What you are looking at is the Franck Muller Long Island Evolution Master Jumper, which features three jumping counters – one for the hours, one for the minutes and one for the date, all arranged in-line on the vertical axis. Oftentimes, you can tell everything about a watch from its name, which is completely untrue here. Indeed, even looking at the watch does not immediately reveal what is happening. The triple-jumping indicators are the stars of the show, making Franck Muller the only watchmaker with such a timepiece. This extraordinary achievement has been recognized by the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve (GPHG) with a nomination for Best Men’s Complication.
While the watch is new for 2024, it was revealed earlier this year in Geneva during the Watchland premiere of Franck Muller’s novelties (we saw the watches at that time and include our impressions here). The Master Jumper seemed destined for greatness even then because, Franck Muller advertises in its press materials, the watch is the first to show the hours, minutes and dates via jumping mechanical digital indicators. The style of the presentation leaves the observer in no doubt that only Franck Muller could have made the movement that powers this watch, the manual-winding FM 3100-L. This is despite the fact that the Long Island case is perhaps less famous than the Cintrée Curvex and the Vanguard.
A watch like the Master Jumper speaks truly to the character of Franck Muller, which calls itself the Master of Complications – it does not get much more masterful than the creation of a new movement that interprets time in an unprecedented way. As usual with such watches, we must expend some energy on the technical details. You will no doubt wonder if the jumping action here is instantaneous and Franck Muller says it is.
This is no small feat as there are five discs that need to turn – the minute and date displays use double discs while the hour indicator is a single disc. This explains why the power reserve here is just 30 hours, despite the two-barrel construction. One of these barrels powers the raw timekeeping function (the seconds, which are not displayed) and the date display, while the other powers the hour and minute discs.
Of course, a wristwatch is meant to be worn and here the peculiarities of the 35.3 x 48.1mm case will come into play. The short lugs make a difference and the relatively slim 12.5mm height helps in terms of wearability. Franck Muller is making the most of this case with its decision to go with brushed titanium paired with a green anodized aluminium bezel. The bezel is microblasted prior to treatment and the case is PVD-treated after brushing; Franck Muller points out that the brushing is done by hand, which might surprise until one considers that only 100 of these watches will be made. The movement too boasts a wealth of finishing touches, which is very welcome given that this is a manual-winder.
One final note about the Franck Muller Long Island Evolution Master Jumper and its 100-piece run. This is exclusive to the Asia Pacific region.
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