but also to signal it's time for a redesign.

Indeed, a closer look at the Cintree Curvex's latest offering shows that while it retains the overall profile of past models in the collection, there's been a bit more than tinkering done to the new watch. The sapphire crystal, for one, is much larger and takes the entire space of the case front, stretching from lug to lug - an extension pulled off only after perfecting a new technique of fixing the glass at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock.

What's more, the bezel is split from the case to accommodate a beautiful two-tone treatment, completely changing the aspect of the original Cintree Curvex case. But the separation highlighted more clearly the sensuous curves of the watch.

The effect is to make the sapphire crystal appear seamlessly integrated into the large-scaled alligator strap, while offering an expanded view of the dial.

Time is indicated by Franck Muller's signature over-sized art deco indices that also provide a handsome and legible contrast with the guilloche dial inspired by the Cloud de Paris pattern - and which has been painstakingly coated with 20 layers of translucent lacquer. The accuracy of the timekeeping is assured by the mechanism sticking out in the middle of the dial.

This is the centre tourbillon. The result of more than a year of research and development, with the mechanism moved from the traditional 6 o'clock position to the spotlight at the centre of the dial, it hangs on a single bridge - shaped to indicate the seconds - and is raised above the rest of the dial for all to see. The hour and minute hands protruding from the central carriage tourbillon are kept to a minimal length so as not to block the tourbillon, which is the centre of attention, from being viewed. Set against the exceptional dial, which has a spiral effect, the rotational movement of the centre tourbillon seems more noticeable.

The 60-second tourbillon, which negates the disruptive effects of gravity force on time measurement, is the first centre tourbillon for the Cintree Curvex collection and the world's first such mechanism to be set in a tonneau case. It is powered by an automatic movement developed entirely in-house, from scratch. The new movement, refined after countless hours, offers a generous 4 days of power reserve - thanks to a sunray-brushed eccentric micro rotor.

Price: S$179,800 to S$200,700

The Vanguard Rose Skeleton

YOU will love this watch. It's designed to bring out the hopeless romantic in one.

For the ladies especially, the Vanguard Rose Skeleton has the 2 things they love - roses and diamonds.

The dial is skeletonised to present the roses at their best.

The flowers, painstakingly hand-painted by a master craftsman, appear to grow naturally out of the open-work bridges on both the front and back.

And the romantic horological bouquet comes in a wide array of colours, different precious metals, as well as in the trademark Color Dreams combination.

But being part of a collection of the brand's most exceptional and cutting-edge timepieces, the roses that decorate the watch appeal not only to the eye, they are also part of the watch's mechanism.

Serving as bridges and plates, the rose petals strengthen the structural integrity of the entire watch movement, which has been endured with luxe treatments such as satin finishing, circular graining and hand-chamfering.

The refined and lithe timepiece is endowed with an arched case-back complemented by a supple alligator strap, making the Vanguard Rose Skeleton a graceful and elegant showpiece when strapped comfortably on the wrist.

While truly a perfect blend of nature's raw beauty and technical prowess, the new Vanguard watch is not just aimed at the curious and sophisticated lady, but one who also adores outdoor sports, because the alligator leather strap is fitted with a rubber inlay.

Price: S$60,700 to S$67,100

Vanguard Revolution 3 Skeleton

FRANCK Muller's triple-axis tourbillon, the vastly improved gravity-defying watch mechanism, has finally joined the brand's Vanguard family.

Even though it's obvious that the ultra complication makes the cut, it has taken quite a while - almost 20 years - for the triple-axis Tourbillon to make it into the collection, which is a showcase of some of Franck Muller's most extraordinary and groundbreaking watches.

While the brand wasn't the one to come up with the tourbillon, it has taken French watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet's invention a big step forward with the triple-axis complication in negating the negative effects of gravity to provide timepieces with even greater accuracy in time-keeping.

Breguet's single-axis tourbillon, patented in 1801, was a visual spectacle to behold with the tourbillon spinning on one axis at one full rotation per minute.

Not satisfied, Franck Muller first replaced the original with a twin tourbillon system that rotated on 2 axes. Then in 2004, it added another axis.

This became the world's first triple-axis tourbillon, which rotates on 3 axes.

And the innovative new regulator can compensate for the effects of gravity in all 3 dimensions on the watch, clearly giving a big boost to the effectiveness of the gravity-defying mechanism.

In the Vanguard collection, the triple-axis tourbillon is housed in a V50 case in carbon, rose gold, white gold, or black PVD-coated titanium.

The 3 different axes of the tourbillon can be admired through the open-worked dial, with the view enhanced by the hemispherically domed sapphire crystal, extending from the front and back of the watch.

The 3 different axes complete 3 different revolutions in 1 minute, 8 minutes and 60 minutes.

Three robust arcs stand out on the skeletonised dial - one brandishing the 10 days power reserve at the top, while the retrograde indicators below detail the rate of rotation of the tourbillon.

The SuperLuminova-coated hour and minute hands illuminate the time atop stacked barrels that supply energy to power the timepiece.

The new Vanguard Revolution 3 Skeleton comes with a 5-year warranty and in a box with an automated opening system.

Price: S$770,400 to S$818,600