By Carl Scutt
MB&F is now launching a third variation of their HM7 Aquapod in titanium with a green sapphire crystal bezel, the previous versions come in both red gold with black ceramic bezel and in titanium with blue ceramic bezel last year during SIHH.
It’s been said the somewhat unusual design was inspired by the symmetry of the of jellyfish and built with something of a stacked architecture so from the top side to bottom we see the winding rotor, mainspring barrel, hour and minute indications, flying tourbillion all arranged around the central axis.
Describing this piece is something of a challenge but I’ll give it a shot. First off, when viewing from the top side the wearer can happily watch the rotating flying tourbillion regulator as it endlessly whirls away, illuminated by night by a three panel Ambient Glow Technology lume around the inside of the movement.
The sapphire crystal dome has a curvature that has to be unique in the horology world with its super high mirrored affair designed with mathematically precise curved spherical segments. Now that’s not something you see every day.
Looking to the inner display rings of the movement the hours and minutes are displayed supported by ceramic ball bearings for optimum low friction movement; the outer circumference in green sapphire crystal is a working unidirectional rotating bezel, which isn’t attached to the case, just floating around the outer edge on its own orbit if you will.
Beneath the garish facade, we get the heart of the piece which is the in-house automatic 303-component HM7 Engine with a rotor crafted from a solid piece of titanium utilizing a platinum mass for efficient winding. Running at a frequency 2.5 Hz it offers a 72-hour power reserve, finished with a rubber bracelet with folding buckle.
What can I say? This piece will be limited to a run of 50 with a price tag of 108,000 Swiss Francs or US$ 108,000 which is a lot of pocket change in anyone’s language, but as it’s possibly the ugliest watch I’ve ever set eyes on it seems sensible to limit the run to such a small number. Having said this there’s always someone out there to love it and as I have said time and time again, it’s all down to personal taste, there’s just no accounting for it. For more info, visit MB&F online.
