Dear Friends,
With a generally difficult 2009 drawing quickly to a close it’s time for us to reflect on how fortunate we are to have developed such a strong network of friends and partners. You have all enabled MB&F to not only survive, but to power from strength to strength. In this, our last newsletter for the year, we feature our latest creation, the HM2.2 “Black Box”. I have just come back from a two-week tour in Asia presenting it with my friend Alain Silberstein and the looks of wonder and the smiles generated by this creation were heart-warming.
We welcome Marcus in London as the latest retail Friend of MB&F and this Newsletter also features Laurent Picciotto wearing his HM3 with panache; MB&F’s Concept Lab on Facebook (3000+ fans!); and what can be done with imagination, a few friends... and a herd of sheep!
What happens when high-end watch designer Alain Silberstein, the French master of glorious colour, is let loose with MB&F’s Horological Machine N°2? “Performance Art”, that's 'what happens' - an entirely original HM2 featuring an all-black case epitomising Bauhaus purity and restraint. This new model, called Horological Machine N°2.2, is known in-house affectionately as “the black box” and will be issued in a limited edition of only eight watches. The new case by Alain Silberstein houses the same groundbreaking “engine” as Horological Machine N°2, first introduced in 2008, featuring the world’s first mechanical movement combining an instantaneous jumping hour, concentric retrograde minutes, retrograde date, bi-hemisphere moon phase and automatic winding.
While the twin porthole dials are still the focal point – though now with the jumping hours in an aperture for the first time – the watch’s personality has changed completely - gone is the science-fiction look of the original. Silberstein says that his aim was for Horological Machine N°2.2 to combine the pure geometry of the Bauhaus with the user-friendliness of the miniature box cameras of the 1940s.
The rectangular case top is carved from a solid block of titanium that is mounted on HM2's original titanium substructure. This multi-layered construction gives the watch its powerful, richly engineered profile. The simplicity of the case is deceptive: like a precision diamond-cutter, Alain Silberstein works with light so that it continually plays across the matte and polished surfaces when the watch is worn. The titanium case is treated with a special silicon oxide PVD coating that provides a softish tactile touch and has a very intense black colour. The vibrant red numerals, markers and hands are all coated in Superluminova for high visiblity at night. Alain Silberstein also designed all of the characters on the twin displays, including the moon’s expressive face which was inspired by a treasured cartoon from the Art Nouveau period.
Inscribed on the side of the case are the words: “Le vrai bonheur est d’avoir sa passion pour métier” (“True happiness is having one’s passion for a profession”). That is Alain Silberstein’s motto and he found his soul mates in MB&F. He says that the whole point of the collaboration was the pleasure of working together and I completely agree, Alain is a true artist, but he never takes himself too seriously. He has kept that childlike spirit of adventure and that is something that we at MB&F hold dear.
 |  We are extremely honoured to welcome Marcus and Edward Margulies as Friends of MB&F. Our Horological Machines will be available from this month onwards at the amazing Marcus store on London’s prestigious New Bond Street. |
 |  Laurent Picciotto, the owner of Chronopassion in Paris, surprised us with this amazing photo of himself wearing his HM3. Watch guru turns King of Cool! |
MB&F has now more than 3’000 fans on our Facebook page. Please join our vibrant community and discover what is happening in and around the world of MB&F. Facebook also gives our Friends the unique possibility to interact with us and with other MB&F fans.
This week on our A Parallel World Blog we feature electronic sheep art - now there's three words you are unlikely to find together anytime soon! Using low voltage LED lights, cameras and a flock of sheep herded by trained dogs, a group of Welsh farmers recreated the Mona Lisa and played a game of Pong. You have to see it to believe it.
2009 is (not so) slowly coming to an end. It has been both an amazing and a very challenging year; however, thanks to you, one in which MB&F finishes in a stronger position at the end than at the beginning. You can rest assured that we are busy and working hard so that we can amaze, intrigue and delight you in the New Year. Thank you very much again for your support and your friendship.
With our very best regards,
Maximilian Büsser
Owner & Chief Creative Officer
