Franck Muller ditches subtlety for high jewellery with the Round Triple Mystery
Jamie WeissFor those who aren’t in the watch industry, it’s hard to explain just how crazy Geneva gets in April. Of course, Watches and Wonders is the main show in town, but plenty of other watchmakers plan their big release moments around the same time of year, with Geneva becoming a hive of activity. You have independent watchmakers showing off at smaller fairs like AHCI and Time to Watches; other small brands take over hotels like the Beau-Rivage and Four Seasons to exhibit; and brands big enough to run their own shows like Audemars Piguet and Breitling also piggyback off the ‘Geneva Watch Week‘ hype.
One of those brands in that latter category is Franck Muller, which holds the World Presentation of Haute Horlogerie – its annual showcase of novelties – at its palatial ‘Watchland’ headquarters just outside of town on the banks of Lake Geneva. Watchland does indeed have a bit of a Graceland quality to it, with the watches unveiled there this year similarly grandiose. The highlight, though, was the Round Triple Mystery, the third in a series of ‘Mystery’ watch lines that the inimitable watchmaker has crafted over the years.
The context behind Franck Muller’s new Round Triple Mystery is kind of quirky. Originally designed with only a single hour hand, the first Mystery watch was supposed to embody a carefree embrace of time’s passage without specificity. Later on, its successor was the Double Mystery, which introduced a minute hand. Now, the Triple Mystery – the latest evolution and most complicated execution – is, strictly speaking, the least mysterious of all, as a third disk displays the seconds. Regardless of the backstory, it’s an impressive work of watchmaking and a dazzling display of jewellery setting.
Franck Muller’s Mystery certainly didn’t form in a vacuum, as there is a long heritage behind mystery dials. Originating with an illusionist and clockmaker in Paris, then made famous by Cartier, a mystery dial uses hands affixed to clear crystal in order to seem like they’re floating in isolation from a movement. That’s not exactly what Franck Muller has done, but the concentric wheels of the dial and the triangular hands do pay tribute to that style. The outer ring shows the minutes, the middle ring shows the hours, and the centre ring is for the seconds hand, leaving nothing ambiguous.
Of course, it’s impossible to ignore the dizzying number of relatively large diamonds on this watch. Each ring is flooded with a pavé arrangement of brilliant-cut diamonds, while the arrow markers come in a range of coloured gemstones, including diamonds, emeralds, rubies and blue sapphires – with each model variation receiving a similarly coloured alligator leather strap, with a case-matching pin buckle that’s also set with diamonds. Phew!
The largest diamonds are saved for the bezel, but indeed the whole case is set with diamonds, including the stilt-like lugs. That 39mm case is available in 18k rose gold or white gold, and you can also opt to have baguette-cut diamonds if you want some distinction between the dial segments and the round bezel (for an additional, not-so-small premium).
The most impressive element is actually the movement, as it takes tremendous amounts of energy to move whole dial segments like that, especially when they’re weighed down by precious rocks. A variant of Franck Muller’s modular MVD 2800 calibre, it only manages a 40-hour power reserve – emblematic of the energy demands of this sort of time-telling – but thankfully, it’s automatic. The movement itself is finished beautifully, with filigree-like hand engraving across its bridges and even its barrel.
The floral spiral surrounding the seconds hand isn’t just decorative, but helps to reduce the weight of that component so it can complete one full rotation per minute without losing accuracy. That entire section weighs only 0.052 grams, or the same as approximately 85 human hair strands.
Franck Muller Round Triple Mystery pricing and availability
The Franck Muller Round Triple Mystery range is available now. Price: A$156,900 (brilliant-cut diamond bezel), $272,400 (baguette-cut diamond bezel)
| Brand | Franck Muller |
| Model | Round Triple Mystery |
| Reference Number | 7039 TM D 1R CD |
| Case Dimensions | 39mm (D) x 10.05mm (T) |
| Case Material | 18k rose or white gold set with brilliant-cut diamonds, bezel can be set optionally with baguette-cut diamonds |
| Water Resistance | 30 metres |
| Crystal(s) | Sapphire |
| Dial | Hand-set with 232 brilliant-cut diamonds, 3 triangle-cut indexes of diamond/emerald/ruby/blue sapphire |
| Strap | Hand-sewn alligator strap, rose/white gold pin buckle hand-set with 8 brilliant-cut diamonds |
| Movement | MVD 2800-TM, in-house, automatic |
| Power Reserve | 40 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds |
| Availability | Available now |
| Price | A$156,900 (brilliant-cut diamond bezel) $272,400 (baguette-cut diamond bezel) |