One of the best known independent watch companies is also one of the smallest: Maximilian Büsser & Friends was founded by Maximilian Büsser in 2005, and though it’s solidly rooted in the Swiss watchmaking traditions of reliability and precision, you won’t find watches like these anywhere else in Switzerland –or, for that matter, in the world. MB&F watches –conceived by Büsser himself, in collaboration with the Friends (who include watch world household names like Eric Giroud, who designed Horological Machine No. 5) MB&F watches are as far from the staid stereotype of Swiss watchmaking as it is possible to get –exotic shapes and unusual mechanical solutions combined with uncompromising fit and finish make them some of the most interesting alternatives to conventional watches in the world, and have earned MB&F a world-wide following out of all proportion to the size of the company.
One of the best known independent watch companies is also one of the smallest: Maximilian Büsser & Friends was founded by Maximilian Büsser in 2005, and though it's solidly rooted in the Swiss...
Though each MB&F watch bears the stamp of all the collaborators responsible for its design, there’s a common thread running through all of them –a sheer delight in the unique pleasures of high performance machines, mixed with a love of mingled imagination and nostalgia. This rich background’s given rise to everything from the time machine instrument panel look of the very first Horological Machine –HM 1 –to the steampunk gentleman adventurer look of HM 3, or the retro-aviation vibe of HM 4 “Thunderbolt.” HM 5 takes its inspiration from yet another world –that of vintage ’70s muscle cars, and specifically, that most iconic of high performance Italian road machines, the inimitable Lamborghini Miura.
HM 5’s distinctive lines echo those of the Miura’s roofline, and the louvered back of the watch does so as well –though to a different purpose; while those on the upward facing rear window of the Miura were meant to block excess sunlight, those on the HM 5 admit light, providing backside illumination for the mechanical digital display. That they can do so illuminates another aspect of HM 5’s design –the discs carrying the hours and minutes numbers are actually flat (on the same plane as the movement itself) and appear in a vertical orientation thanks to a reflective prism that makes them visible through a dashboard-style window on the front of the case. (Because the numbers are reflected in the prism’s internal “mirror” they’re actually printed backwards on the discs.) There’s a sliding button that lets you open or close the louvers at will, and –echoing the massive exhaust pipes of the classic muscle cars –two exhaust ports, which are designed to let water drain out of the watch case (though the watch case is open to the environment, the movement’s safe inside an inner case that’s water resistant to 3 atmospheres.)
The HM 5 continues the so-far unbroken success of MB&F at making watches that do something very difficult: seamlessly combine mechanics and design in a satisfying whole that’s greater than the sum of its parts. And, thanks to their canny combination of top-notch craftsmanship and idiosyncratic execution, HM 5 is something much more important than a “luxury timepiece,” –it’s fun.
The Horological Machine No. 5 is offered a double case (outer case in zirconium with steel water-resistant “engine container” to protect the movement.) Minutes and bi-directional jumping hours displayed by reflecting prism with integrated magnifier; case fitted with sliding louvers and “exhaust ports” for water drainage. Sapphire crystal case back, smoked optical grade sapphire crystal for display. 51.5mm long, offered on a rubber strap with titanium tang buckle. Price, $63,000; available in the USA exclusively through Westime, LA (www.westime.com)
