The economic crisis of the past year has hit the Franck Muller Group hard, resulting in the departure of two eponymous brand heads.
8 October 2009
Elizabeth Doerr
This coming Monday an official press release will be issued by Rodolphe's office explaining the resignation of its eponymous head, Rodolphe Cattin, and the closing of his Les Bois workshop.
This document, which Cattin will not comment until its release, is one that has been expected by industry insiders for a while. The Franck Muller Group has spent recent years expanding at an almost incredible rate: before the economic crisis hit last fall, the group could boast approximately 1,000 employees and owning outright or the majority of thirteen companies, including eight brands.
The 51 percent purchases of Rodolphe in 2006 and Martin Braun in 2007 were symptomatic of the ambitious expansion. The crisis, however, saw investments in these brands halting as resources were needed to feed the main brand. This situation led to the resignation of Martin Braun from his own brand in June and the closing of his Sarnen-based workshop in September.
The rights to these two brand names remain with the Franck Muller Group. Braun is currently planning the new launch of a very exclusive brand that will showcase his horological talents and bring new complications to light. It is unclear whether these complications will include any of the astronomical complications that sealed his international reputation. Clear is, however, that Braun will remain in the Swiss canton Obwalden and create manufacture movements of his own design. His new company, MHO AG, already registered in Switzerland, is expected to open for business in November. The first timepiece is planned for introduction in the late fall of 2010.
Pierre Kunz continues his eponymous brand without the aid of other watchmakers at Watchland according to Franck Muller's press speaker Yuliana Ramirez. Backes & Strauss and Barthelay continue as before.
Franck Muller will introduce five new timepieces to the world press at an exhibition in Monaco in November and simultaneously announce the delivery of the Aeternitas Mega 4, a watch containing 36 complications and 1,483 components.
