Franck Muller SKAFANDER

It was only a few weeks BACK when I previewed the new Master Diving series from Frank Muller – whilst I was pleasantly surprised to see FM dipping its toe into the world of dive watches, I was left feeling a little underwhelmed by their offering.

It would seem that it wasn’t the only new diver that Franck Muller had been working on – there was another, the Skafander which by all accounts promises to be a far more interesting prospect – in fact it looks bloody amazing!



So what is the Skafander and what makes this diver so special aside from its obvious visual charms? At the moment I only have a few sketchy details, but my research tells me that the name Skafander is of Eastern European origin, meaning either diving suit, so that’s the intriguing name dealt with.



Now to the watch itself, which takes on FM’s hallmark barrel or tonneau shape surprisingly well, kind of a rarity in a dive watch as far as cases go. This will be offered in three materials; Stainless steel, High-Grade Titanium or 18K Rose Gold. Measurements include: a width of 46mm, a length 57mm and a thickness of 15.6mm.



Divers features include: a special internal rotational timing bezel, a massive BLUE security locking-device and 100 meters of water-resistance. Just look at it who really gives a monkey’s about its WR?! The open-work dial is protected by a black DLC-coated fixed bezel.

The internal bezel is operable via the massive buttons on the side of the case - the 8 o’clock pushers fine-tune the dive-time forward in single minutes, while the 10 o’clock pushers work in five minute increments.

Powering the Skafander is an FM automatic caliber operable via the two large push-buttons on the left lateral side of the case.



The NEW Skafander from Franck Muller will have a Swiss MSRP of 13800CHF or 21000CHF if you go for the 18K RG baller version. The watches should be delivered as soon as early autumn 2018.

Thoughts? A little profanity might be in order – this is hot as f#ck! It looks like the sexy love child of a menage a trois between a Citizen Cyber Aqualand, a B&R BR02 and something high-end like a GP, Clerc or RM. I’m kinda’ smitten – how bout you?