The tourbillon is a technology that defies gravity, and at the same time, it is a device that captures the beauty of time. In 1986, independent watchmaker Franck Muller created the world's first regulator-type tourbillon watch, making his extraordinary talents known to the world at the tender age of 28. Since then, he has continued to achieve great innovations with his extraordinary skills. This book delves into the core philosophy of this genius watchmaker who is the "narrator of the tourbillon."
Photographs by Takeshi Hoshi (estrellas)
Takahiro Ohno: Editing, reporting, and writing
Edited & Text by Takahiro Ohno (Office Peropaw)
[Article published in the July 2025 issue of Kronos Japan]
"The Beginning and Soaring of Innovation"
The aesthetics of the flying tourbillon
Equipped with the watch industry's first in-house flying tourbillon, Cal. FM2001-2, announced in 2001, this watch was the world's first "floating tourbillon," completed the following year in 2002. The movement of the carriage rising after the hour and minute hands escape to 12 o'clock is linked to the degree of pressure applied to the pusher. In other words, it is independent of the time display gear train and does not affect the rate for a certain period of time. Despite its bold idea, the mechanism is simple and highly refined, and since early efforts were made to improve the precision of the components, it has continued to be sold as a current model more than 20 years later. Manual winding. Pt case (48.5mm x 35mm). 18,000 vph. Power reserve approximately 42 hours. Water resistant for everyday use. 61.6 million yen (tax included).
The tourbillon was patented in 1801 and was adapted from pocket watches to wristwatches in the 20th century, but its fundamental concept has always been the pursuit of precision. In particular, in 2001, marking the 200th anniversary of the tourbillon, famous brands and independent watchmakers unveiled tourbillons that they had put all their effort into, as if to show off their technical capabilities, and they attracted a great deal of attention as the pinnacle of complex mechanisms.
Franck Muller, a former rising star among independent watchmakers, approached this time-honored world from an angle no one had expected. The flying tourbillon "Revolution 1," released in 2002, brought about a dramatic shift in conventional values. When the push button at 8 o'clock was pressed, the hour and minute hands joined hands at 12 o'clock, giving the view of the dial to a rising carriage, creating a stage-like effect that shocked the watch world like no other.
This flying tourbillon is supported only by the base plate. To prevent the axis of rotation from wobbling, ceramic ball bearings are used.
The power from the mainspring is diverted from the second wheel, connected to the third wheel, then the fourth wheel, then the fifth side pinion, and transmitted to the geared carriage.
Behind this dramatic movement, of course, lies a sophisticated mechanism. While a typical flying tourbillon uses a lower pinion to drive the carriage, the Revolution 1 uses a side pinion driven by the brand's first in-house caliber, the FM2001-2. This structure ensures that power remains constant even when the carriage rises. Furthermore, when the pusher is released, the hour and minute hands return to their original positions, just like split-second hands, and display the correct time.
In this way, the Revolution 1 redefined the tourbillon, a classic complicated mechanism, into a mechanism for viewing. This milestone marked the beginning of Franck Muller's liberation from all conventional wisdom and constraints, and he went on to embody increasingly freewheeling ideas in his subsequent Masters Collection watches.
"The Mechanism of Charms and Prayer"
Pannier guilloched dial
Franck Muller has not only enhanced the functionality of the tourbillon, but has also deepened its symbolism and narrative. A prime example of this is the 2022 "Tonneau Curvex Tourbillon 30th." This model, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the company's founding, was conceived as the spiritual successor to the 1995 "Imperial Tourbillon," and clearly bore the symbolic theme of "protection from evil."
The Imperial Tourbillon is also the first model to feature a tourbillon in a Tonneau Curvex. Taking advantage of the anecdote that tourbillons in pocket watches were prone to malfunction and were disliked by Asian royalty, who believed them to be possessed by demons, Franck Muller designed a sword on the carriage, adding a talismanic meaning to exorcise evil spirits with its rotating blade. Furthermore, for the 30th anniversary model, one of the three swords has been replaced with a large axe known as a "pendulum." This design is associated with medieval traps and weapons, further strengthening its ritualistic meaning as a talisman. Additionally, like the Imperial Tourbillon, the dial features a "Vieux Pannier" (old basket) guilloché pattern. This geometric pattern also embodies Eastern ideas of warding off evil. The mesh, which evokes the ancient Japanese custom of hanging bamboo baskets at entrances to ward off misfortune, is also a symbol of Orientalism, resembling the scales of a dragon.The double "basket" of guilloche and carriage has a double meaning in terms of pattern and technique.
The 30th anniversary model presents the completely new possibility that the Tonneau Curvex is not merely a vessel of beautiful curves, but can also be a vessel of prayer that defies the fundamental force of the universe, gravity, and contains the depths of culture, and that the tourbillon can be a projection of culture and spirituality.
This tourbillon commemorating the brand's 30th anniversary is housed in the "2850" size, the earliest original Tonneau Curvex, and is imbued with the story of a talisman. The movement is the in-house Cal. FM2050, featuring the smallest carriage diameter in the brand's history (11.6mm), with twin barrels ensuring an approximately 80-hour power reserve. It incorporates advanced technology in every dimension, including an in-house winding balance spring, free-sprung precision adjustment, and an ultra-lightweight escapement mechanism made using electroform technology. Hand-wound. 18K yellow gold case (45mm x 30mm). 18,000 vph. Water resistant for everyday use. Limited to nine pieces (three each of white, blue, and black). Price: 2178 million yen (tax included).
"A chain of challenges that will drive the future"
Where is the tourbillon headed?
The Masters Collection, launched in 2024, is a new category that reconstructs models equipped with Franck Muller's in-house movements across existing collections. Covering approximately 90% of complications, it also includes simple three-hand watches, and is positioned as a key flagship model for the brand as it further promotes its manufacture-oriented approach in the future.
At the heart of this is the tourbillon. Redefined as a "mechanism for show" with the 2002 Revolution 1, this mechanism, which even took on the value of a talisman, paved the way for the widespread adoption of flying mechanisms and became the starting point for pushing the tourbillon to the center of complicated timepieces. Since then, great milestones have been achieved one after another, such as multi-axis, high speed, central placement, large size, and ultra-complexity, transforming the classic mechanism known as the tourbillon into a "work of art in progress." This was not simply a technological competition, but an evolution aimed at fusing it with the senses as a "device for sensing time."
What is noteworthy is that these challenges are always permeated with both "visuality" and "spirit." The flow of time is expressed through rotational motion, the effects of gravity are overcome with a three-dimensional structure, and the mechanism placed at the center of time stirs the heart of the viewer. The design concept embodies the fundamental question, "What is time?"
The six current models listed below are also tourbillons from the Masters Collection. However, they are not simply a technical lineage. They are a poetic and philosophical series that seeks to explore the essence of time, proving that the Franck Muller brand is more than just a "maker of complications"; it is a "philosopher of time." The questioning of the "essence of time" continues to this day.
The Masters Collection
The carriage rotates horizontally once every minute, while rotating vertically once every eight minutes, averaging the effects of gravity across two axes. This monumental piece paved the way for the practical application of multi-axis tourbillons, embodying both technological innovation and visual impact. Retrograde 8-minute and 60-second counters are located at 5 and 7 o'clock. Manual winding. 18KPG case (48.5mm x 35mm). Price: 168,300,000 yen (tax included).
The world's first three-axis tourbillon. The carriage has three independent rotation axes, rotating at three different intervals: 1 minute, 8 minutes, and 1 hour. It also maintains a power reserve of approximately 10 days while handling increased torque. Like the Revolution II, it features a retrograde 8-minute counter and 60-second counter. Manual winding. Platinum case (55.5mm x 41.2mm). Price: 215,380,000 yen (tax included).
This ultra-multifunctional watch breaks world records, integrating a total of 36 mechanisms, including a tourbillon, eternal calendar, minute repeater, and split-second chronograph. The movement, which incorporates all of the company's technology, consists of 1483 parts, all of which are manufactured in-house and assembled by hand. Automatic winding. 18K white gold case (61mm x 42.1mm). Price: 567.6 million yen (tax included).
This highly visually stunning new-generation tourbillon features an offset carriage that traces a satellite orbit similar to the Earth, rotating and revolving around its axis, supported by a curved X-shaped bridge. Combined with Vanguard's distinctive sporty case design, it beautifully expresses modern aesthetics and the spirit of mechanical art. Manual winding. Titanium case (53.7mm x 44mm). Price: 2310 million yen (tax included).
This is the first micro-rotor automatic watch to feature a tourbillon carriage in the center of the dial, other than a round case. The time is displayed by hour and minute hands protruding from the outer periphery, but the center of the hands is hidden. By overlapping with the center of the carriage, the structural complexity is elevated to visual beauty. Automatic winding. 18KPG case (58.6mm high x 40mm wide). Price: 2750 million yen (tax included).
The brand's largest carriage, measuring 20mm in diameter, is housed in a three-dimensionally curved Grand Curvex case. The four-barrel configuration provides a stable supply of powerful energy, and the use of titanium material, among other things, incorporates the latest technology in all aspects of design, materials, and processing, achieving both structural scale and aesthetic appeal. Manual winding. 18KPG case (55.7mm x 38mm). Price: 46,420,000 yen (tax included).
