What does the future hold for Franck Muller? Their COO tells The Peak

“When I was 11, I was actually supposed to relocate to Malaysia because my mother was going to marry an Englishman based in Pantai Hill. You can say that I have a special bond with this place,” says Nicholas Rudaz with a grin. The Chief Operations Officer of Franck Muller was recently in Kuala Lumpur to meet with various members of the media at the luxury Swiss watch brand’s resplendent booth in the newly refurbished Sincere Fine Watches boutique in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur.

Asked about his journey to becoming part of such an illustrious brand, Rudaz explains it was one filled with serendipitous moments. “I actually started my career working at London’s Four Seasons Park Lane Hotel, where I met with a lot of important figures, including politicians, bankers and various individuals from the world of luxury. It was in 2003 when I opened the La Réserve Hotel in Geneva that I met Franck Muller for the very first time. Sometime in 2007, he offered me a position in his company, which I accepted, because it felt like the right opportunity to do something new.”

For Rudaz, the transition from the luxury hotel industry to luxury watches was not as complicated as one would think, since both share similarities. “While each industry has its own unique way of getting things done, you’re still ultimately dealing with the same kind of clientele. It’s all about selling the dream while managing a team of people… and without the right people, you are nothing.

“When I first started out at Franck Muller, it was at the zenith of the watch industry. Shortly thereafter, things became rather dire following the 2008 financial crisis and the announcement that our biggest client had been sold to a Hong Kong-based watchmaker and retailer.” In response to these crises, Rudaz admits that certain decisions had to be made in order to see the company through: “At the time, we had around 1,000 employees, but we had to restructure the whole group. We made some difficult choices, but that is part of business.”

The Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega is often described as the most complicated watch ever made.

As the famous proverb goes, every cloud has a silver lining. In Rudaz’s case, this would be the ability to cope and adapt with the changing times. “Watchmaking is a very difficult industry. A lot of people might think it’s very easy to make a quick hit, but it’s extremely difficult to properly manage different levels of production. At Franck Muller, we are integrated vertically, which means we create everything by ourselves. Over the years, we’ve seen several attempts at replicating Franck Muller’s success but very few have actually managed to achieve this. It requires not just having the right skills but also the ability to look at the long-term while remaining creative.”

While often credited as being the first watchmaker to place the tourbillon in front of a wristwatch, Franck Muller is definitely not going to rest on its laurels anytime soon. Since its founding in 1992, the company has released several hyperbolic tourbillon novelties, including the world’s largest (Giga Tourbillon), fastest (Thunderbolt Tourbillon) as well as smallest (Lady Tourbillon) – and fans of Franck Muller can expect even more exciting surprises this year that will keep watch enthusiasts and collectors on their toes.

“In 2018, we will be celebrating the 15th anniversary of Crazy Hours by releasing a new collection with new colours, different finishings and dials in various shapes. This is a watch that I personally love wearing because, whenever I show this timepiece to people and ask them to read the time, they become perplexed. Once I finally show them how it functions, it always results in all kinds of emotions.”

It is this ability to inspire awe and wonder that Rudaz believes is the key to Franck Muller’s continuous success: “The great thing about Franck Muller is that you can place 1,000 collectors in one room, and there’s a possibility that there will be 1,000 different watches in that very same room. Although we’ve released so many models, there are still collectors who prefer customised timepieces, which we will gladly create for them. Since we are an independent watch brand, our focus remains on our designs, complications and creativity instead of just pleasing shareholders. This has been our strength for the last 25 years and we intend to continue on this path.”

TEXT MAYA MICHAEL
PHOTOGRAPHY PATRICK CHAN