Let’s get one thing clear from the outset; MB&F are not and have never been concerned with making practical timepieces. It just doesn’t figure in their realm of consciousness. Rather this is about creative expression in its purest form, it’s about making something simply because you want to make it, not because market research or industry gurus are saying you should.
© IAllen88 2013
Have you ever owned something you love so much that nothing else seems good enough for it? This was the problem our friend Allen found himself facing back in 2011 after what would prove to be a life-changing event.
It all started out innocently enough, after attending an enjoyable dinner with his wife and a rather charming entrepreneur named Maximilian Busser, Allen made the decision to purchase his first Horological Machine from MB&F, the HM No.3.
© 2013 Adam Priscak for WatchAnish and TWL
It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost three years since the launch of MB&F’s Horological Machine No.4. Considered by many (including Max Busser himself) to be one of the brand’s most daring and outrageous creations to date, the HM4 has become somewhat of an icon, symbolizing MB&F’s willingness to always push the boundaries and take things one step further.
Given its apparent importance therefore it might seem somewhat strange that the brand has just announced the launch of the HM4 Final Edition, a set of eight very special pieces that herald the end of this short-lived era. But it was always meant to be this way. From the outset the brand declared only 100 Thunderbolt movements would ever be produced, this was never meant to be a long-term gig and so the time has come to say farewell. And in typical MB&F fashion, the HM4 is going out in style, stealth style that is.
© 2013 Adam Priscak for WatchAnish and TWL
It’s no great secret. I’m a bit of an MB&F fan-boy, and why not? After all, they do make some of the most unusually creative, incredibly complicated timepieces I have ever seen. So when I received an email from MB&F’s Chief Communication Officer, Charris Yadigaroglou, inviting the team and I to the M.A.D Gallery in Geneva to check out the newly unveiled Horological Machine No. 5 in the metal, it was kind of a no brainer; “We’ll be there, wearing whatever types of bells you crazy cats like!”
“Holy sh*t, that’s cool!”
Those were the first words to escape my lips when I finally laid my eager eyes on the new Horological Machine No.5 from MB&F. Admittedly not the most dignified response and, judging by the glares of my fellow café-goers at the time, certainly not the most politically correct however, I am a firm believer in the notion that our first impressions are often our most honest. Plus, who cares? This really is one seriously cool timepiece!
It’s hard to know where to start when describing a new creation from MB&F, namely because each timepiece is quite simply that, a new creation. There are no real direct comparisons to be drawn with previous models and generally the only common features they share are the Battleaxe rotor and the fact that they tell the time. That’s not a complaint though, not by any stretch of the imagination but it is an important point to make as it talks to the incredible creativity and ingenuity of the MB&F team, led by creative director Maximilian Busser.
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