New release from Grail Watch (Revolution Watch)...

Not a fan of the brand, but it looks nice. 

Yes - but this was before the "rock star" "hype" period for FM. This is when Franck was still running the show and when he was producing Patek-like chronographs with classic styling.

I'm not a fan of where they went after this period and don't have any FM in the collection.

These will be the first FMs for me.

Again, looks really cool. Freely admit I do not know much about the brand other than they were in the same discussion as Jacob and Co for hype at one point. Have to give them props, they were RM before RM was doing its thing and still look better than an RM.  

I am totally in the dark.  Every now and then, someone will mention that Franck  Muller watches are overly-hyped, but I have zero context.  What happened?  Hoping someone knowledgeable can address my ignorance!

I think you are correct that Franck Muller watches have been overly hyped. As @AllTheWatches stated, Franck Muller was RM before RM. In fact, if you look at late 1990s/early 2000s FM you will notice that RM basically grabbed FM design cues and put them in a bubble gum machine.

Prior to Franck Muller himself leaving FM, he coined himself the master of complications and he was/is a genius watchmaker. Unfortunately, when he left the brand became better know for hype fashion like RM then for the technical complications.

What Wei Koh was attempting with this collaboration was to reach back to the true Franck Muller influence and recreate the amazing chronographs that FM released in the early 1990s that were heavily influenced by very early Patek Philippe references. Since it's also the 30th Anniversary, it made sense to celebrate that in some way. Thus, the reissue of the dual sided chronograph.

Hope this makes some sense.

Awesome explanation.  Thank you!

This. This happened. 

My old GS AD also sells FM. On two separate occasions for watches sharing this case style, I witnessed owners bringing them in for service because of moisture Looking at the site, looks like many in that case shape are only 30M.

To focus on the case shape or WR here would be a mistake.  The important thing is that is's got a crocodile texture to it.  Not just the band, the whole case.  So I think we can forgive a lack of moisture protection in exchange for the watch case looking like it's made of golden crocodile skin.

As uncouth as that reptilian watch is, the one Mel posted is admittedly classy.

Uncouth?  How dare you sir, HOW DARE YOU!?  

From the brand's very own website,

 Elegant, sporty and innovative, the Gold Croco, Iron Croco and Black Croco are harmonious timepieces.

Do you think just anyone can create a timepiece that's both sporty and elegant?  And if they could, would it also be harmonious?  I think not.

And, lest we forget,

The case as well as the dial are entirely milled to create the most realistic scales aspect similar to the beautiful alligator straps used by the brand.

Who else mills their cases to match the straps?  Does Rolex make cases with a leather grain to them?  Does AP make cases that look like they're made of NATO material?

Uncouth indeed.

That was a full laugh out loud. Somewhere in the world, I am sure David Lee Roth is happy to own that watch. 

Welp, I'm sure Sir Elton John would be happy to know Franck Mueller is making new stuff. 

Just came across this article from HODINKEE which was relevant to this release...

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/collectible-1990s-watches-rolex-patek-daniel-roth

Can you please not send me to these websites where I fall in love with EVERYTHING and can afford NOTHING. It's like OnlyFans all over again 😭

That Parmigiani Fleurier is amazing isn't it! I looked it up after reading and found out the last one sold for $45k. So sad. It's probably also a bit too small for me at 36mm, but probably perfect for a number of members of this community.

The thought of an OnlyFans for Watches just cracked me up 😂

It is a fantastic collaboration, not the first one Wei Koh did, as Frank Muller's name was just collecting dusk and being just a comic relief. 

ChronoGuy's explanation of the fall of FM reveals how quickly can a brand plunge into utter oblivion which really says a lot about Mille, whether you like the brand as a whole or not. It also reinforces how perennial Rolex will be. Although I am not a fan of late Rolex, their communication and marketing strategy, which I deplore, works wonders.

Back to the FM watches collaboration, I like all three but the pulsation one has a thick bezel, in my opinion. Is there a mechanical rationale for this? The last two look fantastic, you can tell of the PP and VC influence although the Breguet numerals feel a bit odd to me on a chronograph.

is this a colaboration with Hublot or Jacob&co ? 🤔😁

Yeah, the Parmigiani Fleurier really looks great.

https://youtu.be/aVZQjsaHhTk 

OMG!!!

There's...  there's a woman doing watch content!

The use of the Breguet numerals looks back to the Patek Philippe reference from which the watch draws its inspiration which was also a chronograph.

The case for the dual chronograph is "fatter" than the other two watches as it has both an automatic movement (the others have vintage Lemania manual movements so are relatively super slim) and dual sided chronographs - so lots of parts to fit in there. The pulsometer on the reverse is large to accommodate the additional tachymetre and telemetre scales so they can be easier to read at a larger font. Really elegant solution when you think about it.

I really like Jenni‘s reviews. She’s really down to earth.

Cool video.  I like her closing, which was (paraphrased), "I originally scripted this to have a 'moral to the story,' but I really don't think there's a moral here...  other than, don't get caught by bad timing?"

Maybe the moral of the story is that "things can get really popular, and then for totally unpredictable and idiosyncratic reasons, lose their popularity"?  

You know, there's this meme:

And, maybe, Franck Muller was the "current thing"?

Sale of the watches just went live today!

The double-sided chronograph is already sold out.

We'll see how the rest fare by the end of the week.

https://revolutionwatch.com/grail-watch-2-franck-muller-30th-anniversary-tribute-chronographs/?utm_source=Mailchimp%20Newsletter%20List&utm_campaign=260b4575e1-Our%20Week%20in%20Focus%20%7C%2018.11.2022%20-%20Introducing&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_69e9b9f834-260b4575e1-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&ct=t%28Our%20Week%20in%20Focus%20%7C%2018.11.2022%20-%20Introducing%29&mc_cid=260b4575e1&mc_eid=4272f66e26