Southeast Asian retailer Sincere Fine Watches is marking its 70th anniversary with a series of limited editions, with the latest being the Vanguard Damascus Steel Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition, equipped with a hand-wind, seven-day movement.

The Vanguard Damascus Steel Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition features a case and movement bridges of Damascus steel, a pattern-welded alloy composed of two types of steel that create a distinctive grained surface. Limited to 28 pieces, it follows Sincere’s prior anniversary editions, including the Laurent Ferrier Grand Sport Tourbillon and H. Moser & Cie. Pioneer Perpetual Calendar Concept MD.

An exotic alloy

The Vanguard Damascus Steel Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition combines the trademark Franck Muller tonneau-shaped case, an unusual case alloy, and one of the brand’s more interesting movements, a skeleton calibre with a seven-day power reserve.

The Vanguard case is an evolution of the classic Franck Muller Cintrée Curvex, with modern lines echoed in the movement, which has a geometric and linear bridge layout.

The case, crown, buckle, and movement bridges of the Vanguard Damascus Steel Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition are made of an unusual steel alloy known as Damascus steel, or wootz steel. The material gets its name from the ancient high-quality steel used for bladed weapons over a thousand years ago.

The modern-day Damascus steel employed here is created with powder metallurgy, namely mixing various steel powders before forging them, in this case 304L and 316L steels – both common in watchmaking but rarely as a single alloy.

Strong and corrosion resistant, the Damascus steel alloy is milled into a case at Franck Muller’s workshops in Genthod, a suburban district of Geneva. The case is then briefly acid etched to bring out the surface graining, as the constituent steels react differently to the chemical treatment, and finally polished to create a mirror finished on the grained surface of the Damascus steel.

The choice of a two-alloy steel is a deliberate one that calls to mind the longstanding partnership between Franck Muller and Sincere, which was one of the brand’s first-ever retailers worldwide. Franck Muller was established in 1991, and Sincere became the brand’s official retailer partner in Southeast Asia just a year later.

In-house and seven days

Within the case is the FM 1740-VS2, a skeletonised movement with two barrels and a lengthy, seven-day power reserve.  Laid out vertically, the FM 1740-VS2 has a large mainspring visible through an open-worked barrel at 12 o’clock and the seconds register at six.

The bridges and base plate are open-worked in a repeating “V” motif that complements the streamlined styling of the case. As is often the case with skeletonised movements, the open-worked bridges offer ample real estate for decoration. The finishing applied to the calibre includes bevelled edges and straight-grained flanks on the bridges and cocks, polished countersinks for the jewels and screws, and circular graining on the wheels.

Although the calibre has been used in past Franck Muller models, the specific variant of the movement employed here is unique: the bridges and base plate are milled from the same Damascus steel used for the case.

The watch, however, also features a dose of precious metal. The dial flange, case inserts, and cap on the crown are 18k rose gold. And inside the case, the hands as well as markers on the subsidiary seconds are also rose gold.

The Franck Muller Vanguard Damascus Steel Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition is available at Sincere Fine Watches boutiques in Southeast Asia.

Key facts and price

Franck Muller Vanguard Damascus Steel Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition
Ref. V 43 S6 SQT DAMAS SINCERE 70TH (5N)

Diameter: 42.5 mm by 52.7 mm
Height: 12.6 mm
Material: Damascus steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: MVT FM 1740-VS2
Functions: Hours, minutes, and seconds
Winding: Hand wound
Frequency: 18,000 beats per hour (2.5 Hz)
Power reserve: Seven days

Strap: Alligator with Damascus steel buckle

Availability: The limited edition of 28 pieces is available at all Sincere Fine Watches boutiques
Price: 71,100 Singapore dollars (equivalent to US$55,000)

For more, visit Sincerewatch.com.

This was brought to you in partnership with Sincere Fine Watches.