This one seems a real stumper but I would be so grateful to anyone who can help! Do not know the title.

It’s all a bit fuzzy but here is what I remember.  It was about a man who would stand on a beach (I think) maybe in France. The pictures were pastel colored and the beach goers (men ) wore those lovely long old bathing suits with stripes and they would change in little tents on the beach. Like the 1920’s ….. but it may have been later.  The man, our protagonist, clad in a three piece suit would occasionally be asked the time by a passerby and he would pull out his pocket watch and start nattering on about its materials and history, of which he was very proud. Eventually the people would move on, never getting the time out of him.

The point was he was lonely and eager to engage anyone in conversation. So would bore them to death with his watch’s details. “This part is gold plated and was made in the time of King Louis the XVI or such and such. “ or something like that.

I grew up in the 70’s in Europe so it may be more European and not American – like the Enid Blytons etc…… I miss my dad reading this to me. Want to find this book. Can you help?