For all its complexity, this haute horlogerie piece is surprisingly comfortable on the wrist.
Throughout its relatively short yet illustrious history, independent watchmaker MB&F (Maximilian Büsser and Friends) has always made it a point to spearhead fantastic creations, pushing the envelope with its innovative and exceptional haute horlogerie.
Founded in 2005 by Maximilian Büsser in Geneva, Switzerland, MB&F constantly challenges the conventional, creating imaginative and complex timepieces drawn from science fiction, retro-futuristic vehicle design, and even exotic aquatic life.
Büsser himself once put it, “A creative adult is actually a child who survived.”
He and his team of talented watchmakers astound yet again with the newest MB&F HM11 Architect timepiece.
Légeret wears the MB&F HM11 Architect. — AZMAN GHANI/The Star
On hand in Kuala Lumpur to unveil the watch exclusively to Malaysian media at The Hour Glass is MB&F’s communications manager Arnaud Légeret.
“The HM11 was first conceived in 2019 and finally brought to life at the beginning of this year,” he says.
“It is definitely a return to form for MB&F as it celebrates the type of micro-mechanical engineering that is perhaps the hallmark of high-end Swiss watchmaking all this while.
Putting the “lid” on the MB&F HM11 Architect watch is part of the delicate process. — Photos by MB&F
“The HM11 is crafted from grade 5 titanium and will be sold in two limited editions, one with a blue dial, another with red gold. It is limited to just 25 pieces of each version for the global audience. All models retail at US$230,000.”
As with all MB&F timepieces, the HM11 comes with its own exceptional story.
“Every ‘machine’ we have released has its own watch box that also serves to tell the unique story of whichever timepiece it holds,” says Légeret. “The box for the HM11, in this case, is a miniature version of Arne Jacobsen’s 1959 Egg chair.”
The iconic chair is an indication of the HM11’s source of inspiration, the retro-futuristic architecture of the 1960s.
Designed like a radially symmetrical building, the watch also has “windows” for the wearer to see inside four “rooms” housing a flying tourbillon, hours and minutes, a power reserve indicator and even a thermometer.
The red gold version of the MB&F HM11 Architect horological machine.
“The general idea behind the HM11 is that it actually represents a house,” says Légeret.
“The centre of the timepiece houses a flying tourbillon with a new bridge design. Before this, the bridge design has always been dominated by the previous ‘battle axe’ rotor type shape. Now we have these four circles reminiscent of four separate rooms, akin to the shape of a four-leaf clover, if you like!
“Each ‘room’ in this ‘house’ has a different function,” explains Légeret.
“The most interesting and special of these rooms houses a full sapphire crown, the first ever in the industry, enabling the movement to be viewed through it.”
Crafting a miniature part of the MB&F HM11 Architect watch needs a sharp eye and steady hands. — Photos by MB&F
The watch’s pyramid style movement, meanwhile, uses conical gears to move power or information out to the time dial and power reserve indicator.
“The watch case also turns on its own axis and has eight ‘stop’ positions that allow flexibility on what your eyes see when you glance at the sides,” says Légeret.
“The turning case is a very new feature. For a while now, MB&F has made side reading of information a very popular feature of many of its previous timepieces, and especially so in the Horological Machine family, beginning with the HM4 back in 2010.
“With the HM11, its winding mechanism is also connected to the watch case which rotates at a full 360 degrees.
The innumerable miniature parts that go into building the MB&F HM11 Architect.
“So, to give the watch its full 96 hours of power, one only needs to do 10 turns of the watch face. The face can be set at eight different positions and every 45 degrees of rotation will add 72 minutes to the power reserve.”
A final touch comes in the novel form of a thermometer, which does not require any power and so, is not actually connected to the rest of the movement.
“Mechanical thermometers are a rare treat in watches,” says Légeret.
“Max chose to have this feature as they are usually present in houses. Also, it is not a feature he has included in other MB&F watches before.”
Essentially, what the HM11 celebrates is an outstanding complexity.
The various “faces” of MB&F HM11 Architect.
“Imagine this: assembling the watch requires building parts of the movements first, then assembling them inside the case, which is rather different from most watches that have movements entirely finished before being cased,” says Légeret. The case also uses nearly 20 different gaskets and custom-shaped pieces of sapphire crystal for the construction.
Despite the HM11’s radical appearance and to a certain degree, functionality, it is among the most compact in the HM collection given its 42mm diameter.
It is a surprisingly light and comfortable wearing experience, thanks to its mostly titanium and sapphire crystal construction with a highly curved lug structure.
“Put your ear to it and listen to the soft clicking of the 2.5Hz balance wheel spinning inside the tourbillon cage. You’ll be suitably inspired!” says Légeret.
