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Franck Muller Lemania Chronograph White Gold "Number 00" 2870 NA

US$0.00

Description

This is the Franck Muller 2870 NA 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.

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. Housed in a white gold case design that signifies the direction of Franck Muller’s early work, several elements such as the stepped case and round pump pushers borrow heavily from important chronographs of the past. With the Breguet-style numerals on the dial, this variant remains one of the most desirable configurations of this reference and is interestingly numbered 00.

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.

Condition

This Franck Muller 2870 NA is in excellent pre-owned condition. The case has some light signs of wear in the form of hairlines on the bezel and caseback without any dings or dents. The crystal remains flawless. There is sticker residue from the piece being stickered for many years on both the caseback and crown side of the case which can clearly be seen in the photos. The watch retains its original Franck Muller strap and white gold buckle and is in full working order.