Franck Muller Teams Up With Bamford Watch Department
A never-before-seen iteration of the Crazy Hours watch featuring Snoopy.
Some of contemporary watchmaking’s biggest names have, in recent years, enlisted Bamford Watch Department (BWD) to inject a touch of fun and irreverence into their most iconic watches. The likes of like TAG Heuer, Bvlgari and Zenith have all collaborated with BWD on limited-edition rolls-outs with remarkable success. This year, Franck Muller gets in on the act, offering up the famed Crazy Hours as canvas for the BWD treatment.
One of the brand’s most outrageous complications, Crazy Hours eschews the classic dial layout, where the 12 hour markers are displayed in chronological order, for one that shows jumbled numerals. So, for instance, the number ‘12’ is at the eight o’clock position, ‘2’ is at the six o’clock position, ‘3’ is at 11 o’clock, and so on. As a result, the hour hand, too, would snap from hour to hour – in the correct order, of course – programmed by way of an ingenious retrograde-style mechanism on the automatic movement.
Limited to 25 pieces, the Franck Muller X Bamford Watch Department ‘Snoopy’ limited edition elevates the whimsicality further by featuring the famous cartoon beagle on the dial. Snoopy is no stranger to wristwatches, having been famously featured on several highly collectible models spanning brands from Omega to Swatch. On the Franck Muller X Bamford Watch Department ‘Snoopy’ limited edition, however, the iconic cartoon dog is especially lively and animated, thanks to the Crazy Hours mechanism with an arm that doubles up as the hour hand pointing one way and then another. Also making an appearance here is Snoopy’s sidekick, Woodstock, depicted at nine and 10 o’clock.
Of course, BWD’s contribution isn’t restricted to slapping a cartoon character on the watch. Housed in Franck Muller’s famous Cintree Curvex case, recognised by its tonneau-shaped profile and smooth, curvaceous silhouette, the Franck Muller X Bamford Watch Department ‘Snoopy’ limited edition is clad in a matte DLC-coated stainless steel case, with the cartoon characters in black and white, and the hour numerals in grey – a stylish aesthetic treatment that is very BWD.
But it is when the lights are low when things get really interesting. The depiction of Snoopy on the dial is complemented by repetitive outlines that echo the character’s shape, which are, in fact, filled with green Super-LumiNova. What is a moneyed and whimsical cartoon-themed watch by day now turns into something that’s rather cool and funky in the dark – a great reminder of the Crazy Hour’s enigmatic and sophisticated technical DNA.
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