You don’t see a centrally positioned tourbillon everyday, which is probably why Franck Muller—a brand with a bombastic, eye-catching sort of appeal—made one. The Grand Central Tourbillon was introduced in 2021 and had the added distinction of being the world’s first tonneau-shaped central tourbillon timepiece.
Most of the time, a watch with a tourbillon is going to have it as main draw regardless of the rest of it, whether by accident or design. A tourbillon’s hypnotic rotation is too fundamentally compelling to ignore. Normally located on the edge of a movement, putting a tourbillon literally front and centre is a logical step, but this requires rethinking a movement’s entire layout and is therefore a stiff technical challenge—but then again, Franck Muller is the ‘master of complications’. The movement is self-winding, as well—another rarity, as far as tourbillons are concerned—and is raised above the dial for fantastic viewing. Hour and minute hands extend outwards from circular rails that surround the central carriage.
Furthermore, it is housed in another Franck Muller signature: the Cintree Cuvex CX case. Itself recently updated for a more expansive edge-to-edge sapphire, its curved shape hugs the wrist for comfort while presenting a streamlined but engaging profile.
The latest entry in the series is the Grand Central Tourbillon Flash, which visually re-interprets the watch. Where past editions had a somewhat classical slant, with guilloche dials, leather straps, and oversized numerals, the Flash is all about contemporary, edgy sportiness. The dial is matte black with a micro-blasted texture and is contrasted with vibrantly coloured stick indices and leather-lined nylon straps. In Asia, the Flash is available as the 36mm version of this watch, suiting a wide range of wrists—but at 52mm long, it is still something of a statement piece. It is available in three colours: blazing orange, neon green, and electric blue, and are as vivid as those names imply.
