MB&F
Industry | Watch Making |
---|---|
Founded | 2005 |
Headquarters | Geneva, Switzerland |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Maximilian Büsser, Serge Kriknoff |
Products | Luxury Timepieces |
Website | www.mbandf.com |
MB&F - Maximilian Büsser and Friends - is a Swiss watch manufacturer founded by Maximilian Büsser in July 2005 and based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Wristwatches
Horological Machines
The Horological Machines are MB&F's first line of wristwatches. Their futuristic designs are inspired by science fiction and MB&F's childhood. These radical Horological Machines have a firm foundation in the very best of traditional horology, but their designs come directly from the future.
Horological Machine No.1 (HM1)
HM1 features four mainspring barrels connected in both parallel and series, a tourbillon escapement and 7-day power reserve.
Functions: Left dial: Hours Right dial: Minutes and Power Reserve
Movement: Raised central one-minute tourbillon, separate hours and minutes, seven-day power reserve. Balance oscillating at 28,800 bph. Automatic winding. 22K Gold Battle Ax winding rotor. Four mainspring barrels in parallel. Number of jewels: 81 (all functional). Number of parts: 376 (including jewels).
Horological Machine No.2 (HM2)
HM2 features a mechanical movement offering a combination of: Instantaneous Jump Hour, Concentric Retrograde Minutes, Retrograde Date, Bi-Hemisphere Moon Phase and Automatic Winding.[1]
Functions: Left dial: Retrograde Date and Bi-Hemisphere Moon Phase Right Dial: Jumping Hours and Concentric Retrograde Minutes
Movement: Jean-Marc Wiederrecht/Agenhor[2] designed functionality regulated and powered by a Girard-Perregaux oscillator and gear train Balance oscillating at 28,800 bph 22k rose gold Double Hakken automatic winding rotor
Horological Machine No.3 (HM3)
HM3 features cones respectively indicate hours and minutes, with the hour cone capped by a day/night indicator. An over-sized date wheel allows for large, legible numbers. HM3 is available in two versions: ‘Sidewinder’, with cones lined perpendicular to the arm and ‘Starcruiser’, with cones in line with the arm.
Functions: Hour and day/night indicator on one cone Minutes on second cone Date around the movement
Movement: Three-dimensional designed by Jean-Marc Wiederrecht/Agenhor; Girard-Perregaux oscillator and gear Balance oscillating at 28,800 bph. 22k rose gold battle-axe shaped ‘mystery’ automatic winding rotor Hour and minutes information transmitted via ceramic ball bearings to laser-cut hands.
Horological Machine No.4 (HM4)
HM4 features two perpendicular dials respectively indicating hours/minutes and power reserve set in a futuristic case resembling two jet turbine pods.[3]
HM4 Thunderbolt was awarded the prize for best Concept and Design Watch Concept at the 2010 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève.
Functions: Hours, minutes and power reserve indicator. Hours and minutes on right dial, power reserve indicator on left dial. Separate crowns for time setting and winding
Movement: HM4's movement was designed and developed by MB&F with Laurent Besse and Beranger Reynard of Les Artisans Horlogers. Each of the 311 components were developed specifically for the Thunderbolt due to the extreme nature of its architecture.
Horological Machine No.5 (HM5)
HM5 was inspired by the futuristic (at the time) Amida Digitrend watch of the 1970s as well as supercars of that era.
Functions: Jumping hours and minutes which are reflected 90° from disks on top of the movement by a sapphire crystal prism that also magnifies the indications 20%.
Movement: Developed by Jean-François Mojon and Vincent Boucard of Chronode; powered by a Sowind gear train; housed in a water resistant, stainless steel inner container.
Legacy Machines
The designs of MB&F's Legacy Machines are retrofuturistic, with traditional analog faces and circular cases and unusual design elements including convex crystal and balance wheels suspended above the face with arches. Legacy Machines pay homage to the rich watchmaking traditions of the 18th and 19th centuries by answering the question: What would MB&F have imagined a 100 years ago?
Legacy Machine No.1 (LM1)
In 2011, MB&F presented the first of their Legacy Machines, LM1. With LM1, MB&F said they were paying tribute to the watchmaking traditions of 18th and 19th centuries through imagining the type of timepiece they would have created had the company existed 100 years ago.[4] Legacy Machine No.1 has a large-diameter balance with traditional Breguet overcoil suspended over on the dial from twin arches, a vertical power reserve and a dual time zone that is able to be independently adjusted for both hours and minutes.
Functions and features: Hours and minutes; independent dual time zone; vertical power reserve; left crown at 8 o'clock for setting time of left dial; right crown at 4 o'clock for setting time of right dial and winding.
Movement: Developed by Jean-François Mojon and Kari Voutilainen. Mojon and his team developed the movement while Voutilainen was responsible for the aesthetic design and traditionally fine finishing.
Legacy Machine No.2 (LM2)
In 2013, MB&F presented Legacy Machine No.2, which features two flying balance wheels suspended over the dial. A raised (visible through the dial at 6 o'clock) planetary differential transmits the average rate of the two regulators to a single gear train.[5]
Functions and features: Hours and minutes; two flying balance wheels and planetary differential.
Movement: Developed by Jean-François Mojon/Chronode and Kari Voutilainen. Chronode developed the movement while Voutilainen was responsible for the aesthetic design and traditionally fine finishing.[6]
Performance Art Pieces
In parallel with their collection of Horological Machines and Legacy Machines, MB&F have collaborated with selected artists to create “Performance Art” pieces, available as unique pieces or in limited editions. MB&F Performance Art pieces essentially see a MB&F Machine become the medium for the selected artist to paint or sculptures. .
HM2 Only Watch 2009
Presented in 2009, the HM2 Only Watch was a unique piece created in collaboration with American artist Sage Vaughn for the Only Watch charity auction benefiting research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy, held in Monaco under the patronage of HSH Prince Albert II. Vaughn adorned the HM2 with a butterfly surrounded by barbed wire.
HM2.2 “Black Box” 2009
'Black Box' was a limited edition of eight pieces created in collaboration with French artist/watch designer Alain Silberstein. This creation saw Silberstein give the HM2 a solid black Bauhaus-style, minimalist case.
JWLRYMACHINE
MB&F collaborated with French high-jewellery house Boucheron, to create JWLRYMACHINE in which the HM3 was turned into a three-dimensional jewelled owl.
HM4 Only Watch 2011
HM4 Only Watch was created in collaboration with Chinese artist Huang Hankang, featuring a miniature flying panda.
Maximilian Büsser
Maximilian Büsser After graduating with a masters degree in micro-technology engineering, Maximilian Büsser's first employer was Jaeger-LeCoultre where he spent seven years in their senior management team during a period of change and strong growth.
Büsser was appointed managing director of Harry Winston Rare Timepieces in 1998. During his seven years there he transformed the company into a well-respected haute horlogerie brand. Working with talented independent watchmakers on the revolutionary Opus series[7] of timepieces planted the seed for developing that concept further still.
In 2005 Büsser resigned from Harry Winston to form MB&F - Maximilian Büsser & Friends - with the ethos of acknowledging the contribution of the individuals who contributed to each project.
References
- ↑ Robb Report article on Max Büsser and HM2
- ↑ Agenhor company history
- ↑ HM4 on Uncrate
- ↑ Watch Time magazine article on MB&F Legacy Machine No.1
- ↑ Hodinkee: Introducing The MB&F Legacy Machine Two
- ↑ Revolution Online: Legacy Machine No.2
- ↑ Haute Horlogerie article on Harry Winston and the Opus series
Further reading
- Bernard Cheong Collector of MB&F
- MB&F feature article in iW magazine July 2010
- Article on MB&F in XXL Summer 2010
- HM1 by Ian Skellern, published by Revolution on Timezone.com
- LM2 on WatchesbySJX
- Article by Łukasz Doskocz about MB&F Horological Machines for DreamChrono.com
- LM101: Distilling The Very Essence Of Time by Ian Skellern on Quill & Pad
- Deep Space On Your Desk: MB&F Starfleet Machine by Joshua Munchow on Quill & Pad