Wearable Companions For The Wrist: The Animal Inspirations Shaping MB&F Creations

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. It has been the bedrock of human ingenuity and creative expression since ages. Often, the best solution isn’t the most innovative or nuanced, but rather an inspired vision directly traced from a forever occurring entity.
Leonardo Da Vinci was wise enough to have remarked, “Human subtlety…will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple or more direct than does Nature, because in her inventions nothing is lacking, and nothing is superfluous.”

I do hope we prove Leonardo wrong. Why? Well, that’s something we can cover off-topic.

While we mere mortals are just scratching the surface of the maxima of human ingenuity, nature - particularly the animal kingdom, has endured millennia of evolutionary trial-and-error to draw wisdom from. So, we can deduce that the practice to be inspired by animals, there’s actually a word for it - Biomimicry, can be our beacon of perpetual guidance.

The animal kingdom, with all its seasoned learning has been of somewhat recurrent inspiration for Maximilian Büsser, a very likable human and founder of MB&F. In his creations, animals have served as a wellspring of inspiration, and today we are going to explore how the bipeds, quadrupeds, the limbless or the many-limbed have inspired a vision at MB&F.

HM3 “Frog”
The biomorphic inspirations at MB&F were conceived in 2010 in an atypical machine with a very perplexing muse in focus - a frog. This biomorphic iteration of the HM3 came into being after a casual comment from a collector, indicating the similarity of the HM3’s two domes with the bulbous eyes of a frog. Well, that was more than enough juice for Max Büsser to create this amphibious masterpiece.

Two Frog-like globular eyes rotate to give the hours and minutes. Like a frog’s adapted physiological quirk, the bulbous ‘eyes’ let the wearer effortlessly read the time from a variety of angles. Paired with the eyes is a very grinning mouth that reveals the battle-axe rotor, a signature of MB&F timepieces. I cannot imagine the noises that would have been while brainstorming for this machine - croak croak!

‘FRIENDS’ RESPONSIBLE FOR FROG X
Concept: Maximilian Büsser / MB&F
Product design: Eric Giroud / Through the Looking Glass
Technical and production management: Serge Kriknoff / MB&F
R&D: Simon Brette, Thomas Lorenzato and Robin Anne / MB&F
Movement: Jean-Marc Wiederrecht / Agenhor on a Girard-Perregaux base

HM7 “Aquapod”
MB&F’s inceptive aquatic timepiece is inspired by a not so pleasurable experience for Max. Once at a family beach holiday, his wife got stung by a jellyfish and this is what sparked the idea of the HM7 Aquapod. Pondering at how amazing it looks, I don’t think it was a revenge of any kind!

A very three-dimensional design, the HM7 Aquapod, like an actual jellyfish - glows in the dark thanks to its generous lume. The ‘floating’ hour and minute numerals displaying the time exhibit an oceanic essence and the stems to attach these numerals are rendered in a DLC coated black hue, making them appear floating like a jellyfish. This watch perfectly captures the transparency, a feature so intrinsic with jellyfish and makes it appear like a fascinating creature meant for the deep seas. Equipped with a 60-second flying tourbillon on top, the HM7 Aquapod derives its mechanical autonomy from its tentacles-like winding rotor.

‘FRIENDS’ RESPONSIBLE FOR HM7 AQUAPOD
Concept: Maximilian Büsser / MB&F
Design: Eric Giroud / Through the Looking Glass
Technical and production management: Serge Kriknoff / MB&F
R&D: Ruben Martinez and Simon Brette / MB&F
Movement development: Ruben Martinez / MB&F

HM10 “Bulldog”
The F in MB&F isn’t a fancy Swiss-French moniker, but simply - ‘friends.’ For Max Büsser, collaborations with friends result in a mechanical realization of his crazy ideas. So, friends are important.
In the creation we talk over now, what gets the focal attention, man’s best friend - a dog. The HM10 “Bulldog” from 2020 is a complex three-dimensional art piece that cannot be perceived by anyone’s wildest imaginations. You need to see it to believe it exists, like is the case with many MB&F machines.

I mean, who in their right mind would ever think of creating a luxury timepiece inspired by a Bulldog. Well, that’s the liberty, the freedom of creative expression that flourishes at MB&F. The prominent ‘eyes’ housed within the domed crystal depict the hours and minutes. Its flexible legs wrap around the wrist and the beating heart of the Bulldog - the escapement, is given a center-stage treatment as it ticks away furiously at 2.5Hz.

More than just a silhouette of a bulldog, the HM10 “Bulldog” has a sweet party trick up its sleeve. Its power reserve is indicated by the opening and closing of the bulldog’s jaws.
Agreed, it might be challenging to adorn psychologically, but is very easy to wear physiologically.

‘FRIENDS’ RESPONSIBLE FOR HM10 BULLDOG
Concept: Maximilian Büsser / MB&F
Design: Eric Giroud / Through the Looking Glass
Technical and production management: Serge Kriknoff / MB&F
R&D: Simon Brette, Ruben Martinez, Thomas Lorenzato and Joey Miserez / MB&F

HM10 Panda Only Watch
PANDAS! Awww... We cannot ever be tired of these charmingly clumsy, but desperately cute creatures.

For the founder at MB&F - Max Büsser, a panda was the first cuddly toy he ever held in his arms. At the 2021 biennial charity auction - Only Watch, MB&F introduced its HM10 machine in a heart-melting panda aesthetic. The case, which gets a black and white lacquer treatment, artfully mimics the distinctive appearance of a panda. A pair of black titanium panda ears adorning the oversized domed crystal and a ceramic tail affixed on the case posterior enhance the panda aesthetic.

As for the time telling, the signature HM10 dual globular discs display the hours and minutes. For the power reserve, the bamboo munching panda teeth do the trick and a moving automaton-jaw showcases the winding reserve.
With big soulful eyes and an endearing round face, the timepiece is a pièce unique and rarer than the real pandas.

‘FRIENDS’ RESPONSIBLE FOR HM10 PANDA
Concept: Maximilian Büsser / MB&F
Design: Eric Giroud / Through the Looking Glass
Technical and production management: Serge Kriknoff / MB&F
R&D: Robin Anne, Thomas Lorenzato, Joey Miserez and Julien Peter / MB&F
Movement development: Guillaume Thévenin / MB&F

HM3 JwlryMachine
When the 152-year-old French jewelry Maison of Boucheron partners with MB&F, the resulting opus is an haute-joaillerie masterpiece. Realized on the template of an HM3, the JwlryMachine offers very subjective aesthetics and a surreal timepiece inspiration - an owl.

The 18k gold 3D owl is embellished with amethyst, diamonds, pink tourmaline, rose quartz and pink, blue and violet sapphires. This dynamic sculpture inspired by an owl features two time indications, one for the hour and the other for minutes, that double as the creature’s eyes. The eyes themselves are a pair of glowing cabochons and together with the jewel-embellished sparkling wings, serve a delectable sensory overload. An all-out assault on the visual senses, the JwlryMachine is a spooky wearable with an unrivaled artisanal flair.

‘FRIENDS’ RESPONSIBLE FOR JwlryMachine
Concept: Maximilian Büsser / MB&F
Gem Setting: House of Boucheron
Product Design: Eric Giroud/Eric Giroud Design Studio
Technical and Production Management: Serge Kriknoff/MB&F
Movement Development: Jean-Marc Wiederrecht/Agenhor, Nicolas Stalder/Agenhor

An Unconventional Theme for Horological Inspiration
Across the frontiers of haute horlogerie innovation, it is the independents who have dared. The drive to break free of traditional aesthetic constraints is very much embedded in their essence and for the founder at MB&F - Maximilian Büsser, he has found the perfect inspiration - animals.
MB&F is about freedom, and that’s their ultimate freedom - the ability to choose anything and the will to create it.