MB&F Unveils New Exotic Frog Time Machines

HM3 Chocolate Frog features a "chocolate" PVD coated Grade 5 titanium case and a 22K red gold rotor. It is available in a limited edition of 10 pieces.

Its protruding eyes and its mouth-like front are actually instruments and complications that differentiate the “horological machine” from the frog where it gets its inspiration.

The HM3 frog, as it is known, was actually released a year ago by MB&F, the Geneva-based company that creates highly limited editions of artistic and technically innovative timepieces. Its latest timepiece creations are two new versions of the frog, the Chocolate Frog and the Frog Zr. HM3 refers to the third version of the company’s groundbreaking horological machine, which powers the watches and serves as the foundation for its elaborate and unusual designs.

HM3 Frog Zr in zirconium with a purple 22k gold rotor. It is available in a limited edition of 18 pieces.

The case of the Zr watch is made of zirconium, a metal highly resistant to corrosion that, to my limited knowledge, is rarely, if ever, used for watches. The chocolate frog’s case is made of PVD-coated Grade 5 titanium.

The two sapphire-encased bulbous domes of the HM3 Frog are designed to replicate the protruding eyes of the frog. They are actually conical gauges used to display the time. One displays the minute and the other the hour. Aluminum time indicators rotate beneath the sapphire crystal, enabling them to be easily seen from many angles, the company said. This is substantially different from the previous versions of the HM3, in which the hour and minute hands rotate around their respective stationary cones. (pictured: HM3 Frog available in Grade 5 titanium with blue 22k gold rotor.)  

Maximilian Büsser, the company’s founder, said creating the domes in such a way was a challenge. Solid aluminum was chosen for the time indicators because of its optimal strength to weight ratio. The domes weigh just over 0.5g. They are milled first from the outside and then the inside to arrive at a paper-thin wall thickness of just 0.28 mm, which reduces their energy requirements to an absolute minimum.

Even the fabrication of the semi-spherical sapphire crystal domes was demanding because any slight imperfection in the shape might introduce a disconcerting magnification effect, Büsser said.

The Frog's unusual method of indicating time necessitated the development of a new gear train for the HM3 engine. This was because the aluminum hour dome of the Frog rotates in 12 hours compared to the 24 hour revolution of the HM3 hour hand. And as the date wheel is driven from the hours, the gearing driving the oversized date display had to be reworked as well.

While the Frog is playful in its application, the work behind it is serious. A close inspection of the case displays a carefully thought out detailing that includes a figure 8 engraved around the domes that mirrors the form of the display back (revealing dual ceramic bearings); distinctive clover-head white gold screws; and an engraved arrow discreetly indicating the easy to read over-sized date.

MB&F Creates Timeless Music Machine That Doesn’t Tell Time

The MB&F 'Music Machine' in black

The award-winning independent watchmaking firm, MB&F (Maximilian Busser and friends), is known for its technical and artistic innovations and for its creative partnerships that result in unusual timepieces that they define as micromechanic sculptures and performance art pieces.

However, even for this Geneva-based company, what it unveiled in Baselworld 2013 this year took its innovative prowess to a new level. In a partnership with iconic luxury music box maker, Reuge, the two created what MB&F calls the “Music Machine.” It’s a music box that is outside the box in every way imaginable.

Maximilian Busser, the founder of MB&F defined the parameters of the design and chose the music, explained Eléonor Picciotto, MB&F’s public relations representative. Reuge built the music box based on those specifications. The two cones that create the music contain 72 notes each and play six melodies. It uses 1,400 precision-placed pins that pluck the teeth of a "comb" as the cylinder revolves. It works in a traditional way but they are exposed on top of a sleek, futuristic looking spacecraft made in walnut that works as a sound amplification chamber.

The Music Machine in white at Baselworld. Photo credit: Anthony DeMarco

The songs performed by the cones are far from traditional. The one cone plays deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” (which was inspired by a fire during the Montreux Jazz Festival), Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” and John Lennon’s “Imagine. The second cone performs the Star Wars Theme and the Imperial March from Star Wars V The Empire Strikes Back, and the Star Trek theme song.

So how can a watchmaking company unveil a music box at the biggest watch fair in the world with a straight face? Picciotto explains that the company doesn’t call its products timepieces or watches. They call them “horological machines.” Creating a “music machine” is an extension of the concept. In addition, a traditional music box is based on the same mechanical principles as a watch.

As one would expect it is a limited edition item, in this case 66 pieces: 33 pieces in a white lacquer finish and 33 pieces in black lacquer. The cost is $12,300 Swiss francs ($13,174), about a quarter of what a MB&F watch starts at. However, others must have immediately saw the value as the Reuge website indicates that the entire line is sold out. 

Below is quick look at it in operation.



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