Franck Muller Curvex

Tonneaus, squares and other intriguing watch shapes tempt us to take the road less traveled. Vintage Franck Muller Cintrée Curvex watches are among the wildly inventive designs created by the Swiss brand’s cofounder that put him at the vanguard of high-end watchmaking in the 1990s.

As the desire for early 2000s trends heats up, expect to see more wrists sporting pieces by Franck Muller. The celebrated watchmaker, who launched his eponymous brand in 1991 with CEO Vartan Sirmakes, created many of the era’s “it” timepieces — among them the Long Island, the Conquistador and perhaps most notably the Cintrée Curvex.

The Curvex reemerged in popular culture thanks to an horological mystery. In 2021 watch aficionados and Y2K nostalgists alike obsessed over identifying the “Bennifer Watch.” Worn by Ben Affleck in a 2003 photo, it was eventually confirmed as a Franck Muller Cintrée Curvex on a Chrome Hearts bracelet, reportedly a gift from his then girlfriend, now wife, Jennifer Lopez.

The Curvex showcases the brand’s signatures — a barrel-shaped, or tonneau, case and numerals rendered in a fanciful curling font. With its flair for the dramatic, it’s poised for a renaissance among those who aren’t afraid to embrace the unconventional when it comes to watches.

Find vintage Franck Muller Cintrée Curvex watches on 1stDibs.

Hailed as the “Master of Complications,” watchmaking brand Franck Muller is celebrated for its exquisitely technical contemporary timepieces. Its cofounder — the man for whom the company is named — is known for his groundbreaking use of the tourbillon and for championing intricate mechanical watches in an era that nearly saw them disappear entirely.

Muller crafted his own tourbillon wristwatch in the early 1980s. It was a time when the watch industry was still weathering the so-called “quartz crisis,” when Japanese battery-powered quartz timepieces, which were easy and inexpensive to produce, swept through the marketplace and challenged the traditional mechanical models. While Japanese brands such as Seiko thrived, this meant economic disaster in Switzerland. Now-legendary designers such as Gérald Genta created iconic timepieces during the crisis, but it was unlikely to see such a complicated timepiece from what was even an established luxury watchmaker when Muller’s first handcrafted watches emerged.

The tourbillon was invented in the 18th century, an era of clocks and pocket watches, to battle the negative effects that gravity was having on accuracy of these devices. As a young artisan restoring vintage Patek Philippe watches, Breguet watches and other timepieces that came his way from collectors, the Swiss-born Muller, who dropped out of high school but studied for four years at the Geneva School of Watchmaking, came to admire the sophistication of the tourbillon.

"The tourbillon is very difficult to make and very difficult to associate with other complications, yet it results in a watch with better timing," Muller told Cigar Aficionado.

He decided that he would make his own watches and that a tourbillon should be visible from the front versus the back. No one had ever done that before.

The Franck Muller brand was officially established by Muller and Vartan Sirmakes in 1991 and the tourbillon — even as it requires hand-assembly by seasoned experts — would later be integrated into the faces of many of the watchmaker’s most popular watch designs, including the Franck Muller Yachting series. Today’s discerning collectors are enthusiastic about these prestigious tourbillon timepieces, the brand’s wildly inventive shaped watches and the World Premieres, in which a new line of timepieces is produced annually and boasts a feature or attribute that is brand-new to the watchmaking industry.

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Antique, new and vintage wristwatches have captured the hearts and minds of all manner of watch collectors as well as the watchmakers themselves — it's time you found your own.

Certain vintage watches for men and iconic watch designs for women are sought after not only because of their graceful proportions or innovative materials but also because of the illustrious histories of the houses that created them, histories that they stylishly embody.

Bulgari’s legendary Serpenti watch was on everyone’s list after the collection’s bold bracelet, which technically debuted after the timepiece, graced the wrist of actress Elizabeth Taylor. If anything, elaborately crafted timepieces — the unmistakably boxy silhouette of Cartier Tank watches, the elegant and minimal Calatrava designed by legendary Swiss house Patek Philippe — are even more effective than the shape we associate with traditional wristwatches.

Form watches — the all-encompassing moniker bestowed upon non-round watches — are making headlines and completing contemporary fashionable ensembles the world over. At the same time, both casual fans and careful collectors are drawn to the unbeatable charm of vintage styles, such as the icons designed by Omega that even James Bond can’t resist.

In the early days of watchmaking, watches were fragile enough that they necessitated protection from the elements. Now, wristwatches made of gold and steel can withstand the harshest climates — even 100 meters underwater, in the case of Rolex’s Submariner. Designer Gérald Genta, whose range of clients included Rolex, created for Audemars Piguet the first luxury sports timepiece to be made from stainless steel. First introduced in 1972, the Royal Oak was a perfect choice for blending the form and function that are now synonymous with sports watches.

Are you shopping for a wristwatch? It’s good to keep your needs as well as your specific personal style in mind: A smaller, subtle timepiece is a good fit for small wrists. When will you be wearing your new accessory? There’s a versatile model out there for everyday wear, while a rugged, feature-heavy watch is a safe bet if you’re prone to embarking on all-weather activities in the great outdoors.

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