Franck Muller’s Curvex CX accentuates the iconic silhouette of its Cintrée Curvex watch with modern sophistication
Close your eyes and picture a Franck Muller watch. What do you see? A stupendously engineered tourbillon? Or, perhaps an exuberantly coloured and bejewelled watch? Regardless of the type of Franck Muller watch you are thinking of, chances are, it will come distinctively shaped; housed in a case that is curved all over, at the front, as well as at its sides and back.
The unmistakable profile is known as Cintrée Curvex and it is a signature silhouette that has dominated Franck Muller’s watches since 1992. French for ‘arched in a curve’, Cintrée Curvex takes the traditional tonneau case shape and endows it with three-dimensional curves so that the watch displays soft lines and contours from all angles.
Synonymous with Franck Muller, Cintrée Curvex is also a collection unto itself. The line not only houses some of the brand’s most distinctive models and significant complications, but has also informed the design of contemporary lines such as the Vanguard and Skafander collections.
Most brands would be apprehensive about refining a well-loved icon, but Franck Muller was fearless when it decided to update Cintrée Curvex and introduced the Curvex CX in 2022. Inspired by the original’s captivating sensuality and, of course, its well-recognised shape, the Curvex CX shows a clear evolution in style and finesse.
Having said that, eagle-eyed Franck Muller aficionados will find the new Curvex CX watches familiar. The collection actually debuted alongside the Grand Central Tourbillon watch, where the redesigned case was employed to showcase the theatrical complication to great effect.
Building on the Cintrée Curvex aesthetic blueprint, the new Curvex CX case has been endowed with a number of subtle but significant tweaks. For one, the curved sapphire case now extends all the way to the bracelet, granting the dial greater visual real estate. Elsewhere, the case and recessed bezel are slimmer, which again, accord the dial more visibility.
The work that has gone into the redesign of the case is best appreciated when one is wearing a Curvex CX and perusing it at close quarters.
Everything is geared towards shining the spotlight on the dial, which, too, flaunts a curved surface to complement the case. And decorating it is a mesmerising new guilloche pattern; a modern take on the Clous de Paris motif, whereby the famous tiny pyramidal shapes are arranged in a spiral formation, growing larger as they fan out from the centre to the outer edges of the dial.
Following its debut in 2022, the Curvex CX returns this year in fresh new iterations. The latest models come in hand-polished 36mm by 53.1mm red gold cases in a choice of silver or blue dials. As before, a high-performance automatic movement promising 42 hours of power reserve drives the watch, ensuring that the Curvex CX’s inimitable style is backed up mechanical prowess.
