Franck Muller Releases Their First Triple Mystery
It’s no secret that the heyday of the Franck Muller watch brand is decidedly in the rearview mirror at this point. Their tonneau cases, wild colors and interesting complications–like the Double Mystery, with two nested rotating discs instead of hands– were all the rage in the early 2000s. But the brand never quite seemed to adapt for the internet-era watch collector. Nevertheless, the brand chugs along, emphasizing upmarket and limited releases with a particular focus on Asian markets in recent years. In this article we’ll discuss the Franck Muller Round Triple Mystery that was unveiled in 2025. It’s the brand’s first Triple Mystery watch, and that’s worth a look.
History of Franck Muller Mystery Watches
The first Franck Muller Mystery watch, featuring a single rotating disc to indicate time without traditional hands, was introduced in 1996. The Double Mystery, which added a second rotating disc for minutes inside the hour disc, was patented two years later. Various versions of both have since been made across the Franck Muller catalog.
The Star of the Franck Muller Triple Mystery: Skeletonized Aluminum Central Seconds Disc
The attractive rosette pattern in the middle of the Franck Muller Round Triple Mystery isn’t just for show–the skeletonization helps minimize weight, which is crucial when you’re using the watch’s precious energy to make a disc rotate once every minute. To make it as light as possible, it’s made out of aluminum. With a weight of 0.052 grams, it’s still heavier than a typical watch hand, but light enough not to slaughter the power reserve.
Colorways
The Franck Muller Round Triple Mystery is available in four colorways, all covered in brilliant-cut diamonds. Triangle-cut gems, which match the color of the strap, indicate the time:
- 7036 TM D CD OG: White gold case, white strap, all diamonds
- 7036 TM D CD SA OG: White gold case, blue strap, sapphire pointers
- 7036 TM D CD EM 5N: Red gold case, green strap, emerald pointers
- 7036 TM D CD RU 5N: Red gold case, red strap, ruby pointers
The red version is the first one to have been spotted in an actual video and it’s quite nice:
Didn’t a Cheap Kickstarter Brand Do This?
Thesis is a Kickstarter-funded affordable watch brand that also has a disc-in-a-disc-in-a-disc layout in lieu of traditional hands. But, the Thesis’s three discs are not in the same plane vertically, and the hours disc is outside the minute disc. Both of those things make the engineering significantly simpler. The pseudo-traditional timekeeping layout of the Franck Muller Round Triple Mystery allows the markers on the hours and minutes discs to be read just as if they were normal hands.
Specs
Compared to the top luxury watch brands of today, Franck Muller is often coy about revealing the specs of their watches, but they’ve released all the key details of the Round Triple Mystery:
| Model Name | Franck Muller Round Triple Mystery |
| Reference Number(s) | 7036 TM D CD |
| Case Material(s) | 18k rose gold or white gold, hand polished |
| Case Diameter | 36 mm |
| Case Thickness | 9.9 mm |
| Dial Description | Hand-set with 240 brilliant-cut diamonds (1.657 carats), hand polished |
| Movement Caliber | MVD 2800-TM (Automatic, 8 beats per second) |
| Movement Functions | Hours, Minutes, Seconds |
| Movement Power Reserve | 40 hours |
| Movement Decoration | Perlage on mainplate, engraving/flank drawing/chamfering/satin brushing on bridges, diamond polishing on sinks and bridge bevels, sunray brushing on ratchets and barrel cover, circular satin brushing on wheels, satin brushing on bridges and rotor plate |
| Strap | Alligator strap with diamond-set tang buckle |
| Water Resistance | 30 meters |
| MSRP | 78,800 CHF |
While the Round Triple Mystery is certainly a striking ladies’ dress watch, it will be interesting to see if Franck Muller starts putting this new complication in men’s models like the Vanguard. We’ll keep an eye out.
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