One of the most complicated watches ever made: Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega 4 Hands-On
replica Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega 4 I always thought it wasn't the Holy Grail but a myth, really. Not that I've ever specifically looked for it, but I've never stumbled across it anywhere online other than in official company photos. Meanwhile, over the years, I've actually worn and/or seen some of the craziest watches the watch industry has managed to bring to the world in the wild. However, the Aeternitas Mega 4 is nowhere to be seen - at least in those parts of the world I frequent. The magical encounter happened unexpectedly on the last day of our trip to SIHH 2018 in January this year, when this watch just... appeared. Here's how Aeternitas Mega 4 will look and feel in the real world.
First, the foundations of complexity. 36 complications, 23 indications on 18 hands and 5 discs, 1,483 components, 99 jewels, 91 wheels(!), 7 pushers and 4 correctors, five years of planning, and is said to have also There's a full year of assembly time... oh, and a price tag of about $2.7 million. These are the figures that the Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega 4 shocked the world at the end of 2009 – even before there were watches with more than 1,000 components.
I would like to clarify that the complexity of a luxury replica watches can be measured in a number of different ways - from the number of components to the number of complications, indications, complexity and novelty factors of indications, durability, level and complexity of decoration, etc. Wait. As such, I wouldn't call this the most complicated ever - even though it was widely believed to be at the time of its release - as it's easily spoiled by references to other watches that are themselves worthy of the highest superlatives . Another important thing to consider is that Aeternitas Mega 4 has 36 complications, but "only" 23 indications. This is because, as you can see from the list below, the list of complications includes mechanical complexities that make the feature more complex/different than it is basically, thus increasing the total number of complications - but not total Is the addition of a digital indication (for example, a flying tourbillon counts as two because it is a tourbillon in a "flying" arrangement, and there is no upper bridge to support it).
Now let's entertain ourselves with the full list of features and complications inside the Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega 4 - keep in mind that this is from the official Franck Muller document that was hard to find at launch, not from the internet.
The FM3480 QPSE is a buffet of fine watchmaking complications. The movement measures 34.40mm wide, 41.40mm high and 13.65mm thick. In other words, the movement is about the size of a small tonneau-shaped dress watch in a case - except it's much heavier. I must say, I'm a little disappointed that Franck Muller didn't add the full list of complications to the movement name (Patek Philippe style) because I'd love to see the FM3480 QPSETCWCHRPEGMTARMFBPRDRGSPSSC! Talk about missed opportunities!
The fun begins when you get your watch and feel its weight for the first time. The 18ct white gold Cintrée Curvex 8880 case measures 42mm wide, 61mm long and 19.15mm thick. The weight is absolutely massive, and yet, it feels great in a weird, inexplicably awkward way. I'm sure you'll be there when you're wearing a watch for a long time, and for a while, you kind of forget to put it on, and finally shake hands in a panic to determine if any watch is still wrapped around your wrist. Well, I don't think a sane person - or even a seriously intoxicated one - for that matter - would ever ignore the feel this watch offers on the wrist. It's so heavy and intimidating that you always know how thick it is (instead of hitting things) and how heavy it is...it's the watch equivalent of The Mountain's unnecessary broadsword - a Game of Thrones reference You're invited to ignore and just think about a big-ass sword.Ulysse Nardin Diver Chronograph "Great White" 1503-170LE-1A-GW/3A
Once you turn your wrist away from you, you realize that the fun has taken it to a whole new level. Personally, I can say that I was shocked (and utterly amused) by the sight for two reasons: 1) I've never seen a sausage dog scale watch on my wrist; 2) The watch feels so safe and weird on my wrist Very comfortable, I just didn't expect to see such heights associated with it. It's actually a trick when you turn your wrist away from you and discover the thickness - I've done it countless times and every time the flat, nice looking dial starts spinning away from me It felt like my brain was panicking because it had a hard time understanding what it was looking at. This is absolutely insane.
The Cintrex case is an excellent design and I must commend Franck Muller for choosing this special hand-stitched alligator strap and clasp. On a wearability scale of 1 to 10, I - let's admit, not without reason - expect the Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega 4 to score around 1, maybe a generous 2... but the strap's integration (it fits high and deep) The lugs, which basically tether the beast of this watch to the wrist) and its choice of soft but strong alligator leather material meant I never felt like the watch wanted to somersault a fork or a drink in a glass when I lifted it - we Saw the watch at lunch. It feels as secure on the wrist as the top 10% of watches, which is probably the biggest secret/surprise of this watch.
In the picture above, you can see that this watch, which is about 1 pound (that's a guess), sits flush with my wrist, even in a vertical position. The watch wasn't dragging itself around my wrist - no, it was pulling my entire arm. All of this means that, with the intelligent selection of the drilling points for the spring bars of the strap, a watch with absolutely massive proportions can be worn comfortably and securely on the wrist. This is just a reminder for luxury desktop dive high quality watches replica, and all others: if this monster fits nicely on your wrist, there's no reason you shouldn't be super comfortable every time, all the time.
I encourage everyone to try and decide for themselves which side of Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega 4 is crazier. 18 hands and 5 discs on the dial, or a labyrinth of 9000 levels of cams, wheels, gears, plates, bridges and more on the case back. Oddly, the only real legibility issue with the dial comes from the poorly AR coated curved crystal - I know that curved crystals will always reflect a wider view behind/above the watch wearer...but I Don't think I can see the entire dial clearly (or nearly) at the same time. The layout of the indications is very smart, with the clever use of blue and red, making the different indications very easy to distinguish. I won't even try to describe everything on the watch face - refer to the diagram shared on the previous page to identify the individual functions.
From a distance, the caseback is very clean. While I'm sure you can get a personal text or some ostentatious engraving on the sapphire caseback's white gold frame, I think the vertically-brushed parts make up the super-busy movement in a rather elegant way. This particular example, while I was impressed by its visual sophistication, had a somewhat rough life: this particular piece was shown by someone from the brand, so from the movement's Judging by signs of wear, I would go out on a limb and say the piece must have been disassembled and reassembled many times. Given that this isn't the client's work, the manufacturer can use it however they want without spending hours (or days) cleaning every little scratch or dirt from the hundreds of works displayed on the caseback - so This, in my book, is fine since this isn't an official event or watch showcase.
With this note, the sheer idea behind the movement is incredible to say the least... It's a watch hobby to see so many tiny 3D CNC cut (not stamped) parts put together on the caseback The dreamer's dream, of course. I can hardly imagine the time and effort required to CAD design, machine, inspect, rework, refine, decorate, assemble, and even further clean up so many individual parts. The end result is like a Lange Double Split on a lot of particularly strong steroids: parts everywhere, cams, wheels, each with its own dedicated function, which in turn is linked to something else.replica Patek Philippe Watches
I think Franck Muller should make a sapphire case version soon - if they are serious about showing this watch and selling more. One last point about all these complications that I think everyone should keep in mind: I haven't tried 95% of the complications in this watch, so I can't comment on how they work... I honestly don't know, Also don't know the stats on this, but I'd be shocked if all the complications on a watch with this level of complication consistently worked well at the same time...if the owner of the watch really realizes.... ..I would be equally shocked...but you know what? As blasphemous as this may seem, I don't think it's an unreasonable request to ask this watch to work properly for long periods of time. As far as I'm concerned, you might disagree, if any brand could show me a watch that does everything at once, I'd consider it an amazing achievement - but that wouldn't make me expect it to work all the time. If you think that's a low expectation, I don't think you have a good idea of the incomprehensible complexity that comes with the interactions between hundreds or thousands of parts.
So, in essence, what was it like to see the unexpected appearance of the Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega 4? Refreshing. After a whole week of lukewarm, retro crap at SIHH 2018, in the face of watch conservatism, this Frank Muller-inspired middle finger is fun, intriguing, and, in fact, a big hit on the watch bucket list.
I'm certainly happy to see that the Aeternitas Mega 4 actually exists, I'm very surprised by the sensible and thoughtful design of the strap and strap integration, wear resistance, dial layout and the contrast between these and the weight, thickness. Sparkling curved crystal. It's a tour, and at the same time, it kind of mimics what it's designed to do, well, perfectly.wholesale replica watches
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