Black Badger Editions
Overview
For the Performance Art collection, James Thompson – aka Black Badger – has reinterpreted not just one but two Machines: HMX, first launched in 2015 for MB&F’s 10th Anniversary, and Starfleet Machine, MB&F’s first table clock, created with L’Epée 1839.
Black Badger's specialty is working with high-efficiency lume – an exclusive material that comes in solid blocks which he mills by hand or machine into the desired shape. The lume is extremely efficient at storing and releasing light, and its solid form means that it shines brighter for longer. The three available colours – Radar Green, Phantom Blue, and Purple Reign – are eye-catching by day, but it's when the sun goes down that they really come out to party.
About the collaboration
Creativity comes from a multitude of sources, but for ‘Black Badger’ founder James Thompson the fount of his creativity was rage – a rebellious fire was lit when he felt brushed aside as a student by what he perceived as an unfair administrative decision. Like MB&F, Thompson is an outsider doing his utmost to buck the system. And he is fighting his creative corner with the most unlikely of weapons: luminescent material. Thompson mills three-dimensional objects from solid light!
More than a decade on from a perceived injustice, Thompson's rage smoulders on in the form of vividly glowing lume. As he recounts, “It wasn't that I had tried and failed, it was being brushed aside like crumbs on a table. Here we are 12 years later and I'm still angry about it!”
HMX BLACK BADGER
Thompson redesigned the "rocker covers" of HMX's engine, visible under a sapphire crystal, milled from his signature solid blocks of brightly coloured, high-efficiency lume.
BLACK BADGER COLOURS
Powerful lume in three edgy colours. While normal light sources will more easily charge the ‘Radar Green’ and ‘Phantom Blue’ versions, an ultraviolet light is needed to charge the ‘Purple Reign’ variant.
STARFLEET MACHINE BLACK BADGER
Thompson added his exclusive lume under the external ring running around the Starfleet Machine movement, to the inside of the spaceship's landing legs, and on the indication domes and hands.
Machine in action
For the Performance Art collection, Thompson has reinterpreted two MB&F Machines: HMX, first launched in 2015 for MB&F’s 10th Anniversary, and Starfleet Machine, MB&F’s first table clock, which was created with L’Epée 1839.
THE MACHINE
Performance art illuminated by smouldering rage
For HMX Black Badger, Thompson redesigned the "rocker cover" of HMX's Engine, visible under the supercar-like sapphire crystal cover, milled from his signature solid blocks of brightly coloured, high-efficiency lume.
While the colours – Radar Green, Phantom Blue, and Purple Reign – are eye-catching by day, it's when the sun goes down that they really come out to party. The long-lasting glow emitted by the high efficiency lume irradiates the HMX Engine compartment in an ethereal bath of light.
HMX displays bi-directional jumping hours and trailing minutes. Light streaming through the transparent Engine cover both illuminates the top of HMX's Engine by day, and by night the brightly glowing lume provides its own colourful backlight to the time display.
For Starfleet Machine Black Badger, Thompson added his exclusive lume under the external ring running around the Starfleet Machine movement, to the inside of the spaceship's landing legs, and the indication domes and hands. The Black Badger touch ensures that Starfleet Machine looks just as good by night as it does by day.
While it may look like a model spaceship, Starfleet Machine Black Badger is actually a high precision clock with a 40-day power reserve that was created by L’Epée 1839 from a design by MB&F.
- Material: Grade 5 titanium and stainless steel
- Dimensions: 46.8 x 44.3 x 20.7 mm
- Three-dimensional horological engine composed of a jumping hour and trailing minutes module developed in-house by MB&F, powered by a Sellita gear train
- Mechanical movement, automatic winding
- 223 components / 29 jewels / 42h power reserve
- Bi-directional jumping hours and trailing minutes, displayed by dual reflective sapphire crystal prisms with integrated magnifying lens. Engine "rocker covers" from milled blocks of high-efficiency lume.
- Material: palladium-plated brass with luminescent details
- Dimensions: Diameter: approx. 29cm, Height: approx. 21cm
- L’Epée in-house designed and manufactured movement
- Balance frequency: 18,000 bph / 2.5 Hz.
- 48 jewels / 40 days power reserve
- Luminescent hours and minutes on a central dome featuring MB&F’s signature numerals.
- 20-second intervals indicated by double retrograde fly-out cannons emanating from central dome.
- A dome indicator, framed by a hand-finished arc, provides an intuitive view of remaining energy as it turns 270°. Complemented by a ‘radar dish’ that also revolves 270°.
Inspiration
Creativity comes from a multitude of sources, but for ‘Black Badger’ founder James Thompson the fount of his creativity was rage – a rebellious fire was lit when he felt brushed aside as a student by an unfair administrative decision. Like MB&F, Thompson is an outsider doing his utmost to buck the system – and he is fighting with the most unlikely of weapons: luminescent material. Thompson mills three-dimensional objects from solid light!
