Franck Muller's eccentric timepieces become even more offbeat when they are subjects for artists.
The dialogue between haute horlogerie and contemporary art continues with another collaboration between Franck Muller and Jean-Baptiste Launay, aka Jisbar, as well as a partnership with Kelly Dabbah, with their psychedelic reinterpretations recently unveiled among the 2026 novelties.
The independent Swiss brand called on Jisbar for his second rendition of the Vanguard Crazy Hours.
Since its debut in 1991, Franck Muller has disrupted the watch industry with innovative complications devised in-house at Watchland, its manufacture in Genthod, Geneva.
The emblematic Crazy Hours complication ingeniously directs the hour hand to the correct position on a disordered dial with jumbled numerals while the minute hand revolves in a traditional 60-minute cycle.
The jumping hour module is combined with an automatic movement for the idiosyncratic time display.
Renowned for his distinctive pop-street language, Jisbar made it even crazier by replacing the numerals with elements from his artworks, while a carbon dial serves as a canvas for last year's limited edition.
Variations of the Vanguard Crazy Hours Jisbar featured a different case material including aerospace-grade carbon and black titanium for a bold masculine look.
Based in Lisboa, the French artist selected 12 elements from his colourful universe, deconstructed and then recomposed them for a playful feminine expression on the new Vanguard Lady Crazy Hours Jisbar.
The white lacquered dial is coordinated with inserts on both sides of the case and an alligator leather strap in a similar colour.
Franck Muller has released the Vanguard Lady Crazy Hours Jisbar in rose gold or stainless steel, respectively as a limited edition of 25 and 50 pieces.
The other artistic collab with Kelly Dabbah delivers a men's timepiece and two women's models, all framed in a Vanguard case with a sporty yet refined silhouette.
The Swiss-born and New York-based Dabbah is known for kaleidoscopic collages of digital images and fine art. Reproducing her dreamy collage on a much smaller scale on the dial required a special technique, inspired by sublimation printing.
Franck Muller's execution uses eco-friendly inks and a special plastic-based polymer transfer film, which is placed onto a brass dial, under heat and pressure.
At around 160C, the ink pigments sublimate, transitioning from a solid to a gaseous state while penetrating the pre-lacquered and varnished dial, coated with a white layer that enhances the vibrancy of every detail.
As the pigments cool, they solidify deep within the lacquer layer, rather than remaining on the top, resulting in a permanent, high-definition motif embedded within the material, comparable to an indelible tattoo.
Flowers and butterflies with eyes on their wings are among the details of Dabbah's collage composition, centred by a tiger's gaze symbolising strength and courage.
The mesmerising dial is paired with a diamond-set rose-gold case with pink inserts for the Vanguard Kelly Dabbah model matched with an alligator leather strap.
The funky case of the Candy Mint version is in fibreglass -- a lightweight and durable composite material. Moreover, Franck Muller fashioned the case with an appealing superimposition of green and pink layers of glass fibres that harmonises with the artistic dial.
For the third watch, Dabbah imagined a subtle artistic expression on the numerals. Via the sublimation technique, her collage is embedded into the brass numerals, applied on the carbon dial of the Vanguard Kelly Dabbah Electric Feel.
The audacious men's timepiece is housed in a case crafted from an exclusive aluminium alloy in a metallic blue hue with black inserts while the nylon strap enhances the sporty style.
