Project LpX
Loupe System x MB&F
Overview
If you’re a serious watch enthusiast, you have undoubtedly heard of Loupe System – quite simply the most advanced portable magnifying loupes in the world today.
Loupe System has teamed up with MB&F to create Project LpX: an intergalactic magnification station enabling accurate viewing of watch movement details, while simultaneously reminding you of the immensity of our galaxy. Five elements combine to make a rocket entity much larger than the sum of its parts.
Innovative features
Project LpX is made up of five modular parts, perfectly packaged in a sturdy travel case: the base, three modular body components, the nose cone, the universal clip.
The anodized aluminium rocket base contains a tritium capsule “booster” emitting a cosmic glow in the dark, making it ready for take-off in search of new lifeforms. The light comes from a self-luminous tritium capsule with a half-life of 15 years; torches/flashlights using the same technology were part of the equipment that NASA issued to Apollo astronauts.
The rocket can be configured to accommodate one, two, or three Loupe System loupes, each hidden inside the rocket to be revealed at the owner’s leisure (and pleasure). The three anodized aluminium “stage” components attach to each other using a clicking bayonet system (similar to the lens mount for an SLR camera), making them easy to assemble and disassemble (or play with). Project LpX comes with two Loupe System loupes in different strengths: 3x and 6x magnification.
Design
Project LpX was designed by Maximilian Maertens, the same designer responsible for the T-Rex clock (which MB&F co-created with clock specialists L’Epée 1839).
Maertens, who began as an intern working with Büsser on various projects, was loosely inspired by both past MB&F projects and the SpaceX Falcon, a partially reusable two-stage heavy-lift launch vehicle.
LOUPE SYSTEM
“Project LpX” (pronounced “loupe ex”) derives from the working code name for the project begun in 2018 – “Project X”. The X caught on, and prefixed with an abbreviated version of Loupe, became Project LpX.
Accommodates one, two or three magnifying loupes (delivered with two); rocket booster glows in the dark.
Dimensions: 28cm (diameter of base’s legs) x 33cm (maximum height)
Materials: anodized aluminium with polished and satin-finished stainless steel; non-articulated landing struts (stand) in polished and satin-finished stainless steel
Composition: 5 elements (base, three modular body parts, nose cone) connected using bayonet assembly, allowing configuration to accommodate one, two, or three loupes
Light: in base, tritium capsule
Total weight: 600 grams without loupe; 850 grams with two included loupes
Case: ABS waterproof case
Dimensions: 44 x 35 x 19cm
Contents: rocket split into base with tripod, three stages and nose cone; 2 loupes with own protective cases; and a universal clip to attach a loupe to a mobile phone or tablet
Loupes included: Model 02 (3x magnification) and Model 01 (6x)
Weight: 4.8 kg
Discover the models available for this collection
Inspiration
The idea for this ballistic project began when the founder of Loupe System saw MB&F’s just-launched Arachnophobia at Baselworld 2016.
As fate would have it, he simultaneously presented a spider-shaped holder for his high-quality loupes at his booth at the same fair. The following year at Baselworld, when MB&F launched the rocket-shaped Destination Moon clock, Loupe System had a rocket-shaped loupe-stacking system. And then again at Baselworld 2018, when MB&F launched the spacecraft-like Fifth Element weather station, Loupe System had a flying saucer-shaped loupe holder at its booth. That final act of synchronicity convinced MB&F founder Max Büsser that a cosmic co-creation with Loupe System was virtually predestined.
