Franck Muller unveils the Franck Muller Vanguard Damascus Steel Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition to celebrate Sincere Fine Watches’ 70th anniversary.
It is not often a homegrown brand celebrates its 70th anniversary, but luxury watch retailer Sincere Fine Watches is doing so this year after being established in 1954. Long-term partner Franck Muller has launched the Franck Muller Vanguard Damascus Steel Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition to mark the momentous platinum jubilee of Sincere Fine Watches. The brand’s Vanguard is no longer a stranger to Franck Muller’s portfolio, but Damascus steel is a fairly new material addition, first introduced in 2023.
Damascus steel is noted for its unique appearance, as alternating layers of steel, 316L and 304L, are combined in this edition. Visually, it stands out amongst other materials and from each other, as no two watches share the same pattern. The metal is one of those where style meets substance, as its strength and corrosion resistance come in at the upper end of the spectrum.
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While Damascus steel is used throughout the watch’s tonneau case, as with the brand’s core collection, the watch’s calibre MVT FM 1740-VS2 bridges are fashioned from the layered steel, too. Given the material’s innate properties, it is incredibly complex to machine various components, as you will read from Franck Muller Genève CEO Nicholas Rudaz’s interview response below. Franck Muller’s other signature touch, a skeletonised dial, serves as the perfect foil to peacock the Damascus steel bridge.
Accents of rose gold are present, too, as the watch hands, dial flange, middle case, crown and buckle are fashioned from precious metal. Flipping the watch over reveals Sincere Fine Watches’ logo on the crystal case back. Men’s Folio caught up with Mr Rudaz while he was in Singapore to discuss the merits of the 28-piece limited edition collection and the significance of Sincere Fine Watches’ 70th anniversary.
Franck Muller Genève CEO Nicholas Rudaz
Nicholas, are birthdays a big thing for you?
Well, we were just talking about that with your colleague because it’s his birthday today, and he was playing it down like we often do. The older we get, the more we play them down. Ultimately, it’s always nice to feel the love, excitement, and uniqueness of a birthday. Celebrating Sincere’s 70th birthday is an important milestone, just like the many birthdays in the past with them. I remember we made a beautiful tourbillon in a Curvex case, 60 pieces in different colours for the 60th anniversary. It’s always happy to celebrate such occasions because such occasions need to be celebrated. Sincere has been the leader in its field for 70 years marks quite an achievement. These things don’t happen by luck or chance, so it’s important to celebrate them.
What is your favourite feature about the watch because there are so many aspects to it?
Well, of course, this watch is unique because we use the Damascus steel inside the movement. You’ve seen Damascus steel used in some of our other cases, but using it for the calibre is unique. Damascus steel is very hard and strong, and using such a material for the watch movement is very difficult. Since every steel has a different pattern, there are 28 unique watches in this edition.
Rose gold accents seen on the case side
How long did the engineers take to prototype, test and cut the Damascus movement bridges?
It took us about one year to achieve this. Our watchmaker is with us today, and he can tell you how hard it was to put these pieces together. Of course, decorating these components requires specific tools, so it’s quite a challenge.
So why use Damascus steel for this edition and not a precious metal like gold or platinum?
Well, for starters, we can’t always make gold watches. Back then, while presenting the Damascus steel material in our core collection, we were already talking with Sincere about celebrating this milestone. It was only natural that we talked about using Damascus steel and pushed the concept further. From a technical perspective, this was quite something.
From an aesthetic standpoint, Damascus steel is very visual and expressive. Does this highlight Franck Muller’s flamboyance as a watchmaker?
Absolutely, it’s always the little je ne sais quoi which makes the difference of Franck Muller in its DNA. Making the watch in steel makes it more affordable; more people can consider buying such a watch, and the fact that it is so strikingly different makes it very appealing and interesting.
And is Damascus steel symbolic of the relationship between Franck Muller and Sincere with the alternating layers of steel?
Of course, it symbolises the very precious collaboration we’ve had over all these years. I like to say it’s like bread and butter—one without the other is not so good. We concentrate on designing and producing beautiful watches, and Sincere is incredibly good at communicating and sharing the passion for watchmaking with their clients. That’s their domain, and they’ve become the leaders in that. So we’re delighted to have grown together over the years and look forward to 70 more years.
How has this partnership shaped Franck Muller’s influence in Southeast Asia and the regions around it?
Well, it’s been pretty crucial. Sincere was very happy to have us on board, and so were we. We’ve grown incredibly well together over the years.
Are there any notable differences in terms of consumer patterns between the European countries, versus Asians?
Well, of course, there are a lot of different trends going on in different markets such as Japan, the Middle East or Europe. It’s difficult for one person sitting in his Geneva office to decide what we will do for these markets. That’s why we rely a lot on local knowledge; Sincere brings us that which is very valuable.
And how do you break through the young and the not-so-young?
Well, we touch all generations, and we see today that the younger generation is following in their parents’ footsteps with Franck Muller. We see many people talk fondly about how their father, uncle or aunt’s Franck Muller. Franck Muller was extremely popular 32 years ago; today, it’s becoming very popular again. We’ve always remained very creative in complications and design, and thanks to our creativity, sometimes we touch the younger clientele, sometimes we touch the older clientele, so we end up touching everyone.
Is nostalgia something you want to evoke in clients whenever they open a Franck Muller box?
Well, this happens from time to time, yes, but the nostalgia is all about mechanical movements. When you have a smartwatch on your wrist, there’s nothing to open up and look into. Similarly, if you open the engine of an electric car today, there’s nothing to see, unlike a 30-year-old car. There’s a lot of mechanics, engineering and excitement beneath the bonnet. I think many of the younger generations also find their pleasure and creativity in watches and older cars.
Sincere has been a long-term partner of Franck Muller. What are some of its values that you appreciate?
Above all, it’s the family spirit. We are a family company. Franck Muller is one of the three strongest independent Swiss watch companies. Sincere comes from a very family-oriented background and is still run by a family from different generations. They share the same values as Franck Muller, for perfection, experience, creativity, and excitement of watchmaking, and they’re very good at promoting that.
Some people say that being independent is very liberating. Others say that there could be a lot of pressure. Which side do you think Franck Muller stands on?
Thankfully, Franck Muller is profitable, so we don’t depend on banks, and since we don’t have shareholders, we concentrate purely on creativity. Creativity, complications and designs are our number one priority. Unlike other companies, we don’t need to worry about maintaining the price value at a certain level.
Sincere Fine Watches’ logo on the caseback
How do you nurture creativity amongst your watchmakers and designers based on Mr. Franck Muller’s vision from decades ago?
Franck’s DNA is strongly embodied in the buildings and inside the spirit of the Franck Muller brand. Many of our staff have worked with him in the past, and we’ve all learned from and treasured that. The DNA is still very much present at all levels.
Where will Franck Muller be five years or 10 years down the road? Do you see drastic evolution, or is the brand taking small steps to grow?
It’s very difficult today to have a vision of five years because, as you said, times change very quickly, and we have to adapt to all of that. We have a wonderful factory, wonderful capabilities, wonderful partners to work with, and we’ll still be very creative. We are here in the long run. That’s the objective, and we still have a lot of ground to conquer together with Sincere.
Once you’re done with this story, click here to catch up with our October 2024 issue.