Details 

A rare, unusual and attractive white gold chronograph wristwatch of the Swiss watch brand Franck Muller, founded in 1991. Produced in 1995. Case in 18k white gold, diameter 36mm, solid white gold caseback hand-engraved with inscription “Franck Muller Geneve Pièce Unique Ref. 7000 3645”. Solid yellow gold dial with engraved fine texture, sculpted and engraved image of Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe and trees, leaf-shaped blued steel hands, perimeter minute/chronograph seconds scale. Caliber 7000, self-winding, rotor with platinum segment, power reserve of up to 48 hours. Functions – indication of time in hours and minutes, chronograph with central seconds, 45-minute chronograph counter at 12 o’clock. Black leather strap with 18k white gold Franck Muller pin buckle. Piece unique. 

Lot essay 

Franck Muller is one of the first Swiss watchmakers of the new era to have founded his own watch brand. From the very beginning of his career, he showed extraordinary ingenuity, creating a series of complicated and super-complicated wristwatches. His brand is also notable for some design breakthroughs. In particular, he achieved recognition as a leader in the cultivation of the vintage style – something he was practicing back in the 1990s, long before this style began to dominate the entire industry in the 2010s. 

What makes this piece even more attractive is the all-gold sculpted and engraved miniature showing the iconic Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe on the dial.

Not limited to the production of complications, classic and vintage-styled watches, Franck Müller boldly developed other genres in his collection. This collectible decorative chronograph seems to be part of an almost mythical and forgotten heritage, one of the symbols of the early period of the brand’s creativity. The themes of luxury and sports cars have always served as a source of inspiration for the best watchmakers, who often create both technical watches for racing drivers, especially chronographs, and decorative models that represent outstanding cars as part of the culture. Franck Muller is not alone in the development of decorative watches of this kind – in particular, similar pieces produced by Audemars Piguet are known. 

The present example is dedicated to the Mercedes-Benz 300SL, which was the first Mercedes-Benz sports car developed in the post-war years. Its legendary status came from its unusual vertical-opening doors – because of them, the car received the nickname the Gullwing Coupe. Now it is a classic collector’s item, reaching multi-million dollar valuations at auctions. The watch, created almost thirty years ago and dedicated to this car, now also looks like a piece of bygone history, a collector’s rarity emerging from the early period of the Franck Muller brand. We are confident that the early models of Franck Muller have good potential as collectibles, since this particular brand, despite its youth, was one of the most significant trendsetters of the first half of the 1990s. 

Reasons to bid 

The ‘Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe’ Piece Unique Ref. 7000 CC S 3645 appears to be a rare chance for the collector to purchase a unique, unusual and attractive chronograph wristwatch from a world-renowned watch brand, famous for its vintage-inspired designs. The present lot represents the decorative genre – metiers d’art – very rare for the early period of the Franck Muller brand. What makes this piece even more attractive is the all-gold sculpted and engraved miniature showing the iconic Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe on the dial. It is definitely a must-have if we consider the collecting of Franck Muller watches, or rare and unusual chronographs. 

Specification

Condition report