Why it's so challenging to paint a Franck Muller dial
Editor’s note: Franck Muller are known for their incredibly complex movements, wonderfully curved case designs, and brightly coloured dials. But did you know that each Franck Muller dial is hand-painted? That’s right, there is a dedicated dial painter with a very steady hand, who is responsible for adding that characteristic splash of colour to the wrists of collectors around the world. Time+Tide went head-to-head with Franck Muller to see who could paint the better dial — you be the judge of who won … I’m not above admitting it. I’m more than just a bit painful when it comes to painted versus printed dials. “Is this painted or printed?” is a question I’ve asked countless times. Receiving countless eye-rolls, I might add. And, full disclosure, I’ve always assumed that the colour, paint volume and line-perfect proportions of Franck Muller dials are the latter. Printed. But when I attended the Franck Muller ‘chalet’ (such a more appropriate descriptor than ‘manufacture’) for a second time, early in 2017, I asked the question and was met with a very different answer, which also happened to be a question. “They’re painted,” said my soon-to-be nemesis from Franck Muller, Laura Bondi. “Would you like to try painting…
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In just 10 days, on Saturday the 29th February, we will be throwing a bash at our headquarters to celebrate the recent Watch & Act! World Watch Auction – with proceeds once again donated to bushfire relief. Our special guests on the night – and we’re rightfully excited about this part – are the Horological Society of New York. Deep breaths. Three ticket types are available here at our Eventbrite page (where you may also notice we have an Indie Explorer Evening coming up). $20 for general admission and a ticket to go in the raffle to win one of two seats at the HSNY Traveling Education series ‘Watchmaking 101-103 course’ the next day in Melbourne, valued at over $800. $80 ($40 for Time+Tide Club Members) for premium admission, which includes a Limited Edition Watch & Act! t-shirt. This was never intended to be available as we created it to send out to our generous auction donors AND including a raffle ticket to win one of two seats at the HSNY Traveling Education series ‘Watchmaking 101-103 course’ the next day in Melbourne, valued at over $800. The two HSNY tickets were kindly donated by The Hour Glass and by HSNY.…
In this week’s head-to-head battle of words, James Robinson squares off against Editor Luke Benedictus, as Nicholas Kenyon is still recovering from Robinson’s knockout blow in last week’s Crime or Sublime. This may well be Benedictus’s first time in the figurative ring, but he’s come out swinging. And the topic for this week’s literary battle? Wearing jewellery with watches … Crime or Sublime? Luke Benedictus – The For Argument Oh please. Surely you’ve mustered enough self-confidence by now that you can get dressed without meekly submitting to one person’s entirely subjective rulebook. The truth is that, for some people, anything goes. They can get dressed with maverick flair and blithe disregard for convention and it works for them, too. Admittedly, their rock-star swagger and charisma often stems from the fact that they are, in fact, bona fide rock stars (or similar). I’m talking about the usual suspects you find in the best-dressed lists: Jared Leto, LeBron James, David Beckham, André 3000, Mark Ronson, Jeff Goldblum, ASAP Rocky et al. Do the aforementioned actually wear watches and jewellery? Frankly, I have no idea (although as luck would have it, LeBron appears to be doing so in the first photo I googled).…
The clichés applied to these watches are endless: iconic, archetypal, essential … and the list goes on. What can be said about the Rolex Datejust that hasn’t already been said? Quite a bit actually when presented with the opportunity to look at a cross section of the watch’s evolution firsthand. Most Time+Tide readers will know that the Datejust model goes all the way back to 1945 and in this article we are going to look at the Datejust starting in the second half of the 20th century and continuing to present day, as the three watches we have on hand represent a combined 50 of the total 75-year Rolex Datejust history. A Comforting Reward in 1970: The Reference 1601 By 1970, the Datejust had established itself through the post-war period as the go-to watch to celebrate middle-class success. I know from personal research that the 1601 in this particular article was gifted by the first owner’s wife to him in celebration of his retirement from a long career in the defence department of the Canadian government. Imagine if you will, a man in his mid-60s, who has served his country for decades, opening the gift-wrapped box and seeing the glint…
