Franck Muller Master Banker

Since the 1980s, Franck Muller has become a name synonymous with exceptional quality and unique designs. With a background in haute-horlogerie and complicated watchmaking, Muller has tied his name to a brand that has established a series of exceptional designs that, while originally avant-garde, have become embraced and often copied. Here at Matt Baily we are fortunate to have a lovely example of the brand in stock – a beautiful deep-blue dial Master Banker, a timepiece that shows all the hallmarks of a classic Franck Muller design.

Franck got his start in the watch industry as a curious student of antique pieces, and made a name for himself by restoring watches and clocks. His training progressed to the highest level of watchmaking – creating whole movements and complications, a skill that has influenced his design and the evolution of his brand since its genesis in the early 1980s. In particular, Franck was keen to experiment and create new concepts in a conservative industry where tradition was valued over change. Since then, Franck Muller watches have become symbols of quality and craftsmanship married to interesting, sometimes funky designs that broke the mould and created new trends in the watch world.

Franck Muller has become particularly synonymous with the classic tonneau shape, a softly rounded rectangular case with tapered ends, a design that dates back to the Art Deco period of the 1920s and 30s but that had fallen out of favour for many decades. To add a fun, modern twist, he created vibrant dials that stood out with bright colours, playful numerals and hands, and even surrealistic elements like randomly rearranging the numbers on his famous “Crazy Hours” series. The watch I present in this week’s blog is an excellent example of the classic Franck Muller style – this Master Banker 5850 features the tonneau case matched to a beautiful bright blue dial with the funky numerals that have become a Muller signature.

Featuring a slender, elongated case, the Master Banker is an elegant design that can work well in any situation. It’s sleek enough to wear with a suit, especially with the stainless steel bracelet, but the fun dial design gives it a casual look that goes well with a pair of jeans. The case is slim enough (32mm) for a small wrist, but long enough (45mm) to still have a good presence. The dial is a standout on this model – it is a deep, rich blue colour with a delicate guilloche pattern. The colour of the dial changes according to the light, shifting from a dark navy to a bright cobalt blue. The numerals are bright luminescent white, a nice contrast on the deep blue dial, and the subdials of the secondary time zones are guilloched silver with black numerals, and the date display features a Cyclops lens set into the dial itself. Despite the complexity (there are three time displays, after all) and the fine detailing, the dial is very easy to read at a glance.

Underneath their elegant exteriors, Franck Muller timepieces are still high-complication watches at heart (hence the tagline “Master of Complications”) and the Master Banker is no exception. As the name would suggest, this model is designed for with the high-pressure banker or stock broker in mind, someone who plays the markets and needs to know world times at a glance. The genius of the Master Banker is the simplicity of how it is read – instead of an extra GMT hand, or a complex system of bezels/buttons/24 hour scales, you have two subdials showing two timezones with independently setting minutes and hours, and three hands (hours,minutes, seconds) on the main dial. Instead of only being able to adjust in one hour intervals, you can adjust the subdials to show whatever time difference you wish – handy for the half-hour difference in the Newfoundland time zone that most GMT watches aren’t capable of showing. It couldn’t be simpler – main time on the main hands, two other times on the subdials. And setting them is a breeze too – here is where the complexity comes in. All the times are set through a single crown with two positions – position one counterclockwise sets the bottom subdial, clockwise sets the top. Position two sets the main time. To accomplish this, the Master Banker uses an in-house Franck Muller design - a smooth winding automatic movement that sets with a light touch, a sure sign of a finely finished movement lurking inside that curvy case.

The Master Banker is a great example of Franck Muller’s design philosophy – challenging the old ways with simple but brave new ideas, while re-interpreting classic style principles. With its elegant case, stunning dial, beautiful finishing, and highly-complex movement, the Master Banker is a great timepiece and a great Franck Muller. The tonneau style and fun numerals still look fresh after all these years, and in this time of scaling down and scaling back, it’s a great example of clean and sober design that still has timeless elegance. Our Master Banker is pre-owned and offered with the original box and papers, and is an excellent value for such a fine timepiece. If you have any questions about this or any watch we have in stock, visit our contact page or give me a call at 514 845 8878.

Cheers

Jason Cormier

Graham has become a legend among watch connoisseurs, a company that produces quirky and beautifully finished watches of the highest quality. Graham is in a unique position in the market, taking the history and prestige of British watchmaking and updating it with Swiss mechanisms and manufacturing. The Silverstone Chronograph that I’ll be featuring in this week’s blog is an excellent example of Graham’s unique styling cues and peerless finishing, the details that have made it a favourite with watch aficionados.

When asked about British watchmaking, most people draw a blank. Perhaps they may recall the invention of the marine chronometer by John Harrison way back in the 1730s. Odds are they will stare at you blankly if you mention the name George Graham. But Graham (the man) was a highly respected and influential watchsmith in the heady days of the 18^th century. Graham developed several key innovations that would push watchmaking forward during the 1700s, notably the dead-beat escapement, training the inventor of the now ubiquitous lever escapement, and developing an early chronograph design. He was commissioned to build a clock for the Greenwich Royal Observatory. He even loaned money to the aforementioned Harrison fellow to help fund his chronometer project.  

Graham (the company) was founded in 1995 by Eric Loth, under the header of British Masters. BM also manages the Arnold and Son brand; in recent years, Graham has become the sporting arm of BM while Arnold and Son takes care of the classic designs and high-complication watches. Since its rebirth Graham has focussed on making extremely high quality watches worthy of George Graham’s legacy.

Not content with off-the-shelf movement designs, Loth contracted Jacquet Droz to provide highly-finished movements based loosely on Valjoux ebauches (movement bases). The results is a highly precise and extremely reliable movement. Our Silverstone exhibits excellent accuracy, and second-to-none function – the chronograph engages with a light tap of the pusher, and can be stopped and restarted with zero freeplay in the second hand to ensure perfect split-second timing. On top of that this Silverstone has a big-date and GMT function, as well as a flyback mechanism on the chronograph. Everything functions flawlessly – the date and GMT set nicely, the date clicks over instantly at precisely midnight, and the flyback function is extremely precise and instantaneous. Just by handling the watch you know that there is an excellent movement lurking under the colourful dial and beautiful case.

The dial adds a nice splash of colour to the design, featuring a bicompax subdials for the running seconds and chronograph minutes, as well as a blue inner dial that shows the 24 hour GMT index (which is indicated by the tiny yellow hand). The three-tiered tachymeter scale on the dial is coloured dark blue, green and red to distinguish the three levels – an unusual design, as most modern tachymeter indexes only show one level to measure speeds in km/h or mph. Everything is topped off with a nice set of white luminescent hands, with the chronograph seconds had featuring a red tip. The details look classic, but the execution is fun and modern and very easy to read despite the complexity.

Aside from the movement, the case of the Silverstone is a real highlight. It features a trademark tall, tapered bezel around the ever-so-slightly domed sapphire crystal. The main body has a bulbous form set off by a high polish finish, merged into a set of classically styled lugs. While the watch appears enormous in photos, it’s actually a very modest 40mm, but still has a lot of wrist presence owing to the exaggerated details and 15mm thickness. The crown and pushers are solid and big enough to manipulate easily, and the asymmetrical design of the pushers (the start-stop pusher is taller than the reset) is a nice touch. Everything is topped off with a hand-sewn black alligator strap and a nicely designed buckle. And if you are wondering about that little leather bag attached to the buckle, it’s a lead seal formed around the short length of string. To remove it, you need to cut the rope – it’s to ensure that you know when the watch is new and unworn, because you cannot remove the seal without cutting that string. As you may guess, this watch is brand new, never worn, and comes with the box and papers and a one year warranty.

Graham has gone from humble beginnings and a storied past to become a true enthusiast’s brand – a little-known company that produces superb watches with unique designs that have become a favourite of watch lovers. This Silverstone is an excellent example of the quality and finishing we have come to expect from Graham. If you’d like to know more about this watch, or any others we have in stock, give me a call at 514 845 8878 or visit our contact page.

Cheers

Jason Cormier

More photos of the Graham Silverstone GMT here.

The high-tech Instrument for the long-haul traveler

The new INSTRUMENT BR 01-93 24H GMT is designed specifically for the long-haul traveler. Its GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) function displays the time at two different points on the globe simultaneously.

The white hands on the main dial indicate the time at the wearer's current location, while the orange hand on the 24 hour graduated inner bezel shows the time in his country of origin. The large, white photoluminescent numerals, the inner bezel and the orange-colored GMT hand stand out against the black of the dial for perfect readability.

Movement is the automatic ETA caliber 2893. The case measures 46mm and is glass beadblasted steel with carbon powder coating. The crystal is sapphire with AR-coating and it is water resistant to 100 meters.

The Bell & Ross BR03 51 GMT is not only an extremely stylish piece, with its light weight titanium case, carbon fiber dial and orange hand on its second time zone dial , but it is a very complicated watch for the money. Not only does it have the two independent time zone dials but it also has a large double wheel date. Every watch enthusiast knows that every little complication added to a mechanical watch, increases the watches price.

A single crown can quick set the big date at the first position. By pulling the crown to the second position and rotating the hands clockwise, this will set the main time zone. By rotating the crown in the counter clockwise position, the main time zone will rotate counter clockwise, but the hour hand on the small time zone will not move at all, thus making it easy to set the two different time zones.

Truly complicated stylish and comfortable, the Bell & Ross BR03 51 GMT has it all at a fraction of the price of its competitors.

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