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Introducing the New MB&F HM11 Architect

MB&F builds a 1960s house for your wrist with its latest debut, the Horological Machine Nº11 Architect.

The new MB&F Horological Machine Nº11 Architect.

With four titanium ‘rooms’ radiating from a sapphire-domed central flying tourbillon, the new watch recalls the designs of mid-twentieth century biomorphic-style houses, with four symmetrical parabolic ‘rooms’ emanating from a central atrium.

Each room houses a display, with one showing the time, the next showing the watch’s power reserve, a third indicating temperature and the fourth housing the winding crown. The wearer can choose which display is in direct eyesight when wearing the watch by rotating the entire housing, which will click into place as desired.

The rotation is more than a choice of display: each 45° clockwise turn delivers 72 minutes of power directly to the barrel. After ten complete rotations, the HM11 will reach its maximum 96-hour power reserve.

Also unusual, the massive 10mm crown (used to set the time), protected with eight gaskets, is made of clear sapphire and allows another view of the HM11’s flying tourbillon. In total, nineteen gaskets protect the movement.

At the center of the HM No. 11 Architect is the watch’s flying tourbillon, on display under a dual clear sapphire dome. MB&F has designed an unusual quatrefoil-shaped upper bridge, meant to recall the shape of clerestory windows.

Among the four displays, the thermometer stands out as the most unusual for a high-end watch. This thermometer uses a bimetallic strip to indicate temperature, a method akin to  an analog display amid the many instant electronic thermometers seen on electronic devices and even digital watches. This display is available in Celsius or Fahrenheit variations.

Each of the peripheral ‘rooms’ on the HM11 feature exterior walls of polished grade-5 titanium. Within the sapphire domes, the new movement beats at a stately 2.5Hz (18,000 vph) amid a choice of metallic blue or rose gold PVD plates. 

MB&F will make twenty-five Horological Machine Nº11 Architect watches in each color, each priced at $230,000.

Specifications: MB&F HM No.11 Architect 

Movement:

Three-dimensional horological engine featuring bevel gears, composed of a flying tourbillon, hours and minutes, a power reserve indicator and temperature measurement, developed in-house by MB&F.

Mechanical movement, manual winding (by turning the entire case clockwise).

Power reserve: 96 hours

Balance frequency: 18,000 bph/2.5Hz

Plates: Blue and 5N PVD treatment

Number of movement components: 364 components

Number of jewels: 29 jewels

Functions/indications:

Hour and minutes

Power reserve

Temperature (-20 to 60° Celsius, or 0 to 140° Fahrenheit)

Case:

42mm diameter x 23mm grade 5 titanium, display markers: conical rods in stainless steel (0.50mm to 0.60mm), darker beads in polished titanium and lighter beads in polished aluminum (1.30mm to 2.40mm). Water resistance: 20 meters.

Sapphire crystals:

Sapphire crystals on top, back, and on each chamber-display treated with anti-reflective coating on both faces, sapphire crown

Strap & Buckle:

Rubber strap – white for the blue model and khaki green for the red gold model

Titanium tang buckle.

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The Watches

Hublot’s Newest Sapphire Smile 

Hublot deepens its partnership with artist Takashi Murakami as its creates the MP 15 Takashi Murakami Tourbillon Sapphire, a dramatic new limited edition central flying tourbillon watch with a clear sapphire case, dial and crown.

The new Hublot MP 15 Takashi Murakami Tourbillon Sapphire.

The watch maintains Murakami’s well-known flower and smile-face motif, which Hublot and the artist have developed for previous special models, but enhances the focus here to clear sapphire.

Also central to the design is Hublot’s central flying tourbillon, a first for the watchmaker set within a series-produced model. The fully skeletonized movement, exposed without an upper bridge, appears to float in space.

In place of a traditional dial, Murakami places twelve clear sapphire flower petals that frame the tourbillon, onto which Hublot adds two titanium eyes and a broad titanium smile. Two small hands rotate, unusually, under the tourbillon cage, with their tips indicating hours and minutes.

In order to create this rare configuration, Hublot watchmakers pivoted the cannon pinion and the hour wheel around the tourbillon support, creating a co-axial construction.

Hublot tops the black-plated hands with SuperLuminova for thrilling night-time visibility.

The central flying tourbillon is also quite unusual— and technically interesting. With an impressive power reserve of 150 hours, the tourbillon can be fully wound via a supplied stylus. Rechargeable using a USB socket, the stylus is placed on the crown and winds it through 100 revolutions. The wearer can also wind the watch using the crown.

The Hublot MP 15 Takashi Murakami Tourbillon Sapphire is surprisingly modest in size (42mm by 13.4mm) and arrives on an integrated rubber strap. The watch will be made as limited edition model of fifty pieces.

Price: $316,000. 

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Featured Events

Planet Omega Exhibit Opens in New York 

 

Planet Omega, a special exhibit of historic Omega watches, is now on display in New York, where it will remain until November 19th.

The broad-based display not only exhibits vintage watches from the watchmaker’s storied manufacturing history, but also places many of its timekeeping endeavors into historical context using six additional, distinctive areas.

The Elvis Presley Omega.

The primary “Vintage” section that displays historic timepieces on loan from the Omega Museum in Biel, Switzerland. These watches include:

– The Omega watch worn by Elvis Presley, which was a gift from RCA Records in 1960. Omega calls it “perhaps the most historically significant Elvis-owned watch to ever appear on the market.”

The JFK Omega.

– The Omega Slimline timepiece worn by John F. Kennedy at his presidential Inauguration Ceremony in 1961.

An original Omega Ladymatic.

– An original Ladymatic watch from 1955 fitted with Caliber 455, which became the world’s smallest rotor-equipped automatic calibre to obtain an official rating certificate with special mention.

Within the remainder of the exhibit you’ll find watches related to these themes: sports and Olympic Games, Ocean, James Bond, Space, Friends and Precision. 

Highlights include: 

—One of the original split-seconds chronographs used to time the Olympic Games in 1932.

—An original 1932 Marine – known as the first divers’ watch that was available to civilian divers.

The 1932 Omega Marine.

—Recent Seamaster “Ultra Deep” watches. In 2019, the first of these models reached the deepest point ever recorded in the ocean. The model on display is an adapted version available to customers and is water-resistant to an incredible 6,000 meters, or 20,000 feet.

— The Seamaster Diver 300M 007 Edition from Daniel Craig’s final appearance in “No Time To Die.” This authentic film prop is crafted from lightweight Grade 2 Titanium.

Omega worn by Wally Schirra.

—The same CK2998 model worn by astronaut Wally Schirra in 1962 aboard Mercury’s Sigma 7 mission.

—The latest Speedmaster “Silver Snoopy Award” timepiece, and those created with real pieces of meteorite.

—- This year’s new Speedmaster Super Racing – introduced as the world’s first watch to feature the Omega Spirate system built with a new patent-pending spiral that allows for ultra-fine rate adjustments, making it possible to achieve a certified precision of only 0/+2 seconds a day.

The Planet Omega exhibit is located at Chelsea Factory, 547 West 26th Street. Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Source: Omega

 

 

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The Watches

Alpina Adds California Dial to Alpiner Extreme

 

Alpina adds a California dial to its rugged Alpiner Extreme to create the Alpiner Extreme Automatic California Dial, a fitting high-visibility historic design within the outdoor-adventure collection.

The new Alpina Alpiner Extreme Automatic California Dial.

The Geneva-based watchmaker created its Alpiner collection with mountain trekkers in mind, and launching a California dial model enhances options within the series.

Alpina notes that the dial cleverly blends Arabic numerals, Roman numerals, dashes and triangles designed to make it simple to see the time from any angle and avoid the confusion of mistaking a 6 for a 9 and adding clarity to the 8 and 4. Often used on dive watches, such dials are equally appropriate to those scaling the Alps, or just hiking the woods.

Also aligned with Alpina’s ethos, the historic dial design (which apparently earned its name due to its popularity in its namesake state) includes a triangle at 12 o’clock, which perfectly echoes the Alpina logo. Alpina has long used a red triangle to symbolizes Alpine summits, and on each dial you see one just above the Alpine logo. A second red triangle can be seen as the counterweight on the seconds hand.

The steel-cased 41mm by 42.5mm Alpiner Extreme Automatic California Dial arrives on a rubber strap and is powered by the Sellita-based automatic AL-525 caliber. The watch is water resistant to 200 meters. (See additional specifications below).  

Price: $1,795.

 

Specifications: Alpina Alpiner Extreme Automatic California Dial 

(AL-525BB4AE6) 

Movement: Automatic AL-525 Sellita-based caliber, 38-hour power-reserve, 28’800 alt/h.

Case: 41mm by 42.5mm brushed and polished stainless steel 3-part case with
anti-reflective sapphire crystal. Water-resistant to 200 meters. Engraved and see-through screwed case-back, screw-in crown. 

Dial: Black with triangle pattern, black outer ring with white markers,
applied beige color indexes filled with white luminous treatment,
date window, hand-polished silver color hour and minute hands filled with beige luminous treatment, polished silver color second hand with red triangle. 

Strap: Black rubber with folding buckle.

Price: $1,795 

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The Watches

Corum Adds Ceramic Cases to Admiral 42 

Corum adds five ceramic-cased models to its nautically themed Admiral Automatic collection. 

The Admiral, with its twelve-sided case and pennant-markers, is one of Corum’s top-sellers and is usually fashioned from steel, titanium or precious metal. The new ceramic case option adds a contemporary option within the watchmaker’s Admiral offerings.

One of the new ceramic-cased Admiral 42mm offerings, here with a rose gold bezel.

Corum adds the ceramic option specifically to its 42mm Admiral series, the mid-sized watches set between Corum’s 38mm and 45mm Admiral offerings. Three white-cased models and two black-cased newcomers (one of which is a limited edition) mark the debut.

Two of the white ceramic models also sport a rose gold bezel, as does one black edition. 

The two variations arrive with a matching rubber strap and gold-colored accents while two additional versions in each color sport artistic dials with pop-art markers and accents.

Of these two art-dialed options, the black ceramic model is a limited edition (of 50 pieces, pictured below) and features a luminous ‘Corum’ logo in graffiti-style across its dark dial.

The two white-ceramic pop-art version feature indexes and hands adorned with multicolored paint. One of these two white ceramic options also comes with a rose-gold bezel.

All the new Admiral watches are water resistant to fifty meters and are powered by CO 395, an ETA-based automatic movement. 

Prices: CHF 14,800 (with ceramic bezel), CHF 18,000 (gold bezel) and CHF 18,500 (white ceramic artistic dial with gold bezel).

 

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