As the numerous independent watchmaking careers were unfolding up in the watchmaking valleys in the Jura mountains, a nascent independent watchmaker was just beginning his in Geneva. He would go on to become perhaps the most commercially successful watchmaker of the 90s.

Having studied watchmaking at Geneva’s local school, Franck Muller got his start restoring vintage timepieces, as most watchmakers did in the 1970s and 1980s. But Muller boasted outstanding mechanical aptitude and a good eye for strong design and it was not long before he began working on his first wristwatch.

In 1984, Muller debuted a tourbillon wristwatch, and soon followed with a variety of complicated wristwatches in quick succession, often building additional functions on restored  19th century movements. Much of his work was inspired by historical complications but reimagined for the modern day. One of his signature reinventions was the double-face chronograph that features an oversized seconds counter on the reverse of the watch, a complication once found on pocket watches but forgotten until revived by Muller.

He spent his formative years at the workshop of Svend Andersen, the Dane who was a co-founder of the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI) in 1985, and an early mentor to the young watchmaker. There he worked on restoring timepieces belonging the Patek Philippe Museum, as well as building his own, which were merely signed “Franck” in those early days.

Muller combined technical talent with a flair for style, which led to his defining design, the tonneau-shaped Cintrée Curvex case, no doubt inspired by the early 20th century Art Deco wristwatches of Patek Philippe and Cartier he had work on.

In 1991, Muller had found Vartan Sirmakes, a jeweller turned casemaker who was then a prominent supplier of case components to several leading watch brands, including Daniel Roth in its heyday.

Together the duo founded the Franck Muller brand, which combined complications, gem stones, and a lavish dose of glamour in a manner never before seen in watchmaking. The brand’s incredible success over the next two decades catapulted the pair onto business magazine Bilanz’s annual ranking of Switzerland’s richest people – making them the first, and only, figures in independent watchmaking to make the list.