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MB&F is back at the race track with the new HM8 Mark 2, a more compact version of its auto-inspired HM8 that combines the supercar styling of the watchmaker’s HM5 with the driving watch display and open ‘hood’ of the MB&F HM8 from 2016. 

The new MB&F HM8 Mark 2.

The new watch also features a similar horizontal time display optically magnified and projected 90 degrees to the wearer via a series of sapphire prisms.

But instead of the titanium and gold casing used in the earlier models, the new HM8 Mark 2 is built from titanium topped with CarbonMacrolon, a composite material composed of a polymer matrix injected with carbon nanotubes.

The English racing green version of the new MB&F HM8 Mark 2 is a limited edition of 33.

The material, developed for MB&F, is eight times lighter than steel and can be colored, polished, bead-blasted, lacquered or satin-finished. 

MB&F takes full advantage of those properties to create a lighter, smaller and more brightly colored driving watch, inviting a more unisex appeal to the debut.

For this debut, MB&F opts for a white or British racing green finish, matte on the top and high polish on the sides. The white version is paired with a green CVD rotor and light-green minute markers.

The British racing green version (a limited edition of 33) comes with a red gold rotor and balance wheel and turquoise minute markers. 

MB&F explains that the double-curved sapphire it uses on three sides of the HM8 Mark 2 is thirty to forty times more expensive than standard domed sapphire, and a result the watchmaker could find only one supplier for the component.

The trademark battle 22-karat gold axe rotor is also a chore to construct as it is only two-tenths of a milimeter thick and can’t be made by machine. Instead, it must be stamped, with the engraving already incorporated into the stamp.

The new watch’s crown is also unusual. Echoing the “double de-clutch” system found on race-cars, it operates by pushing it in and turning it three-quarters of a turn to release it. This ensures the watch’s 30 meters of water resistance while also maintaining a less intrusive profile.

The MB&F HM8 Mark 2 launches in two editions:  Titanium and green CarbonMacrolon body (limited to 33 pieces) and titanium and white CarbonMacrolon body panel.

Price: $78,000. 

 

Specifications: MB&F HM8 Mark 2 

Movement: Three-dimensional horological ‘engine’ composed of a jumping hour and trailing minutes module developed in-house by MB&F, powered by a Girard-Perregaux base movement. Mechanical movement, automatic winding with 22-karat gold automatic winding rotor. Power reserve is 42 hours, balance frequency is 28,800 bph.

Functions/indications: Bi-directional jumping hours and trailing minutes, displayed by dual reflective sapphire crystal prisms with integrated magnifying lens.

Case: Grade 5 titanium with green or white CarbonMacrolon, dimensions: 47mm x 41.5mm x 19mm. Water resistance to 30 meters. Sapphire crystals on top, front and display back treated with anti-reflective coating on both faces. Dual reflective sapphire crystal prisms with integrated magnifying lens.

Strap & Buckle: Calfskin: White for the British green model and green for the white model with a titanium tang buckle.

Price: $78,000

MB&F revisits its Legacy Machine Perpetual this week with a new model featuring a salmon-colored dial plate. The combination of a steel case and salmon hue is a first for MB&F, which will release the new model in limited production, not as a limited edition.

The MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual with its new salmon-colored plate.

MB&F’s latest Legacy Machine Perpetual, which won the Best Calendar Watch prize at the GPHG (Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève) in 2016, offers the same groundbreaking, manual-wind LM Perpetual movement conceived by MB&F Friend Stephen McDonnell for the 2015 original.

That groundbreaking design means the Legacy Machine Perpetual will operate with no skipped dates or jammed gears. Owners often inadvertently create problems within their perpetual calendars by attempting to reset them while the gears are mid-function, resulting in some damage to the highly complex date mechanism.

McDonnell’s design is proactive in a sense because when the user attempts to adjust the calendar, the movement’s pushers automatically deactivate so they don’t cause any damage to other components.

At the heart of the difference is how the Legacy Machine Perpetual determines dates. Traditional perpetual calendars use a 31-day month as the default, changing, for example, from February 28 to March 1 quickly to arrive at the 1st. Interrupting the movement during this critical changeover can damage it. 

With this perpetual calendar movement, Busser and friends essentially replaced that traditional system with a mechanical processor that instead utilizes that default 28-day month and adds extra days only as required.

Three years go MB&F added a sporty version of the perpetual calendar when it launched the Legacy Machine Perpetual EVO, a zirconium-cased update to the original model.

This new model, with its premiere 44mm by 17.5mm steel case/salmon dial plate-color combination, is a handsome – and welcome addition to the full collection of a true ground-breaking original.

Price: $180,000. 

 

Since its 2015 debut, the MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual has been offered:

– in platinum 950 with blue face (limited to 25 pieces);

– in 18k red gold with grey face (limited to 25 pieces);

– in 18k white gold with purple face (limited to 25 pieces);

– in 18k white gold with dark grey face;

– in grade 5 titanium with green face (limited to 50 pieces);

– in 18k yellow gold with blue face (limited to 25 pieces);

– in palladium 950 with aquamarine face (limited to 25 pieces);

– in stainless steel with salmon face.

MB&F renews its dual-balance Legacy Machine No.2, now casing it in palladium and highlighting a stunning aquamarine sunray dial. The new limited edition (of eighteen) is just the latest version of the LM2 since its debut in 2013 with a choice of a red gold, white gold and platinum case.

The new MB&F Legacy Machine No. 2 Palladium.

The new MB&F LM2 Palladium highlights a flying double-balance mechanism that has its two oscillating balance wheels seemingly levitating under a large, domed sapphire crystal.

An ode to historical dual-regulator designs from Abraham-Louis Breguet, Ferdinand Berthoud and Antide Janvier, the LM2’s balances each beat at their own rate while the large planetary differential below continuously averages out these two rates to feed power to the hands.

In addition to the new case metal, this latest LM2 also features a new NAC finish that gives the caliber a deep anthracite color. You’ll find the names of the two men responsible for the movement (award-winning watchmakers Jean-François Mojon and Kari Voutilainen) hand engraved on the caseback.

The Legacy Machine No. 2 is one of MB&F’s rarest models. It was launched in 2013 in red gold, white gold and a limited edition of eighteen pieces in platinum 950. MB&F added a limited edition of eighteen pieces in titanium with a green face in 2017, and in 2018 it was marked by a limited edition of twelve pieces in white gold with a purple face. In 2019, a red gold blue limited edition was launched in just twelve pieces.

This new Palladium model joins the collection in a limited edition of eighteen pieces.

Price: $172,000. 

Specifications: MB&F Legacy Machine No. 2 Palladium

Movement: Three-dimensional horological movement developed exclusively for MB&F by Jean-François Mojon at Chronode and Kari Voutilainen, manual winding with single mainspring barrel, frequency of 18,000 bph (2.5Hz),  45-hour power reserve.

Differential: Planetary differential comprising 3 gears and 5 pinions.

Balance wheels: Two bespoke 11mm balance wheels with four traditional regulating screws floating above the movement and dials.

Balance spring: Traditional Breguet curve terminating with stud holder.

Finish: Superlative hand finishing throughout respecting 19th century style; polished internal bevel angles highlighting handcraft; polished bevels; Geneva waves; gold chatons with polished countersinks; hand-made engravings; NAC finishing for the Palladium edition.

Functions: Hours and minutes, planetary differential transmits the average rate of the two regulators to the single gear train.

Case: Palladium.44mm by 19mm, water resistance to 30 meters.

Sapphire crystals: High domed sapphire crystal on top and sapphire crystal on back with anti-reflective coating on both sides.

Strap: Black, brown or blue hand-stitched alligator strap with tang buckle matching the case.

Price: $172,000. 

 

At the end of the year, it’s time to note our favorite 2022 debut watches. Through the end of the week, we’ll re-acquaint you with our top timekeepers of the year.

Below is our second installment of our four-day  review of our favorites, in no particular order.

 

Patek Philippe: Chronograph with Perpetual Calendar 

And among this watchmaker’s many 2022 chronograph debuts, look no further than the new Ref. 5373P-001, a split-seconds mono-pusher chronograph with perpetual calendar, for some true novelty. The watch differs from its predecessor (Ref. 5372) with newly inverted displays, pushers and crown.

Made for specifically “for the right-hand wrists of left-handers,” according to the watchmaker, the new 38.3mm platinum-cased watch is a premiere design for the company.

Patek Philippe notes however that a 1927 one-of-a-kind watch inspired the design of the new model. Like the earlier watch, the new watch features its integrated chronograph monopusher at the 9 o’clock position with the split-seconds pusher set, unusually, at 8 o’clock.

The sporty red, black  and grey dial on the Ref. 5373P-001 is cleverly finished with a black gradation at its edge, framing snailed ebony-black subsidiary dials.The watch’s beautifully finished caliber CHR 27-525 PS Q, still the thinnest split-seconds chronograph movement with perpetual calendar ever produced by the manufacture, can be admired through the sapphire-crystal display back, which is interchangeable with the solid-platinum back delivered with the watch. Price upon request. 

 

MB&F: M.A.D.1 Red

Collectors frustrated by very limited nature of the 2021 MB&F M.A.D.1 had a chance to score a new version of the watch, which is a very cool, affordably priced automatic watch with lateral time display and tricked-out upside-down Miyota movement.

Like that first watch, the newer red model also displays time via two highly luminous rotating cylinders around its case. Just as eye-catching is the unidirectional titanium and tungsten triple-blade rotor spinning quickly atop the watch. MB&F makes all this happen by fitting and re-engineering the watch’s Miyota movement upside-down in the M.A.D. 1 Red case.     

MB&F is making these special editions under a new brand name, M.A.D. Editions, and has long-term plans for additional models. Collectors who have previously contacted MB&F about the earlier M.A.D. Edition watch, or who already own an MB&F watch (or are MB&F Friends) are first in line to purchase the new watch. 

Given the price (CHF 2,900) and the pedigree of the new M.A.D.1 Red, the watch sold out quickly.

 

Zenith: Caliber 135 Observatoire Limited Édition 

Zenith teamed with Phillips and independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen to restore and hand-decorate a batch of vintage Zenith Caliber 135-O movements. From the partnership, Zenith launched the Caliber 135 Observatoire Limited Edition, a stunning 38mm platinum chronometer watch rife with vintage design cues that complement the 1950s-era manual-wind movement inside.

The modern Zenith star logo on the dial may be the only contemporary design detail on this retro beauty. Its tapered lugs, sapphire glass box crystal, triangular hour markers, faceted gold hands and seconds subdial recall the mid-20th century era when Zenith routinely took prizes in Swiss chronometry competitions – frequently with its Caliber 135. 

With more than 230 chronometry prizes, the Caliber 135-O holds the most awards of any observatory chronometer caliber in the history of watchmaking.

In addition to hand finishing the movement (above), Voutilainen (through his atelier) also applied an eye-catching guilloché engraving in a fish-scale motif to the dial along the bezel. Inside the seconds subdial, you’ll find the movement’s serial number inscribed, a gesture meant to note that each movement, regulated originally by revered chronométriers Charles Fleck or René Gygax, has been updated by Voutilainen and his team.

Unusually, Zenith and Voutilainen has signed “Neuchâtel” at the bottom of the dial. This denotes the historical Observatory where the Calibre 135-O competed and won so many of it Swiss chronometry competitions. Zenith and Phillips offered the now sold-out watch as a series of ten, each priced at CHF 132,900.  Will we see more from this partnership in 2023? Let’s hope so. 

 

Bulgari: Octo Finissimo Sejima Edition

Especially notable among Bulgari’s late 2022 debuts are two special editions created in collaboration with Japanese designers. 

One watch of the pair, the Octo Finissimo Sejima Edition, is made with Japanese architect Kazuyo Sejima, and is one of our favorites for 2022.

Sejima, who holds the 2010 Pritzker Prize among many other architecture awards, focuses the eye with a mirrored dial under a dot-pattern sapphire crystal on her version of the eight-sided Bulgari Octo Finissimo. The effect is mesmerizing, especially with the entire dial framed in a 36.6mm polished stainless steel case.

According to Bulgari, the idea bring together a “contrast between material and transparency, the visible and the invisible,” which Sejima devised in part to reflect the aesthetic codes apparent in her architectural work. 

The architect’’s signature is inscribed on the sapphire crystal caseback, which opens up the  nicely decorated automatic Manufacture movement, BVL Calibre 138 – complete with (surprise!) a platinum micro-rotor. 

Bulgari will make the Octo Finissimo Sejima Edition as a 360-piece limited edition and will delivered it in a special mirrored steel box. Price: $14,100. 

 

Montblanc: 1858 Geosphere 0 Oxygen LE1786

Montblanc’s bronze-cased world timer is dominated by two rotating three-dimensional globes, marks the return of the watchmaker’s stunning blue glacier pattern dial placed within an oxygen-free case.

First seen during Watches and Wonders 2022 gracing the Montblanc 1958 Geosphere Chronograph 0 Oxygen, the dial is the result of using an old artisanal technique called gratté boisé, also found on the firm’s new 1858 Iced Sea Automatic collection.

Like with all Montblanc 1858 Geosphere models, both the Northern and Southern hemispheres are represented with two three-dimensional globes that turn anti-clockwise and include a day & night indication so that the wearer can see what time it is across the Earth with a simple glance.

Price: $8,600. 

 

Alpina: Seastrong Diver 300 Automatic Calanda, 

Alpina’s first timepiece made with a 100% recycled stainless steel case, the watch is named to pay tribute to the Calanda, the first ship to fly the Swiss flag. The timekeeper uses recycled steel sourced from the shipping industry and made by Thyssen Krupp. Alpina pairs the watch’s 42mm case with a recycled plastic wristband.

The Geneva-based watchmaker adds the new dive watch to its expanding lines of eco-friendly models. You might recall that Alpina also launched the Seastrong Diver Gyre Automatic collection in 2020. That watch features a case made largely (70%) from plastic fishing net debris. In addition, that model’s strap is made using recycled plastic bottles while its box is made from recycled plastic.

Available as a limited edition of 300 units, the Seastrong Diver 300 Automatic Calanda’s case is polished with a satin finish, while its unidirectional rotating notched bezel is brush-finished. Alpina embeds the hour and minute hands with vintage beige luminescence and tips the seconds hand with a red triangle Alpina logo.

As noted above, Alpina has paired the watch’s recycled case with a recycled plastic (PET) strap in grey and black. Each watch comes in a case entirely made from recycled plastic, alongside a single-page warranty and a certificate of authenticity printed on FSC Recycled-certified paper.

Price: $1,895.

MB&F won the grand prize at the 2022 Grand Prix D’Horlogerie De Geneve (GPHG) with its Legacy Machine Sequential Evo. The pioneering independent watchmaker also took home the Challenge Watch prize with its M.A.D.1 Red.

The GPHG Grand Prize went to the MB&F Legacy Machine Sequential Evo.

Hermès also took two awards, winning both the Ladies’ Complication and the Men’s Complication categories for the same model family in different sizes and iterations.

Similarly, Bulgari won in both the Jewellery Watch and the Audacity categories, while Van Cleef & Arpels took the prize in the Mechanical Clock and the Innovation categories.

The remaining GPHG trophies were awarded to Akrivia, Grand Seiko, Ferdinand Berthoud, Grönefeld, H. Moser & Cie, Krayon, M.A.D. Editions, Parmigiani Fleurier, Sylvain Pinaud, TAG Heuer, Trilobe, Tudor and Voutilainen.

The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra picked up the GPHG 2022 Audacity prize.

The Special Jury Prize, which rewards a key figure or institution in the watchmaking world, was attributed this year to François Junod, automaton-maker and sculptor.

See the GPHG website for a full list of the 2022 winners.