Franck Muller’s Long Island Evolution Master Jumper is an avant-garde manual-winder with three jumping displays
Zach BlassFranck Muller is the self-proclaimed master of complications, a brand founded in 1987 that already has over 50 world premieres and patents under its belt. Whether traditional high complications like perpetual calendars or tourbillons, or wild ones like the Crazy Hours or the Master Lighter, the brand has a ton of complex horological know-how. First launched in 2000, the Long Island collection was the brand’s foray into a rectangular watch with Art Deco style, with its debut entry being a simple three-hander. Fast-forward 25 years later, the Long Island Evolution has seen drastic modernisation and incorporation of complications. Introduced alongside a 7 Days Power Reserve variant and a Giga Tourbillon model, the Franck Muller Long Island Evolution Master Jumper has the laurel of being the first time and date watch to have three jumping displays.
The dial
From top to bottom, there’s a single disc for the jumping hours, two for the jumping minutes, and another two discs for the jumping date indication, all of which you can watch in full action thanks to a sapphire dial that leaves nothing hidden. Three green-framed apertures are perfectly laid out in the middle of the dial, and there is zero confusion as to where each indication is considering all the technical information is creatively printed on the sapphire crystal. Normally, I would align with the less-dial-text-is-better-camp, but akin to the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Sketch, I think the strategic, almost manual-like printing of the text has a technical look befitting of an open dial and high-tech movement.
The case
The 30-metre water-resistant, hand-brushed case, crafted in black PVD-treated titanium, is 35.3mm wide, 12.5mm thick and 48.1mm lug-to-lug. Accents of green are introduced into the mix through anodised microblasted aluminium bezels. The multi-layered nature of the case was specially designed to better protect the shaped movement against shock, and it also allows the curved sapphire crystal to be attached to the flange of the case without any visible screws. Its curvaceousness mitigates its presence on the wrist a tad, but 48.1mm across, even for a curved rectangular watch, will undoubtedly overpower smaller-sized wrists.
The strap
Matching the colour scheme of the dial and case, Franck Muller has paired its Long Island Evolution Master Jumper with a black alligator leather strap with green stitching and a black PVD-treated titanium buckle. If this watch was capable of 50 metres of water-resistance or more, I would have preferred a rubber strap to match the modern energy of its technical aura, but at 30 metres, the leather strap is certainly the best pairing.
The movement
The Master Jumper has a shaped movement that fits its case – none of that round calibre in a squared case nonsense. The in-house FM 3100 is designed just for this watch, and is manually wound with 30 hours of power reserve. 30 hours, especially by modern standards, is an extremely short duration for a movement – especially one that is strictly hand-wound. But this is ultimately the trade-off of a calibre with three power reserve-guzzling, jumping displays. For these to jump instantaneously, two barrels were needed to make it possible.
“The greatest challenge of the Master Jumper is powering the numerical displays,” Franck Muller explains. “Delivering an instantaneous jump for the hours and minutes requires significant amounts of energy, especially at the hour jump, and even more so at the end of the day when the date jumps as well. To achieve sufficient torque even towards the end of its power reserve, we came up with an innovative double barrel system with the first barrel, located at 12 o’clock, engaging the hours and minutes disc, and the second barrel, located at 6 o’clock, powering the movement and the two discs associated with the date.”
While the engineering of the movement is certainly worthy of admiration and discussion, it is also worth noting that the calibre is very finely finished, with côtes de Genève, perlage, chamfering, diamond polishing, and more.
The verdict
My 6.5-or-so-inch wrist finds the case a tad intimidating, but I also like watches that wear more like vintage ones, and this an unapologetically modern design. So, I wouldn’t say this watch is for me given the scale of the design, though I do enjoy its aesthetic and very much respect the technical innovation of a time and date watch with three jumping displays. We also have to give Franck Muller props for its commitment to making a dedicated, shaped movement for the case in a world where the so-called “Holy Trinity” cannot be bothered.
Its distinct functionality means it has few true competitors, the only one coming to mind being the F.P. Journe Vagabondage. But across its three iterations, F.P. Journe has only had a max of two indications digitally displayed, though it does take the complication a step further by having a running jumping seconds display. Therefore, there is nothing like this Master Jumper anywhere else, so if you are into conversation-starting independent watchmaking that premieres a world-first and stands alone, the Master Jumper is certainly something to consider.
Franck Muller Long Island Evolution Master Jumper pricing and availability
The Franck Muller Long Island Evolution Master Jumper is available now for enquiries. Price: A$157,600
| Brand | Franck Muller |
| Model | Long Island Evolution Master Jumper |
| Reference | LI 35 MJ SQT NR BR (VR) |
| Case Dimensions | 35.3mm (D) x 12.5mm (T) x 48.1mm (LTL) |
| Case Material | PVD titanium, microblasted aluminium |
| Water Resistance | 30 metres |
| Crystal(s) | Sapphire front and back |
| Dial | Sapphire, open |
| Strap | Alligator leather strap, PVD titanium buckle |
| Movement | MVT FM 3100-L, in-house, manually-wound |
| Power Reserve | 30 hours |
| Functions | Jumping hours, jumping minutes, jumping date |
| Availability | Now |
| Price | A$157,600 |