Sun, Sand and Surf Galore with the Franck Muller Vanguard Beach

A carefree day at the beach sticks with you. Gorgeous tan, sand in every crevice, the joy of sun and surf in your heart — these precious mementos of la dolce vita prevail when you return from your coastal escapade. Franck Muller adds to the list with its bold new Vanguard Beach collection, a colourful embodiment of littoral paradise.

Introduced in 2014, the sporty Vanguard is a hit with connoisseurs and casual fans alike thanks to its shapely proportions. Possessing a striking presence with its signature tonneau case, it is nonetheless remarkably wearable sans lugs. Over the years, the Vanguard line has proliferated with different colours, complications and case materials, with the Vanguard Beach demonstrating the Maison’s mastery over the lattermost.

No beach is complete without its sandy shore; in fact, digging your toes into golden grit is a quintessential part of the experience. Under extreme heat, the crystalline grains fuse into glass — this unorthodox material is used to craft the latest Vanguard case. First melted at 1,500˚C and drawn into ultra-fine filaments, the glass fibre sheets are then dyed in colour baths before being layered and compressed into blocks to be machined into watch cases. By overseeing each step of the process, Franck Muller has a precise hand on the exact hues of the Vanguard Beach while achieving its singular pattern of undulating lines reminiscent of sand ripples on the beach.

Glass fibre composite is perfectly suited to the Vanguard’s athletic identity, seeing as it’s widely used in sporting equipment. Less dense than steel but just as strong, it encapsulates the boundless energy of the coast in a lightweight and robust body. The watches are rendered in eye-catching colours that evoke the shimmering blues and greens of the ocean as well as the fiery sunsets that paint the horizon, matched by the dial and strap for an unmissable tone-on-tone look. Finally, a self-winding movement with date display and 42-hour power reserve ensures that time does not run out in those idyllic sun-soaked days.