Cover Franck Muller Vanguard Casablanca
Franck Muller Vanguard Casablanca
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The Casablanca returns to Franck Muller’s line-up with a new case and design updates
As a watchmaker, Franck Muller is best known for developing audacious, groundbreaking complications like the Master Banker and Crazy Hours. This, however, belied his penchant for classicism in watchmaking, which is most notably seen in the curved outlines of the brand’s signature Cintrée Curvex case. The Cintrée Curvex Casablanca unveiled in 1998 took this even further.
Named for and inspired by the 1942 Hollywood classic, it was Franck Muller’s take on the elegance of the Interbellum, with details that echo that period’s zeitgeist. This year, the Casablanca makes its return in a new case and updated design with the Vanguard Casablanca—a Southeast Asia exclusive.
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Like the original Casablanca, the new timepiece is an ode to a bygone era of classic elegance, albeit with a sportier twist. Its Vanguard case shares the Cintrée Curvex’s tonneau shape, but has a bolder form that, paradoxically, wears smaller than its dimensions would suggest (due to the lack of lugs). The result is a striking presence on the wrist that remains eminently comfortable.
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The Vanguard Casablanca’s refined case design extends to its sapphire crystal, which is curved to complement the bezel’s contours. This continues with the dial, where oversized Arabic numeral hour markers lend a touch of sportiness while also alluding to the Art Deco and Bauhaus movements of the interwar period. Meanwhile, skeletonised dauphine hands with squared-off tips further enhance this graphic style—in a design that’s uniquely Franck Muller, no less.
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The finishing touches here are the four colourways that the Vanguard Casablanca are offered in. Each is dominated by a muted palette but contains bright hues that stand out, like an allusion to the city of Casablanca at dusk, with the blue-on-black version being a boutique exclusive.
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The Vanguard Casablanca is available in two sizes: 41mm and 43mm. The latter, a Southeast Asian exclusive, is a new addition to the Vanguard’s line-up that sits between the existing 41mm and 45mm case sizes. For now, only steel-cased, time-only models of this watch are available. Chronograph-equipped models, however, will soon be offered in both case sizes.
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