Ah...back way before you were even a sprinkle of DNA in your ancestors' gene pool, Franck Muller was supplying the world with precious precious diamonds. This was in 1789, when I hear diamonds were still cut using dinosaur teeth, or something similar. From diamond supply all over the navigable planet, to headquarters in London, was supplying the landed aristocracy all over with shiny bling. There is bling-worthy, and then there is top-of-the-heap classy that will get even royalty to take notice of the not so small fortune on your wrist. This is where the Franck Muller watches come in.
The Franck Muller Group -owned Franck Muller watch division has a mission that seems pretty simple. In my own words; make really nice, well watches, that are prohibitively expensive, with lots of diamonds. Despite this lofty ambition and young nature as a watch maker, they are succeeding. My favorite among their growing line, is the Men's Berkeley watch. And what a watch it is. The colors and materials differ, as well as the surface area covered in diamonds.
Check out this beauty. The shape alone makes me think of a society where people are judged based on what they wear. Wearing this would make you king. It is just so handsomely done combing the square face and rounded curves. Does it smell a bit of Cartier? Sure, but that's ok, it is a pleasant odor.
This Icon XL watch has the "Cobalt Black" dial - which is really ironic to me as Cobalt is actually a color of blue. There are also blue or while dialed versions and a special limited version in brown with an 18k pink gold case. The dial texture is made up of little pyramids. This is also known as Clos du Paris. It looks handsome with the design, and certainly classy. Most people would consider the watch to have "Franck Muller" hour numerals. It is true that Franck Muller popularized this font, but they were not the first to use it (themselves being borrowers as well). Looking at the hands you see Gerald Genta's work. This baton style hands are what you'd find on a Patek Philippe Nautilus or Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. The seconds hand is red and sporty, and matched minute markers on the periphery of the dial. LumiNova is used as lume on the hands, and I like how the hour indicators are applied to the face. Overall detailing on the dial is very impressive. I've seen much more expensive watches not do dials as well. The standard "Swiss Made" is replaced with a red colored, cursive font printed; "Manufacture en Suisse." Sounds fancy!
