Schizophrenia has come to watchmaking, with brands using ultra-modern methods and facilities to create ultra-modern watches that masquerade as strictly traditional. For Max Busser, the charismatic leader of MB&F and bona fide watch creator, there are no such superficial gestures. “I make kinetic sculptures that happen to tell the time…watches that I myself would want to wear,” said Busser as he prepared to unveil his latest creation, the Horological Machine 3 or HM3.

In the press notes to the HM3, the MB&F press office warns that sensory overload is a strong possibility. The warning is appropriate, if a little too low-key, as the HM3 is truly overwhelming. First of all, this is really one watch with two distinct configurations: the Starcruiser and the Sidewinder. According to Busser, the Sidewinder came about because a prominent journalist to whom he showed a prototype of the Starcruiser said “wouldn’t it be cool if you flipped it (so that the twin cones face away from the wearer)?” Obviously, Busser agreed.

The second thing you will notice about the HM3 is that conservative (or born-again conservative) watch connoisseurs will be running for the hills in search of cover at the very sight of either the Starcruiser or the Sidewinder. In fact, these collectors are likely to have turned elsewhere the moment they saw the picture of the watch. This is a shame of course because the HM3 is neither a monstrosity nor superfluous. In fact, the HM3 is very practical.

Take a look at the Starcruiser. You will notice no doubt that time is told via a display on the twin cones. In this photograph for example, the time is 10.30am (note also the day/night indicator). There is also an oversized date wheel marking the months that is actually larger than the diameter of the movement. But wait, where’s the second time zone normally associated with a day/night indicator? Well, there isn’t one. The indicator simply provides an AM/PM display.

You can’t tell from the pictures but, in either configuration, the watch sits comfortably on just about any wrist, thanks to its clever design (s). Busser frequently talks about his slim wrists and that he wants to make the large size of contemporary watches more accessible to people like him. The HM3 continues this product evolution. Additionally, it is very easy to read off the time here, again depending on the configuration. For my money, I would say the Starcruiser has the edge but this is a matter of personal preference as both work quite well.

To be clear, just looking straight down at the watch, where a dial would normally be, will not give you the time effectively. You have to look at it from an angle, as if you were looking at the side of the case. Where most traditional watches reserve the front of the watch for the display of time, Max Busser decided that valuable real estate should go to showing off the movement. In itself, this is not unusual. What is more than a little unusual is Busser’s decision to eschew dial cut-outs, translucent dials and skeletonised movements. Instead, his brand has gone and inverted the movement so that the traditional sapphire caseback view has taken center stage at the front of the watch.

Now, this is not like making an upside down cake, where one simply cooks the cake in a pan and turns it over to complete the effect. In the case of the HM3, MB&F redesigned the entire gear train to create the watch. Basically, the double-bladed battle axe rotor performs its dizzying whirlwind attack to transmit power to the movement, which then transfers the timekeeping information back up to the twin cones rotor-side via large ceramic bearings. These bearings are visible via the caseback.

It is important to note that none of the HM3’s technical innovations improve the basic timekeeping properties of the watch. Busser is very clear that MB&F makes complicated machines that tell time, not necessarily more accurate or functional watches. This level of complicated craftsmanship is reflected in the case as well, particularly in the twin cones. These sapphire cones feature polished interior surfaces and are attached to the case via brazing, not epoxy. Busser often remarks that his cases are as challenging as his movements, if not more so.

The high-tech case of Horological Machine No. 3, both the Starcruiser and Sidewinder varieties, is available at present in 18K white gold and titanium or 18K red gold and titanium. Regardless of the material, every case also features a marriage of satin and polish finishes.

http://www.mbandf.com/