In the spirit of the Year of the Dragon, Franck Muller is proud to launch commercially the Cintrée Curvex Ryoko Kaneta Dragon Limited Edition, in collaboration with the titular Japanese artist Ryoko Kaneta. In lieu of depicting the mythical dragon in its familiar forms, however, the manufacture has opted for a quirkily refreshing take on this year’s zodiac animal.
The Asia Pacific exclusive timepiece, limited to only 500 pieces in the region, builds on the success of 2023’s #FR2NCK MULLER Vanguard, which ushered in the Year of the Rabbit with an edgy, provocative dial that blended Swiss watchmaking and Japanese street fashion. It also echoes the spirit of its predecessor – to be more than just another “zodiac watch” by serving as a reflection of the wider zeitgeist outside of watchmaking, thus ensuring its relevance in the long run.
The quirky interpretation of the dragon also reflects Franck Muller’s watchmaking philosophy: to push creative boundaries by iterating on the familiar in unexpected ways. Other examples abound, from how the Master Banker redefined the dual-time complication to the tri-axial tourbillon’s debut in the Revolution 3.
Designed in collaboration with its namesake, Japanese artist Ryoko Kaneta, the new timepiece offers a whimsical take on the mythical dragon. While the creature is traditionally portrayed as a regal, authoritative figure that heralds strength, prosperity, and good health, it has been anthropomorphised here as a series of doll-like girls – a trademark of Kaneta. Each interacts with an index on the dial variously, and the interplay between these dial elements gives the watch a previously unseen playfulness that contrasts with the Cintrée Curvex case’s neoclassical elegance. Kaneta had opted for this depiction of the “dragons” as a response to the aesthetics of the Cintrée Curvex. According to the artist, the Cintrée Curvex’s most striking feature is its curvilinear elements, which extend in all three dimensions – this was what inspired her to have her figures interact with the dial’s indices.
Of course, the treatment here mirrors Kaneta’s signature style as well. As a leading figure in Japan’s latest generation of artists, Kaneta has developed a unique aesthetic that presents various aspects of nature via anthropomorphic beings. These figures are all rendered in a “chibi” style that echoes Japanese pop culture’s obsession with anything “kawaii”, while exploring traditional Japanese philosophies such as Shinto – the belief that that the divine exists in all things. The same play with opposites can be seen in her works themselves, reminiscent of manga drawings being complemented by intricate shading, for paintings with both depth and dimension.
For her collaboration with Franck Muller, Kaneta drew on traditional East Asian beliefs that revere the dragon as a divine figure blessing the earth with rain for a bountiful harvest. This time, however, she has opted for a simpler, more elegant variant of her style. The figures on the dial are largely in black and white, with hints of aqua blue in their hair to provide a visual link to their role as bringers of rain. The parallels extend to the similarly coloured indices, for yet another subtle nod at the dragon’s ties to the element of water. The visual cues extend to the turquoise dial, which offers a matching palette in lacquer while playing with light via its textured guilloché pattern, as a matching turquoise strap wraps things up to complete the overall package.
Anchoring the above are the familiar features of Franck Muller’s Cintrée Curvex watch, beginning with its 5850 Cintrée Curvex case, which boasts complex curves that make it much more than just a simple tonneau-shaped timepiece. Spade hands and Arabic numeral indices round out the overall look of the watch, while the workhorse MVT FM 2536-SC self-winding movement provides a level of reliability that makes this timepiece the perfect candidate for a daily wearer.
The Cintrée Curvex Ryoko Kaneta Dragon Limited Edition is exclusive to Asia Pacific, and will be available in a limited run of just 500 pieces.
Visit Franck Muller Asia Pacific online at www.franckmuller-asiapacific.com and discover the House on social media @franckmuller_asiapacific (Instagram) and @FranckMullerAsiaPacific (Facebook).
About the House of Franck Muller
Founded in 1992 by master watchmaker Franck Muller and watchmaking specialist and entrepreneur Vartan Sirmakes, the House of Franck Muller is one of the most acclaimed independent watch companies in contemporary watchmaking. An award-winning brand, Franck Muller is known for its highly exclusive technical complications, many of which are proprietary innovations, produced inhouse within its Manufacture in Genthod, Geneva, endearingly known as Watchland. With more than 50 world premieres and patents, Franck Muller has been dazzling the world with creations that have been received with great enthusiasm by watch connoisseurs and celebrities alike throughout the world, and designs that represent major technical advances in the history of haute horlogerie.
About Ryoko Kaneta
Ryoko Kaneta was born in Ibraki Prefecture, Japan in 1991 and graduated from Yokohama University of Art and Design in 2014. Kaneta takes inspiration from Ancient Japanese Philosophy, and her artworks express the existence of Gods, Natural Phenomena, and knowledge that goes beyond the human mind. Her paintings are dreamy, populated landscapes on a large scale, which celebrate nature’s ephemerality as they emphasise the frailty of time, the phenomenon of weather, and all the dramatic seasonal transformations that come with it. Employing her very own soft delicate acrylic colour technique, Kaneta, was simultaneously influenced by Rinpa and Kano Schools in their approach to painting through the eye of Ancient Japanese literature that portrays such scenes of nature.
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