CRAZY HOURS
Master Watchmakers are definitely an unusual breed. First, they choose to apply their considerable engineering prowess to the most esoteric and ancient technologies. There is one type of person who is drawn to a centuries-old technology: the creative iconoclast.
The world of luxury watches is small and exclusive, especially the world of Swiss luxury watches. Watchmakers can end up operating in a very isolated world. The drive to innovate movements has always been there, but most complications have already been invented and perfected. The rare exception to this rule is the Franck Muller Crazy Hours, a watch that plays with the notion of time. Here are three reasons why Crazy Hours is our top watch of the month.
1. Crazy Hours is disorienting
Most aficionados of fine watches are skilled at telling the time by simply glancing at their wrist. Crazy Hours watches force the wearer to first pay attention to the actual numbers, rather than their position on the dial, in order to tell the time. In that tiny half-second pause, there are moments of delightful disorientation. It gives your brain a little exercise and injects pleasure into the simple act of checking the time. In a year like this, we all want a little joy.
2. Crazy Hours is a mechanical masterpiece
The Crazy Hours movement is complex and beautiful, and has become the flagship of the Muller brand. This complication isn't used in many other , so the work of developing it was special (impressive) and fun. Essentially, Crazy Hours is a time-hopping sport with a twist. The four numeral hour markers are in their usual places: 4, 10, 7 and 1. The hour movement of the watch has been changed so the hands jump 5 positions per hour to land on the correct number. In practice, however, the watch works like magic, spinning wildly and then always landing on the correct index. (The seconds hand runs as normal, and the minutes are read by position on the dial rather than numbers.)
3. This is the perfect watch for working from home
While unintentional, Crazy Hours is also the perfect watch for the coronavirus era. Without many of the routines and rituals that used to make up our lives, time feels more fluid and unpredictable in nature. Even though the Crazy Hours complication was invented in 2003, it seems almost a prophecy, heralding a future in which time loses some of its meaning. Let’s be honest: For most of 2020, you’re not sure if it’s Tuesday or Thursday. This is a watch that embraces that spirit and tells you it's okay to be unsure. It encourages you to take a moment of mindfulness every time you look down at your wrist.
