BY JONATHAN BUES
MANY
ROOMED
HOUSE
Franck Muller’s flair for independence is on display at its many
watchmaking facilities throughout Switzerland.
Watchland
W
hen you hear the Swiss-French watchmaking term manufacture being bandied about,
it’s most often in the context of a handful of
firms known for producing an exceptionally
high number of watchmaking components in-house. Rolex and
Patek Philippe, of course, make the cut, as do Jaeger-LeCoultre,
Blancpain, Vacheron Constantin and Breguet. One luxury watchmaking behemoth that deserves its place right among them for
sheer manufacturing autonomy is Franck Muller, a relative upstart,
having been founded only 25 years ago.
Truth be told, Franck Muller was far ahead of the curve in its
path toward crafting a vertically integrated watch. When other firms
finally reacted to the Swatch Group’s determined effort to curtail
supplying ebauches and other components to competitors, Franck
Muller and its management had already made the all-important
investment in their own independence.
This commendable prescience and independent spirit are
likewise on full display each January at WPHH, the World Presentation of Haute Horlogerie, where the group shows its new products.
Rather than go along with the herd brands showing at Basel or
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