The Franck Muller Firm is marking a return to the origins of watchmaking tradition at the same time as providing contemporary entertainment. The Independent Dead Second is actually a complication invented at the end of the 18th century which offers a more accurate time reading than a trailing second. The second hand remains fixed until the second has elapsed. Franck Muller engineers are offering a variation on this complication with the Unfair Second, whereby the hand jumps each second according to the principle of the Independent Dead Second.

The special feature of the Franck Muller Unfair Second lies in the fact that the start and stop of the second are triggered via a columned wheel. The ‘unfair’ second can be suspended at will indefinitely without the watch stopping. However, this hand which jumps from one second to another also recalls the quartz movement, hence the amusing aspect. Only the owner and a handful of experts will appreciate the cadenced movement of the unfair second and truly recognise it as a miniature mechanical marvel.