Franck Muller - Master of Complications - Extreme Quality Watches

Mens Watches - Franck Muller Master of Complications

Franck Muller Timepieces and Watches.

In his excellent book Richistan Robert Frank describes how the super-rich, who reside in a sort of parallel universe, don't buy Mercedes or Rolex, they are more selective and go for Maybachs and Franck Muller Watches.





Maybach Zeppelin DS 8 - as driven by the Invisible Man


A Brief History of Timepieces

Franck Muller was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland in July 1958 to a Swiss father and an Italian mother, he is renowned for creating complicated, unique and revolutionary timepieces., some of which are very expensive ($600,000 if Robert Frank is to be believed). He revels in the title of "Master of Complications".

His obsessively complicated watches, which are greatly appreciated by watch connoisseurs and even other manufacturers are the preferred timepiece of a number of celebrities, including Demi Moore, Robin Williams and Elton John.

Franck Muller watches are famous for their fusion of understated style and traditional Swiss watch manufacturing excellence. The president of the company designs the mechanism of every watch personally.


Long Island Crazy Hours (list price $20,600)
Early in his career Franck Muller restored mechanical timepieces for collectors, museums and auction houses and quickly gained a reputation as a master restorer of antique timepieces. With his growing expertise he began to create his own designs.

By 1992, he had amassed four patents and twenty-one world premieres. He is renowned for his unique combinations of highly sophisticated features and the outstanding accuracy of his functions. Today he continues to challenge and expand the definitions of what a watch can be, creating ever more revolutionary and unique timepieces.

The House of Franck Muller was established in 1992 and his extremely complicated timepieces achieved an instant reputation throughout Europe and the United States. Today Franck Muller produces a limited number of watches for private clients, his collections include timepieces of various designs and different price ranges.

Aware that the design of a watch is the first thing to catch the eye he created a well-known Curvex Tonneau case, which is instantly recognizable on any wrist. Current collections include: Chronograph, Color Dreams, Tourbillon and Conquistador.

Conquistador 8002 CC (list price $17,800)


Franck Muller is also known for "World Premiers". Each year he launches at least one new line of timepieces containing something exclusive, an innovation in the watchmaking industry.

Notable timepieces include Revolution2, Revolution3, the Endurance, and the Curvex Minute Repeater Tourbillon, whose production is limited to 25 pieces.





Prices range from several thousand dollars to $600,000, which means that if you own one of these and you look at the time 40 times a day (why wouldn't you?) (inc. bank holidays and weekends) and you own the watch for 40 years, each time you look at the time it costs you $1 !

1999 Vegas 5850 (list price $23,000)




Happy hunting.

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Home : Designer Handbags

A RARE PICTURE OF THE FIRST GENUINE LOUIS VUITTON

Womens Handbags - Picture of the First Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton Biography

I suspect that few people know what the first genuine Louis Vuitton looked like so here he is. Rather striking !

He was born in Anchay in France on August 4th 1821 and died in Paris on February 27th 1892.

He left his home town and his parents, who were millers, at the age of 14, to go to Paris where he worked for a trunk maker and also as an apprentice luggage packer, to the prominent households of Paris. Louis Vuitton's reputation grew such that he was appointed by the Emperor of France, Napoleon III, as official luggage packer to his wife, the Empress Eugenie.

.................................. Monogram Canvas Neverfull ($665.00)
Vuitton thus acquired expert knowledge of the requirements of a good travelling case and started to design his own luggage. He opened his workshops in 1854 in order to provide luggage suitable for the new age in which travel was becoming more commonplace.

He created his own brand in 1854 in order to make innovative and high quality lugggage. He had three watchwords - luxury, functionality, innovation. The first shop was opened that same year in Paris. The business developed rapidly and soon acquired an international reputation and in 1885 a shop was opened in London's Oxford Street. Over years the Louis Vuitton line gained international recognition, due in part to the bronze medal it obtained at the 1867 World's Fair and the gold medal at the 1889 World's Fair in Paris. The first stores opened in the U.S. in 1897.

Louis Vuitton's designs have always been highly fashionable and the famous LV monogram was created in 1896 in response to the widespread copying of its products! (For information on fake Louis Vuitton bags click here : How To Spot a Fake Louis Vuitton Bag )After Louis Vuitton's death in 1892 his son Georges took control of the business and made the Louis Vuitton brand into what it is today. The company developed what is recognized as the first "designer label" for its products.

Epi Leather Eugenie ($680.00)

Georges Vuitton is also said to have developed Vuitton's unique 5-combination lock. He died in 1936 and his son Gaston-Louis, took control of the company. In 1987 the company merged with Moet-Hennessy to become LVMH. Megastores were opened in 1998 in Paris, London and New York, a second flagship store was opened in Hong Kong in 2000.

In the 21st century there are around 200 Louis Vuitton stores in all the major cities of Europe, the U.S., and the Far East selling prestigious leather handbags, purses and luggage and elegant accessories to its distinguished clientéle. Due to the problems of counterfeiting Louis Vuitton now only sells its handbags and other products through its own stores or via its official website.

Monogram Dentelle Speedy 30 ($1420.00)
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HOW TO SPOT A FAKE LOUIS VUITTON BAG

Womens Handbags - HOW TO SPOT A FAKE LOUIS VUITTON BAG

A genuine Monogram MiniLin Pochette (current retail price $165.00)


Given that Louis Vuitton designer handbags can cost several hundred or several thousand dollars it would be nice to know how to avoid buying a fake or replica designer bag. But, as I said in my previous post, it is estimated that 99% of Louis Vuitton goods bought are fakes! Quite an estimate.

So how do you know if a Louis Vuitton is genuine and how can you spot a fake LV bag ? Well, to be quite brutally honest, you can't! If you read other websites or blogs they will tell you there are certain telltale signs to look for and this is undoubtedly true, but you, as a non-expert, will find it very difficult to distinguish between the genuine designer handbag and a very good imitation.

When looking for genuine Louis Vuitton leather handbags there are some indications that you might like to bear in mind however : -

• The seller has a lot of stock - purchases are in fact limited by Louis Vuitton to avoid re-selling, so avoid anyone with large stocks of designer bags
• Study the Louis Vuitton website and get to know the genuine bags - apparently some so-called Vuitton bags such as the Cherry Blossom Speedy or a Murakami Visor were never made by Vuitton
Suhali L'Epanoui PM (current retail price $2,650.00)

• Louis Vuitton do not wrap their bags in plastic or bubble wrap!
• If the price seems too good to be true then it is - genuine Vuitton bags are expensive
• Poor quality craftsmanship - Vuitton bags are "works of art" and should look like them - no wrinkles, creases, asymmetrical logos, poor quality seams etc...
• Attention to detail in all areas
• Certificate of Authenticity - these can of course be fakes too - but if there isn't one then at least that's a definite sign to steer clear
• Cheap looking tags made from a circular piece of plastic
• Most genuine dust bags just have the LV or Louis Vuitton logo
• Cheap plastic, cheap tan or cheap suede interiors
• The patterns on Vuitton designer handbags are always lined up correctly (not like some people's wallpaper)

These are some of the signs, but even so you would be hard pushed to differentiate between the genuine womens handbags and the good fakes without a lot of practice (which rather defeats the purpose - unless you intend joining the bag police).




Monogram Satin Aumoniere (current retail price $1,630.00)



So what's a girl (or guy) to do? As I said above, unless you are an expert, in my opinion the only way you can be absolutely sure of getting a genuine Louis Vuitton designer handbag is to buy it from a Louis Vuitton store or from their authorized websites. If you are willing to take the risk of being one of the 99% then, if you do your homework (by studying the upmarket magazines and above all the awful Louis Vuitton website - awful because it is so slow and clunky and difficult to navigate), you might be able to find yourself a bargain, but as they always say 'buyer beware' you are unlikely to get a refund if you discover your bag is a fake. Bear in mind too that not all fakes are cheap. What better way to convince you that a bag is genuine than by charging almost the full price? One woman stated that she paid $600 for a bag in the belief that it was genuine designer handbag, whereas in fact it was a fake that she could have got elsewhere for $50 .




On the Louis Vuitton website they state that Louis Vuitton products are only available at Louis Vuitton stores - or from their offical websites.

Monogram MiniLin Pochette Cancun (current retail price $315.00)



Louis Vuitton leather goods are made in France, Spain or the United States., where experienced craftsmen pay extreme attention to detail using only the finest materials.










Suhali LeFabuleux (current retail price $3,700.00)

For futher information see Fake Louis Vuitton Designer Handbags
For a video of how to spot fake Louis Vuitton bags see - Fake Louis Vuitton Bags
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Other designer handbag brands : Radley Handbags - B. Makowsky

Louis Vuitton Bags - Part I

Womens Handbags - Louis Vuitton Designer Bags

Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy LVMH.PA more often called Louis Vuitton, is a French company headquartered in Paris which creates luxury fashion and leather goods, notably designer handbags. Astonishingly just over 1% of the goods bearing the famous trademark monogram are authentic, i.e. 99% are fakes! The ones below are all genuine.

Sellier Dragonne (current retail price $1260.00)

Lambskin Rivets Bag (current retail price $3,300.00)

The company is named after its founder Louis Vuitton (1821 – 1892) who was a ‘malletier; who designed and manufactured luggage. He was born in the Jura, France but moved to Paris, on foot, in 1835. In 1854 he founded the company, which is now owned by LVMH.

Louis Vuitton signature leather goods are now considered a status symbol around the world.

The iconic Monogram Canvas design was the first designer label in contemporary history and was created in 1896 by Vuitton's son Georges for the express purpose of preventing counterfeiting. Louis Vuitton is however the most counterfeited brand in fashion history!

The Louis Vuitton company has made expert use of celebrities in its marketing campaigns, most recently Uma Thurman and Scarlett Johansson but also Jennifer Lopez, Chloe Sevigny, Christina Ricci, Gisele Bundchen, Kate Moss, and Naomi Campbell. Hayden Christensen has also appeared as model for the company's luggage and prêt-à-porter lines.

Neverfull GM (current retail price $665.00)

Vuitton bags and purses are often carried by a whole host of other celebrities such as Madonna, Beyonce Knowles, Lindsay Lohan, Kimora Lee Simmons, Ayumi Hamasaki, Jessica Simpson, Ashley Tisdale, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Angelina Jolie, Anna Kournikova, Pamela Anderson, Katharine McPhee, Carmen Electra, Mariah Carey, and Victoria Beckham.

Vuitton has created a cult-like following among consumers and owners often refer to their bags and accessories as my “Louis.”

In an attempt to prevent counterfeiting, the company has changed its policy regarding the distribution of its products. Vuitton products used to be widely sold in department stores, such as Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. But since the 1980s, they are available at specialized Louis Vuitton boutiques, with only a small number of exceptions. These boutiques are usually located in upmarket shopping districts.

Louis Vuitton's biggest stores are in New York, Beverly Hills, Waikiki, Guam, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, London, Kuala Lumpur, their flagship store is in Paris.

Louis Vuitton’s leather goods and women's handbags are of the highest quality, but its website is actually the worst website I have ever seen! It is a nightmare to navigate around and extremely irritating! Fortunately they don’t sell websites, they sell luxury handbags and other designer accessories.

Honfleur (current retail price $575.00)

For information on Gucci handbags see :
Gucci Bags

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Other brands : Radley Handbags