Franck Muller X BWD Crazy Hours Snoopy
“Yesterday I was a dog. Today I’m a dog. Tomorrow I’ll probably still be a dog. Sigh! There’s so little hope for advancement.” These words were uttered by Snoopy, the iconic but ultimately fictional dog who’s a product of cartoonist Charles Schulz’s wonderful imagination. But little did the wisest of wise canines know what would be in store for him when querying the “probably” mundane fate of his future days.
The myth of Snoopy being anything close to a modest dog has long since been dispelled when he and his Peanuts gang became household names and their globally recognised faces splashed over all kinds of merchandise and movies. That said, even Snoopy will scarcely believe his next adventure, but when it comes to George Bamford, hope for advancement is always an option. Anything can be possible, like Snoopy waving his arms around a magnificently complicated watch.
Yes, Franck Muller is the latest watchmaker to translate its fondness for Charlie Brown’s trusty old mate into a timepiece and the design is certainly Snoppy’s most active yet. Indeed, while his body is stationary on the captivating, super-luminova ringed black dial, his arms are dancing around the dial. Why? Because Bamford and Franck Muller have chosen the Franck Muller Crazy Hours Cintrée Curvex model for this limited-edition piece.
Anyone who loves Franck Muller – Cristiano Ronaldo and Kanye West to name a few – will know the Crazy Hours is crazy because despite the numerals not being in 1-12 clockwise order as you’d expect them to be, the model’s mechanical movement magically allows the hour hand to jump from one hour to the next in the correct order, thus telling the correct time and keeping Snoppy active every hour. And anyone nuts about Peanuts is in for another treat: Woodstock also pops up twice on the dial, the cheeky little bird, to keep his best friend company.
On the technical side of things, the watch houses a MVD FM 2800-CHR, self-winding movement with bi-directional rotor system, which is capable of producing 42 hours of power reserve with the balance wheel frequency set at 28,800 alternations per hour. That’s legit. The case is 39.6mm of hunky matte black stainless steel and is hand brushed for good measure with a rhodium plating. It’s very easy to call something unique but this watch truly warrants being dubbed one of a kind. Or at least one of 25, as that’s how many it’s been limited to.
All being said though, we’d expect nothing less when two such powerhouses as Franck Muller and George Bamford collaborate. Hats off to them.
Bamford Watch Department has brought its obsession with Snoopy to a monochrome 25-piece limited edition transformation of Franck Muller’s Crazy Hours.
The world’s most famous beagle graces the dial with his arms forming the hour and minute hands but, this being a Crazy Hours, the hour hand progresses in an erratic jumping manner, keeping track of out-of-sequence arrangement of hour markers. Snoopy is also surrounded by concentric luminous loops which put an after-hours spotlight on the pooch.
Woodstock also appears twice on the dial, perched on the 10 and six o’clock numerals.
“Working on the Franck Muller Crazy Hours watch has been so much fun,” says George Bamford, founded of Bamford Watch Department. “I cannot stop smiling when I look at this watch as there are so many cool elements to it. Adding Snoopy to this crazy dial and using his arms to point to the numerals is amazing. I love using the iconic concentric circular pattern around Snoopy, and what takes this watch to the next level is the luminous effect used on the dial.”
The case itself is a matte black coated stainless steel, while the watch is secured on a black fabric strap.
