MB&F and the British bulldog share a certain attribute the stubbornness that makes the horological concept laboratory blaze new trails in high-end watchmaking.
Horology picks: MB&F Horological Machine No. 9 Sapphire Vision
The MB&F Horological Machine No. 9 Sapphire Vision throws open a stunning movement to full viewing pleasure
February 16, 2021
Horological machines. Can you really call it by any other name? Maximilian Büsser’s HM creations are intricate revelations of mechanical artistry where telling the time is the most cursory function of that wristbound device. Truth be told: we’re more likely to consult our smartphone or the clock on the top right-hand corner of our computer screen when all we want to do is know the time of day. And so, it is with that keen realisation, that the former Harry Winston managing director who set up his own company, MB&F, in 2005 continues to approach mechanical watchmaking.
Photo: MB&F
As a watch lover, I look at the new MB&F Horological Machine N°9 ‘Sapphire Vision’ with equal measures of lust and anger. Boutique manufacturer MB&F first launched this version of its Horological Machine line in 2018 and claimed the oddly-shaped and gold-bedecked timekeeper was inspired by 1950s “aerodynamic principles.” The other Horological Machines are all designed in the same vein with sleek, jet-engine lines mixed with something that looks like C-3PO’s prostate.
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This new model adds curved sapphire crystal over the entire watch, thereby exposing the innards. You read it by looking at the little window at the end of the watch and this thing literally only tells the time, albeit with a twist.