We chat with Franck Muller CEO Nicholas Rudaz about playful design and haute horlogerie

Jamie Weiss

Nicholas Rudaz has a deeper connection to Australia than most CEOs of watch brands. Born in Switzerland but raised in England, Rudaz moved to Sydney in the 90s, finding a job at the iconic Sydney Opera House as a barman – the start of a long and fruitful career in hospitality, luxury and eventually fine watchmaking. So when I heard that he was coming back to his old stomping grounds – my hometown – to open Franck Muller’s new Sydney boutique, I knew I’d stand half a chance of having a great conversation with him.

And a great conversation we did have. Rudaz was very generous with his time, perhaps because he was so at ease being back in Sydney, a city he has a clear affection for. We covered everything from the history of the Franck Muller brand and its eclectic lakeside home, Watchland; how the brand balances industry-leading haute horlogerie with playful designs and haute joaillerie; as well as the brand’s latest collaboration with Japanese streetwear label #FR2.

Franck Muller reopening a boutique in Sydney is emblematic of how Australia’s first city is becoming an increasingly competitive and luxurious watch shopping destination. Melbourne, the home of Time+Tide, has always been the country’s premier fashion capital, and therefore has always been well-served by watch brands. Not that Sydney hasn’t, by any means. But it’s interesting to see just how many watch brands have opened Sydney boutiques in the last 5 years, or radically increased their Sydney presence.

Franck Muller’s new Sydney boutique, opened in partnership with Kennedy, is both of those things. FM used to have a small boutique on King Street (a space now occupied by Tudor’s Sydney boutique), but their new Kennedy-operated location is many times bigger and many times more lavish than their previous Sydney outpost. Big doors, high ceilings, lots of watches… It’s a real statement of intent from the brand. But Franck Muller has never been a brand afraid to make a statement, as Rudaz and I discussed…