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Hands-on MBF Replica Sport Watch Technical Watch

MBF Presents LM1Silberstein

 

Once inside the meeting room we saw today’s replica watches, which are not only the latest Performance Art pieces to be launched by MB&F, but also their second partnership with Silberstein.

Known for his primary colour dominated playful replica watches of his eponymous brand, which ceased in 2012, you may be familiar with his 2009 MB&F Performance Art collaboration, called the HM2 Black Box.

The Legacy Machine series, whilst commencing with more conservatively styled aesthetics, has grown into a horological playground for partnership, notably with Xia Hang with his endearing Mr Up/ Mr Down, and now with Silberstein and the LM1.

So I was at Baselworld 2016 waiting for my appointment when I noticed a familiar looking person. I stood there wracking my brains, trying to match a name. Then I glanced down at his wrist.

It was Mr. Alain Silberstein, of course.

The dual time zone and vertical power reserve indicator are where Silberstein has left his mark, with the use of the red, yellow and blue trio he is known for, and the triangle, square and circle, all shapes which are prominent features of his own replica watches. However, you will also note that the bridge is sapphire, which not only adds an interesting visual contrast from a material point of view, but also grants an unobstructed view of the balance wheel.

Powering it all is of course the now familiar manual-wind movement developed for MB&F by Jean-François Mojon/ Chronode and Kari Voutilainen with its (newly styled) 14mm balance wheel floating high above the movement and two dials.

 

Another thing you will notice is that the sub dials are now concave, making them look like small metal bowls, almost.

The first MB&F Alain Silberstein collaboration is very difficult to track down. Even then, there is little getting around the fact that it’s a replica watch of proportions that don’t suit every wrist. This new threesome in rather more ‘user friendly’ proportions now gives a new opportunity for fans of the first, Silberstein fans, and MB&F fans, to scratch their ‘watch itch’.

Each of the three versions of this new Legay Machine are in a 42.5mm case with a thickness of 17mm. This is in contrast to the original LM1, whose measurements are 44mm and 16mm high.

Engraved in French between the lugs of LM1 Silberstein is something special to him : “Le vrai bonheur est d’avoir sa passion pour métier” (“Making a profession of your passion is true happiness”).

This new LM1 Silberstein timepiece comes in three variants with a limitation of twelve pieces per model as per below :

Grade 5 titanium (79,000 CHF + VAT)
Grade 5 titanium treated with black PVD (79,000 CHF + VAT)
18 carat red gold (88,000 CHF + VAT)

Strap-wise, you will get a black hand-stitched calfskin strap with black top-stitched seams with the red gold model and straps with red top-stitched seams for both titanium case models.

 

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MBF Replica

Replica MBF Legacy Machine Perpetual, The First QP Of The Brand Reveiw

And the saga continues… After a first timepiece to launch the concept, the Legacy Machine 1, with a super-clean design and great elegance, followed by a second and more complicated replica watch, the Legacy Machine 2 and finally the “value proposition” of the brand, the recent Legacy Machine 101, available in two editions, including the so-cool Frost, it’s now time for MB&F to explore one of the finest complications available on the market. Without loosing the whole concept of the Legacy Machines – replica watches that MB&F could have manufactured 100 years ago – the brands goes into serious replica watchmaking, with the brand new MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual (featuring, as you’ve probably guessed, a perpetual calendar complication).

MB&F legacy Machine Perpetual - Credits to The Horophile - dial red gold

Reminder about the Legacy Machine collection

When launching the first replica watch of the Legacy Machine collection – alongside the other collections of cheap and best replica MB&F, the Horological Machines (from HM1 to HM6 and HMX) and the Music Machines – the goal of Maximilian Büsser was to imagine the replica watches that he could have created if he was born in 1867 instead of 1967, but still with the same spirit of innovative, bold and somehow crazy design. The result was the Legacy Machine 1, launched in 2011, a replica watch deeply vintage but at the same time modern, with a strange steampunk feeling, a sort of Nautilus for the wrist (the vessel from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, not the replica watch from Patek Philippe). The Jules Vernes inspiration is clear. It’s like science-fiction from the late 1860s. The replica watch in question, the Legacy Machine 1, is inspired, clean, architectural and features a massive balance wheel flying over the dial – something that will later be the hallmark of the collection.

2 years later came the second iteration of the collection, in the name of the MB&F Legacy Machine 2, a replica watch inspired by some of the greatest replica watchmakers, Ferdinand Berthoud (a name resurrected a few weeks ago) and the contemporary Philippe Dufour, with the concept of a dual balance wheel equalized by a central differential. The replica watch, even more complicated and more architectural, remained close in the design and the concept, something that also goes for the little sister, the Legacy Machine 101, a sort of Value Proposition, with a more reasonable size (40mm), a more reasonable price, but still with a flying balance wheel and movement finished by Kari Voutilainen (same as the two other editions by the way). Superbly designed and finished for sure, but horologically-speaking, these replica watches were quite simple, displaying only the time and the power reserve (on the LM1 and LM101) – even if the mechanics are not that simple. With the Legacy Machine Perpetual, MB&F plunges into something more traditional and more technical, the perpetual calendar.

MB&F legacy Machine Perpetual - Credits to The Horophile - perpetual calendar detail

The brand new MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual

As said, it’s one of the first attempt from MB&F to go into proper horological complications. Previously, the replica watches made by Max Büsser and Friends were complicated because of their display rather than displaying complications. Let me explain, with the example of the HM3. The movement is complicated not because of the indications (only minutes and hours) but because of the position of these indications. Same goes for the recent HM6, with time-indicators perpendicular to the movement – and with an extra-tourbillon. However, MB&F replica watches yet never came with real, traditional complications, until today with a QP on this MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual. For this replica watch, Max teamed up with Northern Irish replica watchmaker Stephen McDonnell, ex-introductor at WOSTEP (Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Educational Program) and now independent replica watchmaker.

MB&F legacy Machine Perpetual - Credits to The Horophile - platinum case

Before explaining the MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual in detail, we first have to understand a perpetual calendar. You may know it, but a QP takes into consideration the months with 30 or 31 days, but also the month of February with 28 days and finally the month of February during leap years, when it has 29 days – meaning that it only needs one adjustment every 100 years (if it continuously runs). Most of the perpetual calendars are modules added on the top of an existing, classical 3-hand movement – like it’s the case at Montblanc or Patek Philippe. The calendar indications are synchronized by a long lever (in French “grand levier“) running across the top of the complication and passing through the central axis of the hands. As the date changes, this long lever transmits information to the appropriate components and mechanisms by moving backwards and forwards. Then, in the traditional grand levier system, perpetual calendars assume that, by default, all months have 31 days. At the end of months with less than 31 days, the mechanism quickly skips through the next dates before arriving at the 1st of the new month. Any manipulation or adjustment of the date during changeover can result in damage to the mechanism, requiring expensive repairs by the manufacturer.

In the case of the MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual, this becomes quite problematic, as the axis of the hour and minute hands is not in the centre and because right in the center of the replica watch, you have the pinion of the flying balance wheel that transmits its movement to the escapement. Thus, the use of a “grand levier” is impossible and the classical architecture has to be reimagined. The solution came in the brain of Stephen McDonnell that imagined “mechanical processor“.

MB&F legacy Machine Perpetual - Credits to The Horophile - QP

Instead of using a long lever (grand levier), the MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual relies on a patent-pending mechanical processor composed of a series of superimposed disks. Instead of assuming that every month is composed of 31 days and skipping some when needed, this mechanical processor considers that all the months are 28 days – because, logically, all months have at least 28 days – and then adds the extra days as required by each individual month. This ensures that each month has exactly the right number of days. Instead of skipping (with all the issues that it brings), the MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual inly adds what is necessary. This mechanical processor also allows the quick setting of the leap year (instead of scrolling through up to 47 months to find the right year and month) and also allows a inbuilt safety feature that disconnects the quickset pushers during the date changeover, eliminating any risk of damage while the date is changing.

MB&F legacy Machine Perpetual - Credits to The Horophile - platinum blue dial MB&F legacy Machine Perpetual - Credits to The Horophile - leap year detail MB&F legacy Machine Perpetual - Credits to The Horophile - flying balance wheel

The use of this mechanism instead of the long lever system allows a specific design too. As a long lever rotates all over the dial, it prevents to have sub-dials with studs because they would block the motion of the long lever mechanism. A completely skeletonized QP is rather difficult to implement or could only be achieved by having a transparent plate that fully covers the dial over the mechanism. In the case of the MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual, the mechanical processor permits to have a display fully opened with skeletonized sub-dials and no main dial over the indications, allowing for a complete view on the QP mechanism. The display however remains quite classical for a perpetual calendar, with an off-centered main dial at 12 (for the minutes and the hours), 3 sub-dials displaying the date, the day and the month, and two gauges, one for the leap year (at 7) and one for the power reserve (at 5).

MB&F legacy Machine Perpetual - Credits to The Horophile - red gold profile

The replica watch itself remains in the vein of the other Legacy Machines, with a 44mm case (actually, a large diameter but the most appropriate size for this collection) available in 18k red gold or in 950 platinum. Hands are blued and sub-dials are made from several layers of whitish lacquer that resemble old enamel or glass – again two classical features of the LM replica watches. The platinum edition features an electric blue main plate and sub-dials circled in silver (like the Platinum edition of the MB&F LM1) while the red gold edition features a blackened main plate, gilded circles around the sub-dials and a gilded balance wheel.

MB&F legacy Machine Perpetual - Credits to The Horophile - red gold movement

The back reveals the brand new and fully in-house movement. Technically speaking, it has nothing in common with the previous movements used in the LM1 or the LM2 but still features the same overall look and pocket replica watch inspiration. The movement side reveals a double barrel (that provides 72 hours of power reserve) and the hidden escapement module (next to the bridge engraved MB&F). While on the other Legacy Machines we had Kari Voutilainen as a consultant for the finishing, here we don’t have mention of his name anymore. Nevertheless, the finish of the previous editions seems respected, with angles beveled and polished by hand (including some internal angles, even if fewer than before), large Geneva stripes on the bridges or rubies inserted in gold chatons.

MB&F legacy Machine Perpetual - Credits to The Horophile - movement detail MB&F legacy Machine Perpetual - Credits to The Horophile - movement platinum

The front of the replica watch shares this same attention to details, with all the parts of the QP finished with polished chamfers and straight graining. We also find back the large arch bridge that holds the balance wheel and its superb round pillars with a mirror polishing. We wished to have more time with the replica watches to examine the details and to confirm the quality of the execution. However, from a quick look, it looks respectful of the rest of the MB&F production.

Final words. In fact, the MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual gains in complexity but looses in purity. We had the same feeling after seeing the LM2 compared to the LM1. The first of the collection was a blast, a slap in the head that stacked in our heads. It was the purest, the most inspired – also because it was the first one. The effect could have been different if the LM2 was came out first. The MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual leaves us this sort of feeling. It is impressive, complex, mastered and it brings innovative solutions to a traditional complication. The design and the execution are great, there’s not doubt about it. For those who think the LM1 is too simple or not limited enough, the MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual will be the perfect choice and they’ll enjoy it a lot. The thing is that here, at Monochrome-Watches, we have a huge retinal persistence issue and the LM1 can’t go out of our eyes.

MB&F legacy Machine Perpetual - Credits to The Horophile - red gold

The MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual will be limited to 50 pieces (25 for each edition). Price: 138,000 Swiss Francs (ex. taxes) for the 18k red gold edition and 168,000 (ex. taxes) for the platinum edition. More on www.mbandf.com.


Thank you to our friend Amr Sindi, from The Horophile, for sharing with us these photos of the new MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual. More of his work on his Instagram account @thehorophile.

MB&F legacy Machine Perpetual - Credits to The Horophile - red gold dial detail MB&F legacy Machine Perpetual - Credits to The Horophile - profile casebands

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MBF Replica

Replica MBF HMX : the most affordable MBF(yet)

HMX6

A while back replica MB&F told us that one of their 10th anniversary replica watches would be their most price-accessible replica watch to date. This alone was enough to have many waiting patiently to find out not just the price, but also of manner and form this would take.

It turned out to be the HMX (‘X’ for ‘ten’, naturally) and perhaps less predictably, a variant of the HM5, so for those familiar with that replica watch, this green one, at their Australian AD The Hour Glass, is a more price and size accessible ‘version’. In some ways it is a ‘version’, but it feels like very much its own timepiece when seen ‘in the metal’.

The body is stainless steel and Grade 5 titanium, with two sapphire crystal prisms reflecting and magnifying the bi-directional jumping hours and trailing minutes which are in the familiar vertical display so you can just angle your wrist to read the time.

The time display works thus – it is a projection of the two rotating discs on top of the movement. The numerals on the discs are reflected 90° and magnified by two sapphire crystal optical prisms that project’ the time onto the front vertical display.

Also visible through the sapphire crystal are supercar-inspired covers featuring funtional chrome oil filler caps that are unscrewed to oil the jewel bearings for the indicator discs. Bonus aesthetic feature.

HMX2

This use of stainless steel (versus the full Ti of the HM5) is one of the ways in which MB&F have managed to make this cost so much less than its elder relation. Another significant reason is that it has a Sellita movement as its base, versus the Girard-Perregaux base of the HM5.

Aesthetically they are undoubtedly related but as well as being smaller (apparently the size of the HM5 was a point of concern to many), it is curvier and looks less ‘solid’, for want of a better way of putting it; there is more on display.

HMX5

The four colours that have been released in limitations of 20 pieces have been, in keeping with the exotic/ supercar-inspired theme, are Lotus Black, Ferrari Red, Bugatti Blue and British Racing Green. The price is CHF 31’400 (including VAT) and for Australia, go to MB&F’s authorised dealer The Hour Glass for all enquiries.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

-Limited edition of 4 x 20 pieces in grade 5 titanium and stainless steel
-Movement: Three-dimensional calibre composed of a jumping hour and trailing minutes module developed in-house by MB&F, powered by a Sellita gear train.
-22K gold automatic winding rotor
-Power reserve: 42 hours
-Balance frequency: 28,800bph/4Hz.
-Number of components: 223
-Number of jewels: 29

FUNCTIONS/INDICATIONS

Bi-directional jumping hours and trailing minutes, displayed by dual reflective sapphire crystal prisms with integrated magnifying lens

CASE

-Grade 5 titanium and stainless steel with detailing in Lotus black, British racing green, Bugatti blue or Ferrari red
-Dimensions: 46.8 x 44.3 x 20.7 mm
-Number of components: 44
-Water resistance: 30 meters
-Sapphire crystals on top, front and display back treated with anti-reflective coating on both faces
-Dual reflective sapphire crystal prisms with integrated magnifying lens.

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MBF Replica

Replica MBF’s HM6 ‘SpacePirate’

MBFHM6SpacePirate6

A little while back Horologium introduced MB&F’s latest Horological Machine, the Space Pirate. A little while after its launch replica fashion MB&F Head of Communications Charris Yadigaroglou came to Australia with the new HM6 for its Australian launch, and I had the opportunity to see handle the replica watch ahead of its local launch.

If you want the specs, you can click on the link above to read my first post. This post will concentrate on the all-important ‘in the metal’ experience, which I had for an hour or so at The Hour Glass, and then that evening at a Sydney launch dinner with local collectors.

One of my recurring themes is how important it is to keep an open mind about pieces that you have read about and seen many photos about, even those for which you may have seen up to a hundred press and live images. Even the best of us may have a preconception about a replica watch based on what we see and read on our screens, but too often, the reality of handling the replica watch is different to the pixels of it.

As I discussed with a few people during the Sydney HM6 launch dinner, most of whom were handling MB&F replica watches for the first time, it can be a divisive brand, designwise. As with a number of independent brands, perhaps with the exception of the more classically styled Legacy Machine replica watches of recent times, MB&F pieces are not replica watches that are intended to have broad appeal. When I first saw the photos of the HM6 I confess that I wondered whether this would fall into the ‘unwearable’ category, with its large size, protrusions even on the caseback, and general bulk. Was the HM6, I pondered, so totally out of even the MB&F ballpark that I simply would not ‘get’ it?

The Space Pirate is inspired by a part of Max Busser’s childhood, the Japanese cartoon Capitaine Flam, so it was this thought in my mind when I picked up the replica watch. This is where the first surprise hit me.

Something that had I had not fully grasped when reading about it, even with the knowledge that the case is made of titanium (the parts of the case are, in fact, made from a single block of the stuff), is how light this piece is. I believe that I may have look startled when I picked it up, and deeply clichéd though the expression may be, I may have said something at the time about it being as light as a feather. My friend the#watchnerd had seen the HM6 at Salon QP and told me that it was very wearable and light, but it appears that I need to experience this for myself. Not only is it incredibly light but also extraordinarily comfortable, surprisingly so. The bumps on the back about which I had reservations went unnoticed when I had it on my wrist, the size of the replica watch somehow became irrelevant because it sits so comfortably. So much so in fact, that one is in danger of not remembering that it’s there (always a fear for those of us who worry about dings on our replica watches).

It is a far more engaging replica watch than I had expected it would be, a far more comfortable replica watch than I had thought it would be, and I was reminded about why it is important to not let the often dominant exterior of MB&F replica watches dominate one’s thoughts about them. The HM6’s movement is not to be sneezed at. Recall that it is a new automatic movement for them, that it has a sixty-second flying tourbillon. The movement, of which there will only be one hundred made, has 475 parts, and took three years of development. The winding battle-axe rotor is Pt 950.

In each of the four corners of the case is a 360° sphere, capped top and bottom by transparent sapphire crystal domes. A non-watch person, upon seeing a photo that I posted and perhaps confounded by its design and not knowing where to look, couldn’t immediately tell where the time indicators were, but they are easily found – the two spheres at the front with their semi-sepherical indicators that rotate in a circle, displaying the hours and minutes. The two turbines at the back, which balance the design, spin horizontally, regulating the winding system.

In my earlier post I wondered whether the twin turbines were a nod by Max Busser to the HM5’s louvres, and I still ponder this. What was fascinating was that the longer the time that I spent with the replica watch, the more time I spent looking at it, the more it seemed to take on different identities. It started off very much as a machine (which, after all, is that to which the ‘M’ in ‘HM’ refers, quite apart from the Capitaine Flam references) but then, as the rather addictive (and hypnotic, but repetition tends to do that, I find) ability to open and close the toubillon’s retractable cover (which as an ingenious safety mechanism so that you do not accidentally go too far and ‘force’ the closure or opening) took hold of me, the Space Pirate gradually became less machine and more a live creature.

At some times I saw the tourbillon cover as a mouth, at other times an addition ‘eye’ to those of the turbines. Perhaps I was seeing some of the protrusions from other MB&F replica watches as I interacted with it. Perhaps it was becoming almost like a cyborg in my mind’s eye, but with the organic parts hidden from view. In looking at MB&F’s own description, they call the case ‘biomorphic’, and whilst I may not have agreed with this before I saw the piece, after having handled it I can see and recognise this biomorphism.

This is not a replica watch that you simply look at and say ‘wow’ to, although this is very likely the initial impression that is aroused in most of us. It is a replica watch to be touched, worn, and examined quietly. It is also much more wearable than, for example, the HM4. When I saw it with Charris at The Hour Glass, who are MB&F’s authorised dealer in Australia, I was with a long time collector and enthusiast who started ruminating aloud about how really, does he need somewhere to live? I’m not encouraging living in a car in order to get a replica watch, but yes, the Space Pirate that kind of effect on people.

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MBF Replica

Replica Watch Maîtres du Temps Chapter Two TRC in titanium Review

Today’s Weekly Replica Watch Photo features photos of the Maîtres du Temps Chapter Two TRC, again. Back in September I already showed you some photos of the new Chapter Two TRC, photographed by Ming Thein.

A few weeks ago, at SalonQP in London, I ran into Steven Holzman, founder and CEO of Maîtres du Temps, and he told me that he had more of these beautiful photos. Since the Weekly Replica Watch Photo is mainly about enjoying the beauty of a exquisite timepiece, photographed in a very attractive way, these photos are perfect for Monochrome’s WWP. This time we focus on the (non-DLC) titanium version of Chapter Two TRC (Triple Calendar Round).

Maitres du Temps Chapter Two TRC

Let’s take a step back and have a look at the beginning of Maîtres du temps. It was 2007 when Steven Holzman founded Maîtres du Temps, which is not so much a new replica watch company, but more a new horological concept. A concept that I find very appealing, as it brings some of the greatest replica watchmakers  together to develop a new timepiece. It is a promotion of the people who actually craft the timepieces, something that we here at Monochrome full support of course!

I saw my role as a connector and as a catalyst, bringing people together to come up with ideas and providing the template for independent replica watchmakers to be seen through a collaborative effort,” says Holtzman. “By blending the different styles and talents of the replica watchmakers, I was able to realize my vision—Maîtres du Temps.

maitres du temps chapter 2 trc

There are of course parallels with the Opus series of Harry Winston and cheap swiss replica MB&F. Where Harry Winston’s Opus series gives one replica watchmaker the opportunity to create his Opus Magnus, MB&F is more guided by Max Busser’s ideas and concepts. Maîtres du Temps brings together more replica watchmakers who’re gonna create something very special and every time respecting the old and traditional approach of replica watchmaking!

What we’re looking for is creativity, ingenuity, and craftsmanship,” Holtzman says. “In assembling our teams of masters, we traveled throughout Switzerland and Europe, meeting amazingly talented craftsmen. Each master brings a new perspective and his own strengths, so by teaming up these gifted individuals, we can create something very special.

Maitres du temps Chapter 2 TRC

All Maîtres du Temps’s timepieces are created by famous replica watch makers, who in my opinion can be considered the rock stars of the replica watch industry. For Chapter One was signed of by Peter Speake-Marin, Roger Dubuis and Christophe Claret and Chapter Two was created by nobody less then Daniel Roth and (again) Roger Dubuis and Peter Speake-Marin. We covered Chapter Three for you here.

Chapter One is the most complicated of all three Chapters (price is around $ 400,000 USD) and features a tourbillon, a mono-poussoir (single pusher) chronograph, retrograde date, retrograde GMT, and two rolling bars at 6 o’clock and 12 o’clock, indicating the day of the week and the phases of the moon. Chapter Two was launched at a starting price of $ 67,000 USD, which was made possible by loosing the tourbillon, retrograde GTM and chronograph functions. Making it less complicated, and in my opinion more wearable!

Maitres du Temps Chapter Two TRC

Chapter Two features hours and minutes, small seconds at 6 o’clock, a big date, and the day and month spelled out on two rollers positioned on either side of the case. Although one might think it’s a perpetual calendar, it’s not, Chapter Two is a so-called triple calendar. Adjusting the day or month is easy, as it requires just a push at the buttons at the back side of the case.

Two years after its initial launch, Maîtres du Temps released the TRC version of Chapter Two, featuring a round in stead of a tonneau shape case. TRC stands for Triple Calendar Round, simple as that. There are three different version, each made from grade 5 titanium and some with PVD coated case parts.

Maitres du temps Chapter Two TRC

Crown, pushers and screws are all in red gold or white gold and so are details on the dial and the diamond-cut hands. Chapter Two TRC is available for CHF 69,000 (excl. taxes) and is, based on its looks, the most sporty Maîtres du Temps. For now there are three flavors: full titanium (with white gold details), titanium and PVD coated titanium (also with white gold details) and full PVD coated titanium with red gold details.

Maitres du Temps Chapter Two TRC

Photo credits go to Ming Thein, who’s photos are incredible again; here you can visit his website.

The Maitre du Temps Chapter Two is available for CHF 69,000 (before tax). More information about Maitres du Temps can be found on their website here and on the official Maitres du Temps Facebook page.

This article is written by Frank Geelen, executive editor for Monochrome Replica Watches.

Categories
MBF Replica

Replica MBF Machine Madness

One of the really special parts of the cheap replica watch world are the independent brands. Although they may not be as widely known in Australia as they should be, they have definitely had a profile here, largely through the active online presence of many Australian replica watch enthusiasts, some of whom also own ‘Indies’.

One of the most well independents is Max Busser’s M&F. It is difficult to open a replica watch magazine or go to a replica watch related blog or website without reading about a Horological or Legacy Machine. This is a brand with some serious fans. I had never had an opportunity to see them ‘in the metal’, so it was with great pleasure and excitement that I accepted an invitation from The Hour Glass in Sydney, who have just become MB&F’s newest authorised dealer, to spend some time with Max Busser and his replica watches.

I shall write more about meeting Max later; this first post is to give you a glimpse of six MB&F replica watches, and to share my thoughts about seeing them for the first time. With such unconventional designs, an important question will always be about wearability, so this will be my main focus.

These are the MB&F Machines with which I spent an interesting and glorious late afternoon interlude. The technical specifications of them can be found at MB&F’s website here :

Firstly, we have a family photo.

How much MB&F fun can one person have?

HM01 in White Gold and Ruthenium

Dimensions: length 41mm, width 64mm, height 14mm

With 376 parts, 7-day power reserve and an elevated central tourbillon, the Machine that started it all, the HM1, is a big replica watch. Max said to me that he designs all his replica watches for his wrist, they are intended to be worn. I am not sure how my wrist compares to the average female wrist, even with the glove on, but I don’t have a petite wrist, not a particularly large one.

It sits large but reasonably comfortably and not too highly, which is good, but it’s probably designed to be worn a bit higher up the wrist area than I have it in this photo. It’s fun, and probably the most conservative, in retrospect, of all of MB&F’s creations to date.

HM02 in Black Ceramic and Red Gold – Ltd edition of 33

Dimensions (exclusive of crown and lugs): 59mm x 38mm x 13mm

There are 450 parts in this Machine, with instantaneous jumping hour, concentric retrograde minutes, retrograde date, bi-hemisphere moonphase.

This is, I believe, is the final one of these available for sale at any AD, so if you want to take a look at it, get in quick. Differently proportioned to the HM1, it is more sleek, more steampunk, but still long in terms of wrist real estate. It’s very striking contrast of colour and texture, and I am particularly taken with the ‘matte-ness’ of ceramic component.

HM03 Sidewinder in White Gold and Titanium

Dimensions (exclusive of crown and lugs): 47mm x 50mm x 16mm

This is one half of a famous duo. The ‘Sidewinder’ has the cones lined perpendicular to the arm, and ‘Starcruiser’ has the cones in line with the arm. With hour and day/ night indicator on one cone, minutes on the second cone and date around the movement, this Machine is all about being able to see inside it. When it came out, everyone seemed to be debating whether they preferred the Sidewinder or Starcruiser, but I’d just been thinking about how big they looked.

As it turns out yes they are large, but they actually not only sit pretty comfortably, including on a woman’s wrist (see photo), but they do not look as large as you’d think. I was much more taken with this than I had anticipated I would be. It had quite a different impact on me ‘in the metal’, the whimsy shone through in a way that is not possible when you’re just looking at photos.

(thank you to my wrist model, whose wrist is a bit smaller than mine)

HM04 Thunderbolt in Titanium

Dimensions: 54mm wide x 52mm long x 24mm high

With 311 parts, this aviation-inspired Horological Machine features hours and minutes (right dial) and a power reserve indicator (left dial) with separate crowns for time setting and winding.

When seen in real life, the impact (not to mention the replica watch) is definitely high, and it was only in being able to see it that the talk about it having its genesis in Max Büsser’s childhood passion for model plane kits made sense. This is a replica watch you want to take off and play around with.

It’s a very visceral replica watch, the HM4, and sweetly plane-nerdy.

It’s great fun to play with, but of all the MB&F Machines I saw, this was the only one that was difficult for me personally to contemplate, though I’ve seen a photo of it on a friend’s (male) wrist and it looked fine. It carries a bit more heft and sits a lot higher than I had expected that it would, but it also seemed to be heavier than the others.

Legacy Machine no 1 – red gold and white gold

Ah my domed beauties …. I never thought I’d have the pleasure of your company.

“What would have happened if I had been born in 1867 instead of 1967? In the early 1900s the first wristwatches appear and I would want to create three-dimensional machines for the wrist, but there are no Grendizers, Star Wars or fighter jets for my inspiration. But I do have pocket replica watches, the Eiffel Tower and Jules Verne, so what might my 1911 machine look like? It has to be round and it has to be three-dimensional: Legacy Machine N°1 was my answer.” Maximilian Büsser

Appearing to be the most ‘conservative’ of MB&F’s machine creations, it is in fact not conservative at all, with a wonderful marriage of splendid classicism with a edge of an almost industrial modernity.

At a comfortably (and almost small) 44mm with a unique vertical power reserve of 45 hours, it features completely independent dual time zones displayed on two dials. The left crown at 8 o’clock is for setting the time on the left dial, the right crown at 4 o’clock is for setting time of right dial and for winding.

Available in 18k red gold or 18k white gold, my heart belongs to the white gold version. The red gold version bears the warmth associated with that metal, but the clean sharp sleekness of the white gold seems more modern.

Oh and I’m clearly not alone in being enamoured of the LM1 – there is a worldwide waiting list already …

Many thanks to Ching and The Hour Glass for the opportunity to see these replica watches. As well as being a lot of fun, it made me realise that Max was right when he said that he designed them to be wearable – they actually are.

Oh and just in case you’re wondering about the sizing issue, some 20 odd percent of MB&F owners are women.