Various aspects of dial manfacturing at Franck Muller’s
Les Bois location.
It is in Les Bois that Franck
Muller operates its own factory dedicated to the manufacture of the many
watch dials it uses annually for its
large and diverse collection of SKUs.
Mr Jean-Paul Boillat, who along with
Franck Muller founders Vartan Sirmakes and Franck Muller purchased
Les Fils d’Arnold Linder S.A. in the year 2000, runs the factory and
personally guided me around on my tour.. Today, Les Fils d’Arnold
Linder S.A. employs approximately 100 workers.
The fact that Franck Muller makes its own dials puts the firm
in elite company. Most watchmakers order this crucial component—the one that the wearer actually looks at to glean the time—
from any number of external suppliers.
Franck Muller begins its dial manufacturing process by
stamping brass or steel blanks, firing them in an oven, and then
re-stamping them.
Where the natural, organic material of mother-of-pearl is
concerned, Franck Muller is forced to discard approximately 25%
of all blanks sent by the supplier upon initial inspection. I asked
Mr. Boillat if the company received any kind of credit from the
supplier to offset such a high waste rate, and he said no. It just
has to be thrown away. Perhaps a company making lower end
watches could find some use for blemished mother-of-pearl, but
not Franck Muller.
2016 | WRISTWATCH
51