A NOSE FOR TIME

Fragrances inspired by fine watches make perfect scents for horological buffs.

Portrait of Tammy Strobel

So many watches, so little time? Franck Muller’s five-piece fragrance collection lets you carry its fine watches around with you, even when you’re wearing another brand’s watch on your wrist. Kind of. Created in collaboration with fragrance specialists CPL Aromas, the scents are inspired by the Geneva watch company’s signature timepieces.

The Crazy Hours fragrance, for instance, gets its name and its cues from the brand’s most famous watch family, which features randomly placed hour numerals. This design translates to a scent with surprising contrast – zesty citrus and woody top notes give way to a warm heart of violet and lavender. And then there is Aeternitas, a heady and long-lasting perfume inspired by the highly complicated Aeternitas Mega watches, which possess features such as a minute repeater, split seconds and an equation of time display.

While Franck Muller is the latest watch brand to expand its universe in an olfactory way, it is not the first to do so. Omega, for instance, offers Aqua Terra eau de toilette, a woody fragrance that is supposed to channel the brand’s qualities of “authenticity, substance and innovation”. They all make perfect scents for horological buff s who can never have enough watches.

TEXT LYNETTE KOH