MB&F and the medusa inspired machine

Industry: high-end watchmaking

Location: Geneva

Related to: luxury

Reviewer: Massimo Vito Domenico Mastrorocco, Parsons School of Design

Company: MB&F – Maximillian Büsser and Friends

Website: mbandf.com

During the latest edition of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie hosted in Geneva in January 2017, MB&F surprised again the press. Every year the avant-garde firm comes up with a new “Horological Machine” which pushes further and further the limits of creativity and design in the high-end watchmaking industry. This year they launched their Horological Machine N.7, Aquapod.

For Aquapod, the founder Maximillian Büsser has taken inspiration from the anatomy of the jellyfish, designing the first dive watch of the Maison (even though it is water resistant to only 50 meters). The result is something outstanding and never seen before.

Under a high domed sapphire crystal, a central flying tourbillon is on top of the three dimensional vertical architecture of the movement, enclosed inside a 53.8 mm x 21.3 mm spherical case. Symmetric concentric rings from the center rotate and show the hours and minutes through a painted marker. The outer perimeter of the case is encircled by an almost traditional ceramic bezel with laser-engraved titanium-filled numerals and markers. To complete the medusa-like structure, twelve tentacles form the rotor of titanium and platinum which spins to charge the movement. The lugs are flexible so that to improve the wearability of the machine and link to an engraved aircraft-grade rubber strap. Like a jellyfish, the Aquapod glows in the dark, thanks to panels of “Ambient Glow Technology” luminescent material applied not only on the numerals but also around the inside structure of the movement and along the tentacle-shaped rotor.

Two models are available in limited edition. One is in titanium featuring a blue bezel and produced in 33 pieces. The other is made of 18k red gold with a black bezel and comes in 66 pieces.