Cover Franck Muller's Vanguard Skeleton Color Dreams in red
Franck Muller's Vanguard Skeleton Color Dreams in red
1 / 1
Tatler+
From the Southeast Asia-exclusive Vanguard Skeleton Color Dreams to the dazzling Grand Central Tourbillon CX 36, Franck Muller has a timepiece for everyone to celebrate the season in, each with a welcome twist on a familiar classic
The year may be drawing to a close, but Franck Muller is not quite done with its creations for 2022 yet. The manufacture has just extended its line-up with the new Vanguard Skeleton Color Dreams—exclusive to Southeast Asia and Australia–that reexamines a familiar classic through new, kaleidoscopic lens. These twists don’t just showcase the playful, creative side of the brand, but also the versatility of its designs.
Life in Technicolor
Franck Muller’s Color Dreams collection starts things off with its new Vanguard Skeleton Color Dreams. This line was established in 2000 with the first Color Dreams timepiece, which challenged the industry’s notions about what “serious” watchmaking entailed.
Read more: 5 Highlights at the Franck Muller x Cortina Watch Exhibition
Above Franck Muller's Vanguard Skeleton Color Dreams in red
Franck Muller's Vanguard Skeleton Color Dreams in red
1 / 1
With its myriad of colours, the Color Dreams aesthetic went against the prevailing norms in watch design. Yet, its overall aesthetic and technical content paradoxically qualified it as a bona fide luxury mechanical timepiece. The Color Dreams “treatment” has since been applied to various case shapes and complications, and created a line that proves how horology can be playful yet serious at the same time.
In the Vanguard Skeleton Color Dreams, the collection’s signature palette of prismatic hues has been applied to the watch's skeletonised movement. To accomplish this, various components have been rendered in anodised aluminium instead of brass or silver. They include the hands, bridges, as well as the mainspring’s barrel cover. By electroplating each component in a different colour, Franck Muller was able to highlight the FM 1740-VS10 movement’s angular, symmetrical architecture. What’s more, the calibre’s openworked structure further complements this by removing all unnecessary material, thus ensuring that attention is focused on what’s left behind—complete with an airy transparency, no less.
Far from being just a housing for the star of the show, the Vanguard Skeleton Color Dreams’ case is also a marvel to behold. Here, it has been constructed in CarboTech: a composite material that’s produced by layering carbon fibre sheets, then baking them with a binding polymer under high heat and pressure. As the striations that are inherent to Carbotech are randomised, every case that’s crafted from the material will look different. By extension, each Vanguard Skeleton Color Dreams timepiece is a unique creation unto itself.
The icing on the cake here are the crown and case middle inserts, as well as the alligator leather strap’s stitching. These areas of the watch extend the movement’s play with colours by coming in matching shades of red, orange, or yellow, and serve as accents on what will otherwise be blacked out cases and straps.
Don't miss: Tourbillon Watches Aren’t All Equal and This One Shows Why
Above Franck Muller's Grand Central Tourbillon in 36mm Cintrée Curvex CX with diamonds and rubies
Franck Muller's Grand Central Tourbillon in 36mm Cintrée Curvex CX with diamonds and rubies
1 / 1
Scintillating Works
The play with colours continues in two new gem-set references of Franck Muller's Grand Central Tourbillon CX 36. Don't let these references' 36mm case size fool you, the Cintrée Curvex CX's case wears larger than its dimensions would suggest, which makes this the ideal size for most Asian wrists.
As its name suggests, the Grand Central Tourbillon's calling card is its tourbillon regulator, which sits in the middle of the dial. This is an atypical spot for the tourbillon that challenges movement design, not least because the motion work must be relocated to accommodate the tourbillon. Franck Muller has addressed this by replacing the hours and minutes hands with openworked discs that are coaxial with the tourbillon, essentially going one step further to present the time "invisibly" on the watch.
Above Franck Muller's Grand Central Tourbillon in 36mm Cintrée Curvex CX with diamonds and emeralds
Franck Muller's Grand Central Tourbillon in 36mm Cintrée Curvex CX with diamonds and emeralds
1 / 1
With the central tourbillon anchoring the dial visually, there is much space elsewhere for customisation. Franck Muller opted to go all out with the bling in these watches by completely setting both their cases and dials with diamonds, with accents of either rubies or emeralds. The results are stunning works that straddle the categories of haute horlogerie and haute joaillerie, as white diamonds form a seamless canvas from which the coloured gemstones pop.
The Cintrée Curvex CX's seamless integration of its sapphire crystal further enhances this effect by having the crystal extend edge-to-edge from 12 to six o'clock without any discernible bezel. Instead, the sapphire crystal seems to meld directly into the attached alligator strap—coloured to match the corresponding gemstone used, of course. Together with the case's complex curves, the overall aesthetic of these timepieces is one of delicate intricacy, much like the tourbillons dancing at their centres.
The Vanguard Skeleton Color Dreams and Grand Central Tourbillon CX 36 are available at all Franck Muller boutiques islandwide. For more information, visit franckmuller-sea.com.
NOW READ
Dubai-Based Timepiece Gallery Perpétuel Is Taking Horology Appreciation to the Next Level
Tatler Ball 2022: The Bling Report
Go Dark With Franck Muller’s Vanguard Rose Skeleton Black Diamonds
