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Lot Essay
“It could be said that an MB&F Machine is not worn; it is lived. With its latest creation, MB&F further blurs the line between watchmaking and architecture.” – MB&F
For Horological Machine No.11, MB&F explores post-war architecture. Taking case design to a new level with a remarkable rotating grade 5 titanium case with four ‘rooms’ and a flying tourbillon under a domed sapphire crystal ‘roof’. Horological Machine No.11 has a thrilling presence on the wrist, exuding the feeling of 60s space-age architectural design, it perfectly encapsulates the ethos of the brand. Made in two limited editions of 25 pieces each in grade 5 titanium, one with blue dial plate, the other with red. The present blue dial watch is offered in superb condition.
Horological Machine No.11 ‘Architect’
In common with all MB&F’s Horological Machines, the design and mechanical concept of HM11 is perfectly harmonious resulting in a timepiece that is both hauntingly beautiful and utterly extraordinary in its appearance and horological ingenuity, yet is at the same time entirely practical in use. Naturally, MB&F have taken full advantage of this freedom of form to create a mechanical sculptural ‘four-room house’ for the wrist. Maximillian Büsser is said to have been inspired originally by Charles Haertling's ‘Brenton House’ for the design. The unidirectional rotating case permits the wearer to choose the desired dial to view, locking into position every 45 or 90 degrees . Rotating the case also serves an ingenious practical purpose, every 45° clockwise turn delivers 72 minutes of power directly to the spring barrel, after 10 complete rotations, the watch is fully wound.
Maximillian Büsser and MB&F’s design leader Eric Giroud visualized Horological Machine No.11 as a house with four rooms, not dissimilar to Monsanto's famous ‘House of Tomorrow’ (1957-1967) with a central atrium with rooms branching off it. In the centre of the HM11 is the in-house movement with a one-minute reverse-rotation flying tourbillon under a double-domed sapphire crystal. The upper tourbillon bridge design is inspired by clerestory windows. The first of the four rooms displays the hours and minutes with red-tipped hands, the hours indicated by coloured balls on rods radiating from the centre inspired by American designer George Nelson's ‘Horloge Vitra’ Ball Clocks. The second window displays the power reserve indication also with ball and rod indexes, the third a thermometer (-20 to 60° Celsius, or 0 to 140° Fahrenheit), and the fourth, a see-through sapphire crown for hand-setting only.
The HM11 is a functional work of art and horological sculpture inspired by 1950s and 60s architecture. Fascinating simply to admire and behold, it cannot fail to captivate anyone who sees it. Highly sought after, the HM11 is a must for the collector or enthusiast of independent watchmaking.
MB&F
The arrival of MB&F in 2005 disrupted the conservative world of luxury Swiss watchmaking, breaking the mould with completely startling and imaginative almost ‘sci-fi’ sculptural designs unlike anything seen before in haute horology. However, MB&F’s watches are not only extraordinary in their design, channeling founder Maximillian Büsser’s childlike sense of wonder, but are also highly complex precision-engineered timepieces at the very highest level. Developed by some of the greatest minds in independent watchmaking, many of MB&F’s watches include entirely new inventions or completely rethink traditional watch complications in order to open up new avenues of time display, movement construction and case design. MB&F’s reputation has grown from two very different series of wristwatches: the three-dimensional ‘Horological Machines’ introduced in 2007 and the ‘Legacy Machines’ introduced in 2011. Both series have evolved over the years collaborations with some of the great independent watchmakers who were given full credit and exposure for their involvement.
For Horological Machine No.11, MB&F explores post-war architecture. Taking case design to a new level with a remarkable rotating grade 5 titanium case with four ‘rooms’ and a flying tourbillon under a domed sapphire crystal ‘roof’. Horological Machine No.11 has a thrilling presence on the wrist, exuding the feeling of 60s space-age architectural design, it perfectly encapsulates the ethos of the brand. Made in two limited editions of 25 pieces each in grade 5 titanium, one with blue dial plate, the other with red. The present blue dial watch is offered in superb condition.
Horological Machine No.11 ‘Architect’
In common with all MB&F’s Horological Machines, the design and mechanical concept of HM11 is perfectly harmonious resulting in a timepiece that is both hauntingly beautiful and utterly extraordinary in its appearance and horological ingenuity, yet is at the same time entirely practical in use. Naturally, MB&F have taken full advantage of this freedom of form to create a mechanical sculptural ‘four-room house’ for the wrist. Maximillian Büsser is said to have been inspired originally by Charles Haertling's ‘Brenton House’ for the design. The unidirectional rotating case permits the wearer to choose the desired dial to view, locking into position every 45 or 90 degrees . Rotating the case also serves an ingenious practical purpose, every 45° clockwise turn delivers 72 minutes of power directly to the spring barrel, after 10 complete rotations, the watch is fully wound.
Maximillian Büsser and MB&F’s design leader Eric Giroud visualized Horological Machine No.11 as a house with four rooms, not dissimilar to Monsanto's famous ‘House of Tomorrow’ (1957-1967) with a central atrium with rooms branching off it. In the centre of the HM11 is the in-house movement with a one-minute reverse-rotation flying tourbillon under a double-domed sapphire crystal. The upper tourbillon bridge design is inspired by clerestory windows. The first of the four rooms displays the hours and minutes with red-tipped hands, the hours indicated by coloured balls on rods radiating from the centre inspired by American designer George Nelson's ‘Horloge Vitra’ Ball Clocks. The second window displays the power reserve indication also with ball and rod indexes, the third a thermometer (-20 to 60° Celsius, or 0 to 140° Fahrenheit), and the fourth, a see-through sapphire crown for hand-setting only.
The HM11 is a functional work of art and horological sculpture inspired by 1950s and 60s architecture. Fascinating simply to admire and behold, it cannot fail to captivate anyone who sees it. Highly sought after, the HM11 is a must for the collector or enthusiast of independent watchmaking.
MB&F
The arrival of MB&F in 2005 disrupted the conservative world of luxury Swiss watchmaking, breaking the mould with completely startling and imaginative almost ‘sci-fi’ sculptural designs unlike anything seen before in haute horology. However, MB&F’s watches are not only extraordinary in their design, channeling founder Maximillian Büsser’s childlike sense of wonder, but are also highly complex precision-engineered timepieces at the very highest level. Developed by some of the greatest minds in independent watchmaking, many of MB&F’s watches include entirely new inventions or completely rethink traditional watch complications in order to open up new avenues of time display, movement construction and case design. MB&F’s reputation has grown from two very different series of wristwatches: the three-dimensional ‘Horological Machines’ introduced in 2007 and the ‘Legacy Machines’ introduced in 2011. Both series have evolved over the years collaborations with some of the great independent watchmakers who were given full credit and exposure for their involvement.