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MB&F Launches M.A.D.1 Time to Love

The latest MB&F M.A.D. 1 watch, the M.A.D.1 Time to Love, is a colorful meld of technology, optimism and artistic expression.

Teaming with French artist and avant-garde designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, MB&F has infused the M.A.D.1 design with the artist’s color pallet (red, blue and yellow) as well as his trademark use of upbeat phrases and text. 

Like its three predecessors in the accessibly priced series, the M.A.D. 1 Time to Love is a 42mm titanium-cased automatic watch characterized by a dial-side rotor that spins gleefully as its wearer moves.

Hours and minutes are displayed along the side of the case with revolving hour and minute cylinders, engraved and highly visible thanks to a liberal use of SuperLumiNova. 

MB&F has taken a reliable Miyota  821A automatic movement, flipped it upside down (in a reference to MB&F’s HM3 and HM8) and added a triple-blade, titanium and tungsten rotor with unidirectional winding (which MB&F explains is essential for easy, high-speed rotation).

For this latest edition, MB&F incorporates de Castelbajac’s colors in lacquer on the three rotor blades, one of which is heavier than the others to optimize spinning. A fourth color, bright green, is seen on the piece’s case-side hour disc.

Several thoughtful quotes from the artist also provide a personal touch to the piece. These include a quote on the base of the dial (“Ce trésor rare et précieux, c’est ta vie. Le temps vole de ses ailes blanches. Tu es le gardien de ton temps”. This translates into English as: “This rare and precious treasure is your life. Time flies with its white wings. You are the guardian of your time”.

In addition, de Castelbajac’s own handwriting provides the font for the hour and minute rings, while the crown features an engraving of an angel talking to the moon, a recurring theme for the artist.

The leather strap is embroidered with the name of the watch, ‘Time to Love’, and each timepiece comes with two straps – one in black and the other in white.

As with previous M.A.D. 1 offering, MB&F will launch the new 999-piece limited edition model via an online raffle, which for this model opens today (April 3) and will be live until until April 17.

Half of the pieces will be made available for the MB&F Tribe (registered collectors of MB&F pieces) and Friends (suppliers) on a first-come, first-served basis. The rest will be available to the general public using the same raffle system as before to ensure fair distribution.

Given the strong demand of previous models, we expect this new MB&F  M.A.D.1 Time to Love to sell out quickly. 

Price: $3,600.

Artist and designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (left) with MB&F founder Maximilian Busser.
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The Watches

Bulova Enhances Marine Star 

Bulova adds its proprietary Precisionist High Performance Quartz movement to the sporty Marine Star collection to create a handsome new collection, called Series C.

One of three new Bulova Marine Star Series C models, each fitted with a Precisionist high-frequency quartz movement.

The movement utilizes a 262-kHz high frequency quartz oscillator that allows timing to 1/1,000th of a second and accuracy to seconds per year. While many Bulova watches that utilize the high-performance movement to display tenths, hundredths and thousandths-of-a-second readings within a chronograph design, the new Series C offers a basic three-hand display, with a date window.

The new collection boasts a new 43mm twelve-sided case finished with brushed facets and polished accents. The watches all offer a unidirectional rotating timing bezel with a ceramic insert, a sapphire crystal, and a screw-down crown ensuring 200m water resistance.

The dials here are nicely textured to mimic the look of ocean waves. The wave pattern is accented by applied hour markers.

One debut features a bright yellow dial, which Bulova teams with a black rubber strap ($695).

The second debut offers a silver dial and a matching stainless steel bracelet ($795).

Finally, a third new Series C model enhances its the luxury appeal with a rose gold-tone stainless steel case and a dark brown ‘chocolate’ dial finished, all fixed to a black rubber strap ($750).

 

 

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The Watches

Chronoswiss Unveils New Strike Two Collection 

 

Chronoswiss twists its regulator display from vertical to horizontal with the all-new Strike Two Series, a limited edition collection with two dial-side bridges and a stunning hand-guilloched seconds dial.

The new Chronoswiss Strike Two H2O.

Echoing existing Chronoswiss regulator-dial watches with a vertical layout, such as its Open Gear series, the new Strike Two offers a familiar, contemporary Chronoswiss look, but with a slimmer, smaller case that places its hour subdial at the 3 o’clock position instead of at the top of the dial.

The Chronoswiss Strike Two Golden Gears

Similarly, Chronoswiss has also rotated the seconds dial, here located at the 9 o’clock position. The primary hand, indicating minutes, remains centrally positioned as is the case with most regulator dials.

Measuring 40mm in diameter, smaller than most 42mm Open Gear models, and with a 12.7mm thickness, Strike Two’s horizontal layout is not a first for this Lucerne-based independent, which introduced the design in its Tora collection in the 1990s. 

But while the Tora series primarily featured a dual-time indicator with its 24-hour subdial, the new Strike Two is decidedly a local time affair. 

Two models

Chronoswiss offers two models in the new collection, the H2O and the Golden Gear, each released as a limited edition of one-hundred pieces.

Both are cased in steel, with the H20 model boasting a light blue CVD dial and the Golden Gear edition presenting a slate-colored satin-finished dial with gold accents.

Called Strike Two to call attention to the movement’s twin bridges, the new series also showcases the watch’s gear work, which is notably visible underneath the hour ring.

Known for its beautiful hand-guilloched craftsmanship, Chronoswiss places a sample of this artisanal expertise within the small second dial, which is beautifully finished with a floral pattern.

For Strike Two, Chronoswiss has redesigned its onion crown, creating a slightly smaller version than we’ve seen previously, and adding a flattened end cap.

Inside each watch Chronoswiss fits new Chronoswiss Manufacture Caliber C.6000, developed in collaboration with La Joux-Perret and previously seen in a slightly different guise powering the revamped Chronoswiss Delphis.

The movement features a 55-hour power reserve, a ruthenium-coated finish, a tungsten rotor, radial Côtes de Genève finishing and a skeletonized gear train.

Price: CHF 9,800. 

 

Specifications: Chronoswiss Strike Two 

(References: CH-5023-BLSI (H2O) / CH-5023-ANGO (Golden Gear), Limited Edition of 100 each.) 

Case: 40mm by 12.7mm solid 17-part stainless steel case, ground and polished, polished bezel with fluted decorative ring on the side and domed, double anti-reflective sapphire crystal; screwed and satin-finished case back with sapphire crystal, onion crown, water-resistant to 3 bar, screwed strap links.

Movement: Chronoswiss manufacture caliber C. 6000 (collaboration with La Joux-Perret), automatic with skeletonized rotor made of tungsten, ball bearing; armature, escape wheel and screws polished; bridge with Geneva cut, ruthenium plated,  55-hours power reserve. 

Dial: Horizontal regulator, hour display at 3 o’clock (open gear with two vertical bridges), central minute, second at 9 o’clock, hand guilloché. SuperLumiNova indexes. Bottom level with vertical satinage (Golden Gear) or stamped and CVD-Coated (H2O).

Strap: Calfskin with alligator embossing, rubber optional. 

Price: CHF 9,800. 

 

 

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Blancpain Adds Gold and Titanium to 42mm Fifty Fathoms 

Blancpain adds new models to its Fifty Fathoms Automatique collection, which the manufacture first launched in its new 42.3mm by 14.2mm size last year as a limited edition in steel.

The newest models of this famed dive watch, which debuted in 1953 to usher in the modern dive watch era, now include Automatique series examples in red gold and titanium in addition to the steel-cased version now included within the ongoing Fifty Fathoms Automatique collection. 

Caliber 1315

You might recall that in 2007 Blancpain launched the first 45mm Fifty Fathoms Automatique, which was equipped with specially developed Caliber 1315 with a five-day power reserve.

The newest Fifty Fathoms series adds the smaller diameter option to the full collection and makes it  available in three case metals.

In red gold, the watches are a bit more luxurious than a standard dive model, but equally functional and still highly legible.

In Grade 23 titanium, the watches are sportier looking, with the added bonus of offering a lightweight and highly scratch-resistant case, as well as superior anti-corrosion and anti-allergenic attributes.

All retain the collection’s characteristic sapphire-topped bezel and serious dive-ready specifications (including 300-meters of water resistance.) 

Available with a blue or black dial, the new red gold and titanium models are offered with an alluring choice of color-matched straps, including sail-canvas, NATO straps and textured rubber iteration inspired by the first model from 1953. For the titanium debut, Blancpain also offers a sharp-looking titanium bracelet.

Prices start at $15,700 in steel and $17,000 in titanium. Red gold model starts at $34,100. 

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The Watches

Azimuth’s Supersonic Aircraft 

 

By Steve Huyton

Approximately twelve years ago I walked into The Hourglass, a specialist watch boutique in Sydney, and it changed my perception about horology. 

At this time there was a new wave of high contemporary brands like De Bethune, MB&F and Urwerk. These amazing labels were pushing the boundaries of watchmaking with radical designs and unusual materials. Some of their pieces were exceptionally futuristic in appearance with extraordinarily complicated mechanical movements. 

Unfortunately, the issue for the consumer was these watches (due to price point) are inaccessible to most. This is where Swiss/Singapore brand Azimuth found a niche in the market. Ultimately, Azimuth has created Avant-Garde designs at more affordable cost, and a brilliant example can be found in the newly released Land Cruiser.

The Azimuth Land Cruiser

Azimuth co-founder Chris Long says the “Land Cruiser is a testament to Azimuth’s enduring love affair between imagination and science fiction, fused into the realm of horology. It’s a rugged hovercraft with off-road capabilities that embarks on a highly classified military project to a newly formed planet 500 light years away.”

Certainly looking at the brand’s DNA this influence is highly apparent in all of its designs. Previously I wrote an article called Ode to Mr. Roboto, which chronicles the evolution of this amazing timepiece, which is inspired by 1960s toy robots. 

The Land Cruiser is a totally different entity that involved four years of fastidious research and development. Looking at the finished result the end definitely justifies the means.

The Landship 

In 2010, Azimuth launched the SP-1 Landship, its most ambitious watch to date. Inspired by a World War I military tank, the watch exudes very large proportions and has a 51mm x 44mm x 20mm titanium case. Subsequently, the brand unveiled six hand-painted replica tank versions (of the SP-1 Landship) at Krasnaya, The Watch Art Gallery in Singapore. 

Even though today’s Land Cruiser resembles the original Landship, the overall design in my opinion is far more sophisticated.

For example, the satin-brushed scaled-down case (which supersonic aircraft’s afterburner) has chiseled sides and a top-mounted crown. This makes the façade much sleeker and ergonomic on the wrist. Time is displayed by the domed wondering hour (12 o’clock position) and via a slanted retrograde minute aperture (6 o’clock position).

Powering the watch is a highly modified Swiss automatic movement supplied by Sellita. The Caliber SW200-1 comprises 26 jewels and oscillates at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. This exquisite Perlage finished mechanism is visibly showcased via a sapphire crystal exhibition-style window.

Caseback view of the Azimuth Land Cruiser.

Functionally the Land Cruiser features regulator hours (via a sapphire crystal dome) and retrograde minutes. The watch also is water resistant to a depth of 30 meters and has a power reserve of forty hours. To complete the picture, the Land Cruiser is presented on a rubber strap with a folding buckle and is housed in a special military ammo box.

The Azimuth Land Cruiser is limited to 100 pieces worldwide and retails at CHF 6,800 (approximately $7,750).

Steve Huyton is an industrial designer, illustrator and author who publishes Total Design Reviews

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