MB&F: Welcome to the Rebellion
First working at legendary watchmaking house Jaeger-LeCoultre, as a part of their revitalization, Maximilian Büsser then went on to breathe new life and structure into Harry Winston as its Managing Director. After 15 years in the watchmaking industry, Büsser decided to develop his own creations, adding the “F” to MB&F to create the synergy of, Maximilian Büsser & Friends.
Perhaps best representing Büsser’s interpretation of watchmaking as the creation of three-dimensional kinetic sculptures is the Starfleet Explorer. Designed as a Mothership, the Starfleet Explorer is a stand-alone timepiece which features futuristic, spacecraft-inspired landing gear on which it stands, a horizontally mounted movement with vertical escapement and three small "ships" which complete one orbit every five minutes. Produced in collaboration with L’Epée 1839, and made in a limited edition series of 99 pieces each in red, green and blue, the Starfleet Explorer is both wound and set from the bottom with a double-ended key – revealing another function for its long, bi-directional landing gear. Time is read by a revolving upper radar dome on which the minutes are written, and a stationary lower ring on which the hours are found.
Bridging the gap between free-standing, horological sculptures and the wrist-watch models MB&F calls ‘Legacy Machines,’ are collections MB&F terms ‘Horological Machines.’ The tenth iteration in this category, the Horological Machine No. 10 Bulldog, melds beast and machine, time-piece and sculpture, with a 301 component, manually wound movement, whose single barrel provides 45 hours of power reserve. Unlike the power reserve indicator dial on a traditional watch, the HM10 Bulldog features externally hinged jaws, which open and shut. Time is read on two aluminium domes, with hours displayed on the left and minutes on the right. The HM10 Bulldog is available in grade 5 titanium and an 18-karat 5N+ red gold and grade 5 titanium version.
Collaborating with Eric Coudray (the pioneer behind Jaeger-LeCoultre's Gyrotourbillon) and Finnish watchmaker Kari Voutilainen, MB&F has taken its signature, featured escapement to another level with the Legacy Machine Thunderdome. Utilizing the all new ‘TriAx’ mechanism, the LM Thunderdome showcases a triple axes escapement, revolving at a record-breaking 8 seconds, 12 seconds and 20 seconds. This is, as MB&F puts it, “The fastest combined rotation in the category of multi-axis regulating mechanisms... In [a] chronometric context, this means the LM Thunderdome engine has the largest range and fastest rate of balance positional displacement known throughout the history of watchmaking.”
Housed within an unconventional two cages, the LM Thunderdome’s hemispherical balance and helical hairspring are regulated by a Potter escapement. Named after the 19th-century watchmaker and inventor, Albert H. Potter, this mechanism uses a fixed escapement wheel – unlike the rotating escapement wheels found in almost all modern watches – which allows for higher rotation speeds. With a 413 component, manually wound ‘engine,’ powered by three barrels, the LM Thunderdome is capable of 45 hours of power reserve, despite its energy-hungry, unconventional escapement.
As with all MB&F collections, production of the LM Thunderdome will be highly limited, with one limited edition of 33 pieces in platinum 950, with light-blue guilloché dial; and a second limited edition of 10 pieces in tantalum for The Hour Glass (5 pieces with an aventurine dial and 5 pieces with a dark blue guilloché dial).
With a reputation already cemented in the watchmaking world, the legacy of MB&F is not merely statically established, but ever evolving in leaps of innovation and the dramatic redefinition of the art of watchmaking. We at THE CIRCLE | VANCOUVER look forward to following the progress of MB&F, as the watchmaking ‘rebellion’ unfolds.
MB&F
www.mbandf.com