Upgrades, people, upgrades! MB&F revisits the automotive world with a revamp of their more esoteric timepieces.
When you think of the relationship between watches and the racing industry, what brands do you think of? I’m sure your answers would range from TAG Heuer to IWC to Rolex, whose reputations are well-known on and off the track. Regardless, I’m almost certain that MB&F wasn’t one of the first ten brands you thought of.
However, Maximilian Büsser and Friends’ fascination with all things automotive can be traced back to the founders’ youth in 1985. Instead of being in the race cars, Max’s dream was to help design those cars. His opportunity came when the ArtCenter College of Design opened up a campus not far from his home, but sadly he couldn’t take it – the financial strain on his parents would’ve been too great. So, with broken dreams and a heavy heart, he left behind his aspirations to pursue engineering at EPFL. It was a blessing in disguise, as this led him to found one of the greatest haute horology brands of the modern watchmaking era. In his own words:
“I lost my way, I lost my marbles, and ended up in the watchmaking industry.”
Through this great achievement, he reconnected with his childhood dreams. Merging automotive design and quirky 70s/80s watchmaking, MB&F began their automotive obsession with the HM5 in 2012, the HMX in 2015, and the first-edition HM8 in 2016.
With rockstar watch designer and Friend Eric Giroud in tow, the HM8 MKII was released in 2023. Inspired by the sleek design features of Can-Am racing cars, the HM8 MKII is a clean, contemporary timepiece that hearkens back to the golden age of motorsports.
Of course, the HM8 MKII has a classic MB&F spin to it, remastering the design features of the retro-cool Amida Digitrend. Using a Girard-Perregeaux base calibre, the movement of the HM8 MKII forgoes a traditional dial, turning time-telling on its head – or, more accurately, 90 degrees to its side.
This is thanks to a digital time display set forward to the direction of the user, with two discs displaying the jump-hour and sweeping minutes. They achieve this spectacular illusion through the use of a sapphire prism to convert the discs into a vertical display, with an in-built magnifier for maximum legibility. These types of driver-style watches were highly common back in the day, allowing for quick time-telling behind the wheel of a car, and are a tribute to both retro watchmaking and the automotive industry Max had to leave behind all those years ago.
The beauty of the mechanism, complete with a battle axe rotor, is visible from the top of the watch, alongside the HM8 MKII’s unconventional design. In 2023, the HM8 MKII was released in a titanium case adorned with white CarbonMacrolon® body panels, with an all-green rendition limited to 33 pieces. This year, MB&F has released a new 33-piece limited edition in blue CarbonMacrolon® – a bright blue statement piece and eternally retro-cool.
Final Thoughts
Honestly, being familiar with a lot of the MB&F releases, this is probably the most conservative I’ve ever seen them go. That’s not to say that it’s a bad thing, however – you can still feel the MB&F-ness emanate from every facet of the HM8 MKII, from the carefully constructed movement to the highly unconventional case and design.
It warms my heart, though, to see that Max, through great sacrifice, has still been able to relive a slice of his childhood dream through this new timepiece. Not all dreams come true, and oftentimes, we split off into achieving new ones, but to make your past self proud has an incredible sense of self-fulfillment attached to it. Max, Eric, and all the Friends involved in the construction of the HM8 MKII should give themselves a round of applause for such a sentimental horological achievement, and we should all similarly look back to see how far we’ve come and discover what left we have to accomplish.
Reference: HM8 MKII BLUE CARBONMACROLON®
Specification
- Case: 41.5mm diameter x 47mm lug-to-lug x 19mm thickness
- Case Material: Titanium with blue CarbonMacrolon® body panels
- Crystal: Sapphire crystal prisms with integrated magnifying lens
- Water resistance: 30m (3Bar)
- Movement: MB&F Horological Engine (Girard Perregeaux base) with jump-hour and sweeping minutes
- Movement Frequency: 4Hz (28,800bph)
- Power reserve: Approx 42 hours
- Bracelet: White leather strap with titanium tang buckle
