Franck Muller Lemania Double Face Chronograph 2870 NA DF

sold

A signature reference that has come to define the Master of Complications, the Franck Muller Double face is powered by the Lemania 1872 and features Breguet numerals on the front and a highly detailed dial with the tachymetre and telemetre indications.

Enquire about this watch

This is the Franck Muller 2870 Double Face Lemania Chronograph. A true watchmaker, Franck Muller began his career doing restorations for brands such as Patek Philippe before setting up his eponymous brand in 1991. Known as the Master of Complications, Franck Muller himself specialised in complicated wristwatches, culminating in two titles of the “most complicated wristwatch in the world”.

While Franck Muller today is far from it’s heyday in the early 2000s when the brand was among the most popular in the world, the early work of Franck Muller truly went under the radar. It was not until recently that early Franck Muller chronographs with hand-wound Lemania movements became popular, coinciding with the renaissance of the neo-vintage era. It is from this period of the storied watchmaker that the aforementioned reference was born. Alongside other Lemania-based chronograph, the double face is possibly one of the most significant from Franck Muller himself to come out of this period.

Not to be confused with the 7000 series that ran on automatic movements with a Valjoux base and a larger case size, the early 37mm Franck Muller Chronographs ran on the modified Lemania 1872 - the same base as other popular watches such as the Omega Speedmaster. In spite of the secondary dial on the caseback requiring modifications to the original Lemania movement, the case remains comfortably-sized in both width and thickness. Adorned with Breguet numerals on the front and a highly detailed tachymetre, telemetre and pulsations scale on the back, the 2870 NA DF is truly a piece that represents what the brand was all about during that period. As attractive as the dial is on the front, the secondary face is what makes it truly outstanding and it is of little wonder why the double face remains among the most highly desirable chronographs from that era of Franck Muller.

Unfortunately for the brand, it appears to have lost its previous luster due to lawsuits and scandals. It’s a pity as earlier Franck Mullers exude a level of charm and ingenuity that is in my opinion lacking in their more modern offerings. As an early independent, the early Franck Mullers have also risen in popularity together with several others of their time and it’s fortunate that watches such as these are still exchanging hands as proof of the beauty of the earlier work from the “Master of Complications” himself.