MB & F’s latest modern piece named Horological Machine HM6, also known for its nickname Space Pirate is a very original watch with futuristic and innovative design and features. It features a very striking looks with sapphire spheres placed on each of the four corners of its irregularly shaped case with ergonomic design. Two upper ones which revolve vertically are used in order to designate hours and minutes, respectively. On the other hand, two lower ones move horizontally are used to regulate the functioning of its automatic movement and to prevent excessive speed and also to minimize shock that it encounters.
MB & F HM6 Watch
The central part of this bio-design piece which was originally inspired by a space vessel from a manga series Captain Future is reserved for its flying tourbillion which has a period of rotation of 60 seconds. Another cool feature of the watch is that the middle dome that houses the tourbillion can be additionally covered with a special protective hatch that guards it from UV radiation. This shield is activated by the means of the crown which sits at the left side of the case.
Whereas the opening that reveals the tourbillion gives a hint to the complexity, its true intricacy can be observed once you flip over the watch and look through the sapphire section on the case back. There lays a complex ensemble of 475 parts which are all finished with upmost attention. The movement that is used by the highly innovative piece was very tricky to create and it necessitated more than three years of development. It was created by David Candaux.
MB & F HM6 Watch Front
The opening on the rear section also shows a section of its automatic winding mechanism along with its distinctive battle-axe rotor made of platinum 950. The rotor that drives two aluminum turbines is in luminous green color. By the way, the frequency of the movement’s balance is 2.5 Hz and it should be also noted that it integrates as much as 68 jewels in its construction. The supported power reserve of the automatic movement lasts for three entire days. As for the features that the movement supports, it only has hours, minutes, as well as second shown via its tourbillon feature.
As it has been mentioned, the watch features a very peculiar and modern housing. It is comprised of two solid blocks that are made of titanium. Moreover, it is the aerospace kind of titanium that apart from this material also includes 6% aluminum, 4% vanadium, 0.25 % iron and 0.2 % oxygen. This combination of elements makes the material exceptionally lightweight, but also very resistant to corrosion and with minima thermal conductivity. The final touch on this futuristic armor is its beautification made by the means of finishing which includes the combination of satinizing and polishing and which necessitates more than 100 hours of work.
All in all, the case is comprised of as much as 80 separate pieces. Due to its specific shape and the modern materials that are used, the watch is very comfortable, despite the fact that its dimensions are quite substantial. The space ship shaped housing is 49.5 mm wide, 52.3 mm long and 20.4 mm high.
MB & F HM6 Watch Profile
Another notable and impressive section of the overall construction of MB & F HM6 Space Pirate timepiece are its ten sapphire domed crystals. These crystals are placed on both top and bottom sides of four corners. Additionally, the tourbillion has one on its upper side, while the final tenth is placed on the case-back. Sapphire that was used for these crystals is exceptionally resilient and hard which makes it the perfect material for this purpose. However, for the same reason it is very difficult to shape it and especially in demanding domed forms that can be seen on the piece. All of this was done with special tools that have diamond tips. Once the crystals are machined in to the desired shape, they are subsequently frosted and then polished to be transparent.
Overall, this is an astonishingly original and unique horological concept. MB&F HM6 Space Pirate timekeeper is launched in a limited edition of 50 pieces and it features the price of $230,000.
