This early and rare chronograph from the ‘Master of Complications’ is the perfect display of Franck Muller’s oft-forgotten classic watchmaking bonafides.

The name Franck Muller evokes visions of brash watches with tonneau cases, exploded numerals, and outlandish complications. But, the self-titled ‘Master of Complications’ actually made his start as a classically-trained watchmaker. Muller, in fact, was such a talented watch restorer that well-known collectors, auction houses, and even Patek Philippe regularly commissioned him to work on their pieces.

By 1991, Muller had acquired such a reputation that he founded his eponymous brand with the aim of offering evocative and complicated pieces to collectors. One of the loveliest, and often unfairly overlooked, pieces from these early years is the ‘Sports Chronograph’ that was released in the mid-1990s as a 50-piece limited edition.

This 37 mm beauty evokes romantic visions of iconic mid-century chronographs like the legendary ref. 130 and ref. 1463 ‘Tasti Tondi’ by Patek Philippe. Notwithstanding Muller’s contemporary aesthetics, the ‘Sports Chronograph’ shows how deeply he was influenced by his earlier work for Patek Philippe.

The ‘Sports Chronograph’ features a lovely stepped 37 mm stainless steel case with sporty pump pushers and long elegant lugs. The glossy black dial sports a classic three-register chronograph design with silver printing, an applied Breguet-style number 12 numeral, and applied dots at the hour positions. Like some of the most sought-after vintage chronographs, this piece also sports a manual-winding caliber with anti-magnetic properties, as is proudly indicated on the dial at the 6 o’clock position.

This lovely and important limited edition chronograph is in excellent condition, comes on a black alligator leather strap and is accompanied by the original Franck Muller box.