BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
Just recently, we released an article about the newly announced collaboration between Urwerk and Ulysse Nardin, and, interestingly, a few of the comments mentioned MB&F. I admit that more comments mentioned the new UR-FREAK’s price, but MB&F got a look-in. Certainly, while their products might seem worlds apart, Urwerk, Ulysse Nardin, and MB&F all champion independent Swiss watchmaking with their own interpretations of the future. MB&F’s view harkens back to one of the golden eras of design: the 1930s.
Art Deco was the name of the design game in the 1930s; it’s definitely my favourite design language, be it the phenomenal details of New York’s Chrysler Building or the brighter and more modern iterations of it seen in interior design today. MB&F has transformed the design of their Horological Machine no.11 (HM11) into two art deco showstoppers with golden bridges at all four edges leading to the tourbillon at the centre complete with an Art Deco cage.
The HM11 is different from most watches in that it displays different things on its sides through four, erm, chambers? Rooms? Who knows. One “room” displays the time and is skeletonised for legibility, another the power reserve (a significant 96 hours, or four days), another features a mechanical thermometer, and the last one is the time-setting module. The entire UFO-like body can be rotated as well while worn on the wrist, both to choose which display you’d like to view and also to wind the movement.
Despite the apparent complexity, the new HM11 Art Deco watches measure 42mm x 23mm, thanks to that rotating system. Made of grade 5 titanium and presented on wide straps, they might be considered comfortable, although I have yet to test this. They’ve also managed to give these watches 20m of water resistance, impressive given that these are as unusual as it gets.
There are just ten examples of both watches being made. One features a blue dial plate with yellow gold-toned bridges presented on a white lizard strap, and the other has a green plate with rose gold-toned bridges and a beige lizard leather strap. The price of one of these is currently CHF198,000 before VAT.
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