Franck Muller Master Banker, 1990s

Dealer description — Analog/Shift

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, mid-1990s/early-2000s tonneau-shaped dress watch collection perfectly exhibits a design language that walks a fine line between classical and whimsical. The Master Banker line 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 example, a Reference 5850 MB, dates to the 1990s and is housed in a 32mm x 44mm stainless steel Tonneau case with a sapphire crystal and a signed crown. It features a silver guilloche dial with printed gloss-black stylized Arabic indices, a 'feuille' handset, a secondary time zone subdial at 12 o’clock, a third time zone dial at 6 o’clock and 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 its factory multi-link stainless steel bracelet with a signed hidden deployant clasp, this is a supremely cool and under-the-radar timepiece that is at once decidedly retro and suggestive of a dressier, funkier future for wristwear beyond the oversized sports watch that have dominated the horological landscape for over 30 years.