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Dear Friends,

As you know, at MB&F we love mechanical art in all its forms – and 2013 is off to a good start by those standards: in January we welcomed to the M.A.D.Gallery an exceptional clockmaker, Miki Eleta. In February we went into stealth mode with a very dark ‘Final Edition’ for the HM4 series… followed in March by a brand new photo exhibition by Maarten van der Ende, who has given new life to printing machines from the last century.

April looks pretty good too: look forward next week to a new MB&F Machine… and another mechanical surprise at Baselworld, which starts on April 24th!


HM4 "Final Edition"
On February 26th, the HM4 Final Edition took flight for the first time. Designed like a stealth jet fighter, it immediately set off red alerts around the world.

You may have noticed: airplanes designed with stealth technology usually look anything but inconspicuous – their unusual, angular shapes look like they’re made to actually attract your attention. The HM4 Final Edition is no exception: it takes direct inspiration from stealth aircraft and I think you’ll agree, it’s not exactly a discreet timepiece.

But why “Final Edition”? When the original, ground-breaking HM4 Thunderbolt was unveiled in 2010, we announced that only 100 HM4 movements would ever be manufactured. Today we have just 8 movements to go. This will definitely be the most difficult-to-catch HM4 of all, a very elusive Limited Edition of just 8 pieces deployed in only five airbases across the globe: The Hour Glass in Singapore, Westime in Los Angeles, Chronopassion in Paris, the Chronometryx alpine airstrip in Gstaad and MB&F’s M.A.D.Gallery home base in Geneva.

The HM4 Final Edition features square angular panels, dark surfaces and high-tech titanium. Black PVD provides the titanium with its shadowy cloak of concealment without blocking the light playing off the contrasting matte and highly polished surfaces. Inside, visible through the multiple sapphire crystal sections, beats the 311-component HM4 engine.


Countdown to Baselworld
Believe it or not, Baselworld starts in just three weeks… >From April 24th to May 2nd, Basel will be the world’s watchmaking capital. We look forward to yet another intense but gratifying 9 days with our friends from Urwerk, Speake-Marin and Christophe Claret – all united in “The Dream Factory”, at the entrance of the Palace Hall. If you’re at Baselworld, don’t hesitate to come and say hello…

Next to the complete collection of our Horological and Legacy Machines, we’ll also be unveiling a very special species: the very first MB&F Machine which does NOT give time! Watch this space on April 24th...


Chicara Art V
If you’re signed up for our M.A.D.Gallery newsletter, then you know about the amazing motorcycles created by our Japanese friend Chicara Nagata. We had the pleasure and honour of hosting three of his stunning bikes – Chicara Art I, III and IV – in Geneva for the last 8 months.

Their stay in Geneva was scheduled until the end of March. Chicara Art I and III have therefore embarked on their trip back to Kyushu, Japan… but to our great surprise and joy, Chicara Art IV will reside permanently in Switzerland, thanks to one of our customers.

And there’s more good news: Chicara Nagata has just sent us his latest masterpiece, Chicara Art V. A somewhat different type of animal, but just as stunning, this motorcycle was designed around a vintage 1954 Harley Davidson 883cc engine. Add about 1800 hours of meticulous work, and you get this low-slung, bronze-and-chrome “bopper”.

We’ll be happy to show you this exceptional piece of mechanical art at the M.A.D.Gallery!


April 9th: Get ready for Megawind
As mentioned earlier, next week – on Tuesday, April 9th – we unveil a new Horological Machine that goes under the intriguing name of “MEGAWIND”. The image on the left should give you a hint... The launch will take place in Dubai but also simultaneously in Milano, where we will participate together with Urwerk and our retail partner GMT in the famous Salone Internazionale del Mobile (Milan Design Week) – the world’s most important design fair. Don’t hesitate to come and see our booth in the Tortona district.
And if you aren’t in Dubai or Milano on April 9th, stay tuned on the internet to catch a piece of the action!


The "Million times Clock" now on a parallel world
Talking about Dubai, have you heard about a clock called ‘A Million Times’, which wowed visitors to the recent Design Days Dubai 2013 fair?

Imagine a clock 3.5 metres long, composed of 288 analog clocks, 288 hour hands, 288 minute hands and 576 motors… those are the numbers behind ‘A Million Times’, a wonderful installation created by Stockholm design studio ‘Humans since 1982’ for Victor Hunt Designart Dealer in Belgium.

The turning of all those black hands against white clock faces produces a remarkable series of letters, numbers and patterns, all controlled via an iPad running customised software.



The MB&F team looks forward to seeing you soon, whether your travels take you to Geneva, Basel, Dubai or Milano… and if we don’t have the pleasure of meeting you in one of those cities, please do stay in touch virtually – for example via our Facebook page, which has grown to more than 22’000 Friends.

Warm regards,
Maximilian Büsser
Owner & Creative Director



Original Language: English