A Reminder to Stop And Rewind

Franck Muller may be recognised by watch enthusiasts worldwide as the master of complications, specifically in tourbillons, but the watchmaker has proven himself to be just as much a master of whimsical and poetic timepieces over the years. The Franck Muller catalogue has seen ranges like the Crazy Hour (a wandering hour complication where the hours hand jumps to follow the seemingly random placement of the markers across the dial) and the Secret Hours (a complication that allows the user to hide the time – both hours and minutes hands would point to 12 o’clock until a pusher is activated).

This year, Franck Muller expands on this whimsical take of time with the Cintrée Curvex Remember, “an unusual approach to the very notion of time off the beaten track”, as the brand puts it.

At its heart, the Cintrée Curvex Remember is a watch that tells time backwards, with all three hands – hours, minutes, and seconds – moving anti-clockwise. Granted, it’s not the easiest way to read time and plenty of adjustments is necessary on the owner’s part to get used to the watch, but therein lies what we assume is Franck Muller’s take on time – it’s ever-fleeting, and perhaps, if we took a bit longer to understand it, we would understand that it is relative.

While it’s not a new complication per se, with other brands having attempted the same before (Singapore’s own Azimuth had an hour hand-only timepiece that moved anti-clockwise), the watch is built in the epitome of Franck Muller aesthetics with the iconic “exploding numerals” adorning the dial. In the Cintrée Curvex case, the watch is an elegant wear on the wrist with two sizes, catering to both men and women. The dial sees a glossy lacquered guilloché sun pattern with the primary hours in a darker colour, more visible at the front, with several other random “holographic” hours sprinkled in the background.

At Franck Muller’s WPHH event in January, only the 18K red gold cased versions were announced, but the brand’s website was later updated to show that the watch would also be available in stainless steel as well as a variant with diamonds adorning the case.

Movement Self-winding Calibre FM 2800 INV; 42-hour power reserve
Case 36 x 50.4 mm or 31 x 43 mm in 18K pink gold or white gold
Strap Alligator Leather
Price From $17,100