HM2 Only Watch
Overview
MB&F and artist Sage Vaughn made a strong statement at the 2009 Only Watch charity auction.
There is a butterfly trapped in the movement of the latest watch to emerge from MB&F. And it has no hope of escaping, because the complicated movement is wrapped in barbed wire. This emotionally charged piece, a one-of-a-kind interpretation of MB&F’s Horological Machine No.2, is signed by the American artist Sage Vaughn.
After a first meeting with Max Büsser, Sage Vaughn understood the mission at once and immediately proposed to donate his time and talent. The entire upper face of the watch is crafted in sapphire crystal, revealing the HM2’s complex engine. The hundreds of minute components are imprisoned in barbed wire and the blue butterfly struggles to escape from the same fate. The scene has all the emotional power of the first rough by Sage Vaughn – a pencil sketch of the movement criss-crossed by barbed wire drawn in red pencil.
About the collaboration
There is a butterfly trapped in the movement of the latest watch to emerge from MB&F (Maximilian Büsser & Friends). And it has no hope of escaping, because the complicated movement is wrapped in barbed wire. This emotionally charged piece, a one-of-a-kind interpretation of MB&F’s Horological Machine No2, is signed by the American artist Sage Vaughn. It will be auctioned at Only Watch, the charity auction to benefit research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy to be held in Monaco on 24 September 2009 under the patronage of HSH Prince Albert II.
SAGE VAUGHN
California-based painter and former graffiti artist, Vaughn fought and conquered his own demon – a seven-year heroin addiction – and the pain of that struggle is felt in the emotional power of his work.
POWERFUL SYMBOLS
The light-hearted, innocent butterfly trapped in the barbed wire symbolizes a valiant child fighting against the disease.
PIECE UNIQUE
Only Watch is a biennial charity auction of unique timepieces under the High Patronage of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco; proceeds go to medical research on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).
Machine in action
The watch is a unique interpretation of Horological Machine No2, launched as limited series in 2008. HM2 typifies the radical approach to high-end horology taken by Max Büsser and his Friends. It is a high-tech time machine of the twenty-first century and an incredibly sophisticated micromechanical work of art. It houses the world’s first mechanical movement – “engine” in MB&F language – to offer an instantaneous jumping hour, concentric retrograde minutes, retrograde date hand, a bi-hemisphere moon phase and automatic winding. The case alone contains more than 100 parts – more than many complete movements – and is the most complex case in watchmaking history. Altogether the watch has over 450 components.
THE MACHINE
Emotional power
There are no coincidences in life, and at the time, a new gallery in Geneva was given over entirely to the work of Sage Vaughn, an American painter and former graffiti artist whose solo show in New York last summer had been one of the art world’s most talked-about events. This young artist has fought and conquered his own demon – a seven-year heroin addiction – and the pain of that struggle is felt in the emotional power of his work. The images of gaily-dressed children or bright birds or butterflies putting on a brave front against bleak urban backgrounds had haunted Max Büsser. He had bought one of the art works, a baseball bat adorned with a collage of butterflies, pinned down by nails. Here was the tension between light-hearted innocence and something darker that he was seeking.
- Material: 18k white gold/titanium with sapphire “double dome” glass
- Barbed wire handcrafted in blackened gold and butterfly in blued gold
- Dimensions (exclusive of crown and lugs): 59 x 38 x 13 mm
- Three-dimensional horological engine designed by Jean-Marc Wiederrecht/Agenhor
- Powered by a Sowind base
- 22k blued red gold battle-axe automatic winding rotor
- 349 components / 44 jewels
- Left dial: retrograde date and bi-hemisphere moon phase
- Right dial: jumping hours and concentric retrograde minutes
Inspiration
At MB&F we were literally “shocked into” creating a piece of horology for the Only Watch event, and were determined that our timepiece should convey that emotion. We wanted to express the beauty and vulnerability of childhood, and the valiant struggle of a child who may well be in a wheelchair before he is twelve.
There are no coincidences in life, and at the time, a new gallery in Geneva was given over entirely to the work of Sage Vaughn. The images of gaily-dressed children or bright birds or butterflies putting on a brave front against bleak urban backgrounds had haunted Max Büsser. He had bought one of the art works, a baseball bat adorned with a collage of butterflies, pinned down by nails… the connection to Only Watch was just a matter of time.
