Horological Meandering

I have a Franck Muller Casa 5850 (black dial, stainless) that was given to me as a gift about 13 years ago. From what i understand it was purchased around 1996. It is numbered 156. When i took it in to my AD for a service he was very surprised at the condition considering its age. He told me that because it is such an early model that it was likely to be assembled by Muller himself and can be considered a "vintage" Muller.

Would this watch be considered a vintage and because of its age is it worth more. I know this is a subjective question that is hard to answer, but i am looking to sell this watch to fund another purchase and want to know its approx. value.

In any of your opinions does the age and condition (It has only been worn maybe 50 times and has been serviced regularly, its in mint, mint condition with slight patina on the luminous numbers) of this watch make it anymore valuable than a newer model.

Is this a watch that has the potential of being valuable as time goes on or should i just get rid of it now...?

Any opinions and thoughts on what i should do with this watch would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Tyler

but i wish youd post pictures of this watch, id really like to see it.

reagards

Marwan

I will take some better pics tom. but here are a few that i took awhile back. Not very good pics but there better than nothing.

 

Tyler

Not sure if it is worth more if FM assemble himself, why not send to auction house and check? They would be able to answer that question. Also do you have full set of papers? In hear FM signs all the certificates himself till late 90s, check yours. My gut feelings tells me it doesn't command a huge premium, if any. I have a cintree curvee fm that era too, sadly, the manufacture seems to have gone downhill since.

Best, Horo

At that time, when you bought  it, FM watches were very sought after.

Now, things have changed, and FM watches don't look trendy anymore.

It may be a Vintage, but in 20 years...

Therefore, the question of its value  and the question to know if you should get rid of it now is a bit weird.

Or you love it, or you get rid of it, but I don't get how your love on this watch may depend on its value.

Best,

Nicolas.

... Purists could reserve comments of monetary value for private mail (PM), although comments regarding horological value would be greatly appreciated.

I must say that I have always liked the shape of the Cintree Curvex case, and I think it has aged well. I find it interesting that as Franck Muller became more popular with the general public, the popularity amongst WIS declined. Of course the story is much more convoluted.

I agree with Nicolas, if you like it or it has some other value to you, then keep it. But I also realize that it is commonly the most valuable individual pieces in peoples collections that are sold to fund other purchases.

Good luck with your decision!

Andrew

That is exactly the case... I like the watch but i really need the funds for another purchase. So i am just trying to weigh my options and determine whether or not it is worth it to sell this particular watch not.

Thanks for the responses,

Tyler

You must understand that despite his self titled Masters of Complications, watches like your Casablanca and my cintree curvee are just run of the mill stuff for FM to fulfill market demand increase and improve his economies of scale. Most of them are third party movements anyway, so I seriously doubt it is worth a lot of money, certainly not in the multiples that we are talking about. If you however own his first master banker or some early QP, perhaps. The market, like Andrew and Nicolas has pointed out, for FM is really quite weak, and certainly not as "hot" as it used to be. Having said that, I am still hanging on to mine, I actually kinda like that it has fallen outta fashion....contrarian attitude in me and collecting part of horology history is my excuse.

Best, Horo