BaselWorld Doors Open March 8th, 2012 and HYT H1 Hydro Mechanical Watch is on Display

 

Ok! Whose a running to BaselWorld Hall Palace Booth P05 A?  Run through the palace entrance. Race past the huge CASIO exhibits (lots of G-shocks on display - I assume).  Take note of the Urwerk and MB & F on your left ( a definite stop on your way out).  Hurry past the large P03 hall - yes the Haldimann un-watch is keeping its un-time as well as numerous ArtyA creations! Zoom past the Ikepod Hour Glasses and De Bethune on your right! Come to a screaming halt outside your destination at Booth P05 A- the HYT H1 Hydro Mechanical Watch on Display. Bend over! Place your hands on your knees and take a deep breath.  You have arrived to view the most talked about watch on the web - The HYT H1 Hydro Mechanical Watch... and once you have taken a good look at the Watch - please do me a favor and tell me all about it.

I know you have probably heard tons about this watch - Ariel Adams at  a blog to read - describes this watch better than anyone on the net.  Read his article for a full synopsis. 

And if Videos are your preferred source of information - I have provided that for you too.  

A Panda on a Thunderbolt MB&F HM4 Only Watch Auction

He is in a wheel chair now, watching Todd and Jack kick around a soccer ball; smiling a little as the ball bounces into Mrs Nell's rose garden for about the hundredth time that day, and Mrs Nell coming out and yelling again. The sky is the perfect blue, and the sun delivering just the right amount of warmth... and he, Sam, is inside.
"Sam shall I wheel you outside for a bit, just to catch some sun," his mother had asked, pain and worry naked in her eyes.
"No! I'm good" he lied wanting desperately to be like every other kid on a hot summer's day, wanting desperately to run again.
"Hey Sam!" Todd yells, and runs... runs towards the window. Sam quickly closes the blinds. Sam hears his mother say, " Todd, maybe another day okay."

The room is cool, and Sam ,clutching his stuffed Panda, closes his eyes. In an instant he is no longer "Sam stuck in a wheelchair in the house on a great day Sam". He is Sam "Master of the Thunderbolt with Panda Second in Command." Panda and Sam climb into the seat between the powerful turbine engines and he takes hold of the reigns. The Thunderbolt roars to life, and he Sam, "Master of the Thunderbolt with Panda Second in Command" begins to soar. The Thunderbolt plummets across open fields, houses, cities towns turning everything into a colorful blur, people hold onto hats looking up, but all they see is the sun glinting on a tiny dash of metal. The wind is whipping at his hair and ruffling Panda's fur. Sam turns to Panda and yells across the fiery din of the engines, "It is time Panda! It his time!" Sam points the Thunderbolt towards the galaxies filled with planets to explore and comets to race.

The imagination of a child so free from the confines of physical ailments, and perfectly represented by MB & F HM4 (Horological Machine 4) Thunderbolt Timepiece. A Panda, representing a child's bedside companion during illness, atop a flying machine. The Thunderbolt is MB & F's contribution towards the Only Watch Auction in Monaco this September to be Auctioned off by Antiquorium to benefit the research of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. (a terrible debilitating genetic disease appearing in early childhood causing extensive muscle degeneration.)
The Thunderbolt is an impressive Horological Machines created with much unbridled creativity by Horological genius Maximilian Büsser in collaboration with Paris-based Chinese artist, Huang Hankang, who painted the Panda astride the Thunderbolt which served as the reference for the HM4 Only Watch. The painting will accompany the watch sold to the highest bidder.

Crafted from solid gold, a panda bear controls the Thunderbolt's golden reigns. The Panda and reigns are removable leaving the HM4 as we know it. Huang Hankang signature is crafted on the sapphire crystal case-back. Just at a glance, even a novice acknowledges, this timepiece is something quite different from the dial, movement, strap norm. After all the case of this timepiece or Horological Machine (a term MB & F most prefers) is comprised of two miniature turbine on either side of a central platform, which houses most of the complication. 311 in-house specialized components power the Mechanical Timekeeping Machine, including two mainspring barrels enabling a 72 hour power reserve. The power reserve is displayed in the opening of one jet turbine - fashioned like a fuel gauge - and the hours and minutes are displayed in the other.
The straps are removal, enabling one to display the timepiece as a time keeping sculpture in 18k white gold.

The HM4 Only Watch will be Auctioned off on September 22nd, 2011.

The Many Faces of MB&F's HM2

The HM2 or Horological Machine No. 2 is the brain child of MB&F (Maximilian Büsser & Friends). The HM2 is quite a remarkable timepiece. Aesthetically, the design is highly recognizable enabling different artists and watch manufacturers to add their touch to the timepiece without retracting from its original guise.
This micro machine is truly one of a kind; comprising of 450 components (including 44 jewels), the HM2 is the world's only automatic timepiece offering instantaneous Jumping Hour, Concentric Retrograde Minutes, Retrograde Date and Bi-Hemisphere Moon-Phase . The actual movement is a Jean Marc Wiederrecht/Agenhor in designed functionality and regulated and powered by a Girard-Perregaux oscillator and gear train. The Double Hakken automatic winding rotor ensures that power to the timepiece is generated by the gentle swinging motion of ones arm.The sub dials are clear and easy to read; the left indicates a retrograde date as well as a Bi-Hemisphere Moon Phase and the right dial displays jumping hours and concentric retrograde minutes. The timepieces are available in a either 18K white gold/titanium; 18K Red Gold Titanium (HM2-18K) or ceramic/red gold (HM2-CR) or Ceramic/titanium (HM2-CTi) all in varying limited editions
June of 2009, the HM2 caught a lovely blued gold butterfly (below) who is trapped in a barbed wire snare which surrounding the entire movement.

Although the butterfly will be trapped for eternity (thanks to the superb craftsmanship of the HM2) it went to a worthy cause. The watch signed by American artist Sage Vaughn was auctioned of at Only Watch to benefit research for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The entire upper face of the watch , the rectangular case and the projecting portholes, is crafted in sapphire crystal.

In October, out of a collaboration between Alain Silberstein and MB&F emerged the HM2.2 "Black Box" limited edition of just 8 pieces. Alain Silberstein's signature colors and fun shapes don the subdials and indicators whilst the movement is all MB&F. The watch case is crafted from black PVD coated titanium and silicium.


The HM2-CTi combines Titanium and Ceramic, both materials harboring extreme resilience and versatility.

MB&F's latest micro machine reveals the movement beneath the watch case. The MB&F HM2-SV (Sapphire Vision), provides an in depth look at the movement of the dial aided by a sapphire crystal plate. Two domed sapphire crystals protect the dials. The exquisite blue components lend a futuristic appearance to the HM2-SV.

MB&F's team work in unison to blend artistry, technology, metallurgy and superb watch craftsmanship.