Franck Muller Master Banker

Franck Muller is a brand that doesn't get a lot of attention in today's steel sportwatch-centric consumer mindset. And we think that's a damn shame. Muller the man and Muller the brand have brought a lot to the world of modern horology, and his colorful tonneau-shaped dress watch collection brilliantly exhibits a design language that walks a fine line between classical and whimsical. The Master Banker was designed ‘for businessmen who are constantly on the move,’ and as such, is a particularly useful dress watch that can display three separate time zones. This particular piece, a Reference 5850MB, dates to the early 2000s and is housed in a 31mm x 43mm 18k rose gold tonneau case with a sapphire crystal. It features a silver guilloche dial with printed stylized Arabic indices, a blued steel stylized handset, and  secondary and tertiary time zone displays at the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock positions, accompanied by a date window at 3 o’clock. Extremely well balanced, handsome, and practical, it’s powered by a specially developed automatic movement from Frank Muller that allows each time zone to be controlled via the crown — an innovation that took several years to develop. Paired to a caseback inscribed with an individualized serial number, it comes fitted to a signed brown alligator leather strap with a a signed gold pin buckle. Despite their under-the-radar profile, Franck Muller timepieces are in our opinion some of the very best in the world for dressy complications and out of the box design language.