The Space Pirate is singing its swan song
The watchmaking world has its fair share of crazy, but MB&F seems to own a disproportionate amount of stock in that department. Since 2005, when Maximillian Büsser founded the brand alongside his friends (hence, MB&F), they have consistently come up with all sorts of things: watches that look like dashboards, watches that look like flying saucers, and watches so far ahead in design that they no longer look like watches at all.
MB&F’s retro-futuristic, streamlined timepieces are both astounding and confusing. You have to wonder how they even fit a movement in there–and then you find out that they’ve managed to cram several complications into the bargain.
Take the Horological Machine No 6, which was first launched in 2014 and is now coming into its last release. The inspiration for the design partly came from a 70s Japanese cartoon called Capitaine Flam, which is a space-faring science fiction series. The HM6 was made to resemble a space ship, and has since earned it the nickname “Space Pirate.” We thought it was the torchbearer of crazy.
Two turbines (turbines!) whirl at the top end of the case, creating air resistance to protect the self-winding movement. The hours and minutes are displayed in glass spheres at the bottom end. It also has a flying tourbillon in the center, which has a retractable metal shield to protect it from well, God-knows-what at this point.
Some things don’t need to be justified because they just look cool. In any case, check out MB&F’s video of the HM6 below:
