Following on from last week’s article on watch complications, it seemed only right that we should show you the most complicated watch of all – the Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega 4.
Franck Muller is renowned for making some of the world’s finest watches and is very much at the forefront of luxury watchmaking. It has actually been quite a rise to prominence for the Master of Complications as he only truly started making watches in 1983.
It wasn’t until 1992 when Franck Muller Geneve, the company bearing his name was established. Over the next two decades, Franck Muller would continue to break boundaries in terms of producing incredibly complicated and often quite stunning timepieces.
As far as watch complications go, look no further than the Aeternitas Mega 4. The timepiece, which was born out of the idea to create a watch featuring all of the complications that are currently used in watch making.
The timepiece is constructed from a staggering 1,483 individual parts. It has a whopping 36 complications, of which 25 are visible, as well as a 1000 year calendar.
Some of the other complications featured on the watch include a Grande et Petite Sonnerie – a small and grand Westminster chime striking work. There is also a minute repeater that can be activated via the push button located at the position of 10 o’clock. The repeater strikes the hours, quarter hours and minutes.
The Aeternitas Mega 4 also features a mono push piece split seconds chronograph, a secular perpetual calendar and an equation of time, which incredibly is only variable by just 6.8 seconds per lunar month. This works out to be the equivalent of approximately one day per 1000 years.
The result of just over 5 years of work, the Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega 4 (reference no 8888 MGA T CCR QPSE) comes with a hefty price tag of $2.7 million!
Specifications
Calibre: FM3480 QPSE
Movement: Automatic self winding mechanism, featuring 1483 components, 99 jewels and 91 wheels. Included is a mechanical tourbillon, flyback chronograph and perpetual calendar with only one push piece. Equation of time, two additional time zones and a carillon Westminster with 4 hammers and 4 gongs. The watch also has a 3 day power reserve for the movement and 24hr reserve for the chaime.
Frequency: The watch beats at 18,000vph.
Display: Hours, Minutes, 24 hours, , Fly-back Chronograph, Minutes counter, two time zones hour, counter retrograde and a movement power reserve.
Perpetual calendar display: Date retrograde, which displays the Day, Month, Year, Leap year, as well as Equation of time.
Case: 18 karat white gold, with a width of 42mm and length of 61mm. The case has a height of 19.15mm.
