Dear Friends,

Our autumn activities, like yours I imagine, are moving full steam ahead… I wanted to give you a quick update of our news, which includes Legacy Machine 101 and Legacy Machine No.2’s preselection by the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) jury. If your travels don’t take you to Geneva, you’ll see there are two other chances to meet in October. And last but not least, you may have missed our most recent “Performance Art” piece, inspired by Star Trek’s ‘Deep Space Nine’ : the Starfleet Machine...

As you know, collaboration is the cornerstone of MB&F and nowhere is this more apparent than with our Performance Art pieces – limited editions developed in partnership with artists we admire.

At first, for these emotive projects we invited external artists or designers to create a powerful new interpretation of an existing MB&F Machine. More recently, the idea of Performance Art has broadened to include co-creations based on fresh concepts we initiate ourselves, and then propose to creative forces whom we consider leaders in their field.

Starfleet Machine is one of these co-creations. Unveiled at Baselworld this year, Starfleet Machine is an intergalactic spaceship-cum-table clock, conceived by MB&F and engineered and crafted by L’Epée 1839, Switzerland's only specialised high-end clock manufacture.

After studying one of L’Epée’s stunning clock movements, we thought we could give it our own MB&F twist. So, along with ECAL design graduate Xin Wang, we put together the concept for Starfleet Machine, which L’Epée has brilliantly turned into reality.

Hours and minutes are indicated on a central black dome by curved hands following the dome’s contours. Behind that, a smaller rotating dome, together with a revolving radar dish, provide an intuitive view of remaining energy. And believe me, there’s a lot of energy: The superlatively finished, in-house movement has an exceptional power reserve of 40 days, thanks to five mainspring barrels in series. Most table clocks have a maximum power reserve of eight days… but you obviously need a large fuel tank for long space voyages!

Starfleet Machine also features double retrograde seconds in the form of turret-mounted, red-tipped laser cannons. Their fly-out action doesn’t just mark off 20-second intervals; it also repels enemy attacks against the core of the craft, the regulator, which we’ve placed in full view for all to admire.

The Starfleet Machine is limited to just 175 pieces, marking L’Epée 175th anniversary this year.

As mentioned, we’ll be presenting our latest Horological and Legacy Machines at two watch fairs this month. The first stop is in Asia, at Taipei’s Independent Watch & Art Salon (IWST), from October 16th to 19th, at the Bellavita Art Gallery. As its name implies, this is a fair focused on independent watch brands – discover the latest from MB&F together with our friends from Christophe Claret, Greubel Forsey, HYT and Laurent Ferrier.

Then, from October 21st to 23rd, we travel to Mexico City, where the Salón Internacional Alta Relojería (SIAR) takes place at the St. Regis Hotel; this is the most important haute horlogerie exhibition in Latin America. At SIAR you’ll find a wide selection of well-known, established brands along with a number of niche, independent watchmakers. We look forward to meeting you there!

We recently received some excellent news: two of our Legacy Machines have been preselected by the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève – the Oscars of watchmaking – ahead of the red-carpet awards ceremony at the end of this month. Legacy Machine 101 is on the “Men’s” category shortlist, while Legacy Machine No.2 has been preselected in the “Mechanical Exception” category. Preselection means these Machines have been chosen by the professional jury as one of the top six watches in their class.

It also means both LM101 and LM2 are eligible for the Public Prize, which is voted by watch fans… To cast your vote, click Vote for the GPHG Public Prize and then hit “Register to Vote”. Once your registration is confirmed, follow the instructions… But remember, you only have 1 single vote among all 72 preselected watches, so please use your vote wisely.

The winners will be announced during the prize-giving ceremony on 31 October, 2014 at the Grand Théâtre in Geneva.

If you’ve ever listened to Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee, you might recall its frantic tempo, evoking the busy life of a buzzing bee. Nowadays, the ‘flight of the bumblebee’ is more about the species’ ominous disappearance from earth.

One person doing his all to secure the future of bees is Sam Droege. As head of the Bee Inventory and Monitoring Program at the U.S. Geological Survey, Sam is cataloguing bee species to observe factors affecting their survival and changing habitats. The cataloguing involves taking photos of the bees – not just any portraits mind you, but totally amazing macrophotos that Sam and his team are creating using photographic techniques developed by the U.S. Army of all people.

Find out more about this breathtaking macrophotography on our blog, A Parallel World.

We really look forward to seeing you in Taiwan, Mexico or Geneva if you can make any of those events. If not, stay in touch and get the latest via Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and Instagram – whatever your social media preference, we’ve got it covered!

Until next time, my warmest regards,

Maximilian Büsser
Owner & Creative Director