BY DHANANJAY PATHAK
Have you ever come across a watch that makes use of seven or more different colors at the same time? I will not be surprised if your answer to this question is a resounding “No”. However, in case you were curious to know how such a watch would look like, you might want to look at the new Franck Muller Vanguard Skeleton Sapphire Color Dreams. This is a fun and quirky watch that paints a colorful picture on a skeletonized framework.
In an industry where a brand can face severe criticism for not getting the hue of a color right, creating a watch whose calling card is a vibrant multicolored dial is a bold and courageous move, and I strongly appreciate Franck Muller for giving this a try. To showcase the vibrant palette of colors on offer, the Sapphire Color Dreams makes clever usage of the architecture of the hand-wound skeletonized calibre FM 1740-VS that operates at 2.5 Hz and offers a substantial power reserve of 7 days. The anodized aluminum bridges of the movement have been rendered in red, orange, purple, and two different shades of blue. Furthermore, the mainspring barrel and the chapter ring for the running second’s register have been presented in green and yellow. The hour, minute, and seconds hands are skeletonized, have been filled with luminous paint for better low light visibility, and are colored orange, purple and green. Interestingly, the use of color extends beyond the movement to the white outer flange, which acts as the perfect background for the colored double-digit numerals as well as the ‘Vanguard’ and ‘Seven days’ text at 12 and 6.
To fully appreciate the ensemble of colors from the exterior of the watch as well, the case on this watch has been crafted from Sapphire. The use of Sapphire offers unparalleled transparency and high scratch resistance. The case measures a large 44mm in diameter, however, the lug less Tonneau shaped design keeps the lug to lug distance restricted to just 53mm, which should result in a comfortable fit on the wrist. Continuing the bright and colorful theme of the watch, the crown at 3 has been painted in blue and yellow. The case is water-resistant to a paltry 30 meters only.
The new Franck Muller Vanguard Skeleton Sapphire Color Dreams comes mated to a vivid red alligator strap with black contrast stitching. The watch will retail for CHF 138,000.
Visit Franck Muller here.
