Heritage
A house, in its own words
Franck Muller and Vartan Sirmakes established their Geneva watchmaking manufacture together, with Franck Muller serving as the creative force behind the movements and complications while Sirmakes managed the business operations. The partnership began with a shared passion for haute horlogerie, and the brand quickly distinguished itself through technically demanding timepieces featuring complex mechanisms. By the early 1990s, the manufacture had developed a reputation among watch collectors for creating pieces with intricate movements that required exceptional craftsmanship to produce. The brand did not enter fragrance production until 2017, making it a relative newcomer to perfumery despite its established presence in luxury goods. Vartan Sirmakes, as co-founder and CEO of the Franck Muller Group, oversaw the strategic decision to launch a perfume collection. The perfume division drew inspiration from the watchmaking heritage, positioning the fragrances as accessories to the brand's timepieces rather than standalone products. The creative development process involved meetings in Monaco where the teams explored conceptual overlaps between the precision engineering of watchmaking and the composition of fine fragrance.
The Franck Muller approach to fragrance mirrors its philosophy in watchmaking: complexity handled with apparent ease. Rather than pursuing simplicity, the brand seeks compositions with multiple layers and hidden mechanisms of construction, where the final result appears effortless despite the technical skill required to achieve it. The partnership with CPL Aromas brought British perfumery traditions into dialogue with Swiss horological precision. Tabitha Grey has publicly discussed the creative process of translating watchmaking concepts into olfactory language, suggesting the team explored how mechanisms and movements might find equivalent expression in scent architecture. The collection treats each fragrance as an individual creation rather than a flank of a signature scent, allowing each perfume to possess its own distinct character while sharing a commitment to craftsmanship and material quality. The decision to work with an external fragrance house rather than developing proprietary perfumery capabilities reflects a collaborative philosophy that values specialized expertise across disciplines.