Dear Friends,

How the world has changed since my last newsletter! If you had told me a few months ago that I’d be stuck in Dubai right now, with no way to reach the MB&F headquarters in Geneva and the majority of the planet in some form of confinement, I would have never believed you…

Given these unusual conditions, it’s perhaps puzzling to you that we decided to launch in the midst of the sanitary crisis an all-new Horological Machine: the HM10 Bulldog. And just a few weeks later, we also announced last Wednesday a new table clock created with our friends from L’Epée 1839. Yes, we are in a crisis, but we feel that life must go on!

With the Bulldog, slated to launch on March 24th – right in the middle of the worldwide Covid-19 crisis – we faced a difficult decision. Was it appropriate to launch a new timepiece in this context? There were obviously much more important issues in the world at the time (and still today). And believe me, our company was fully aware and very directly impacted by the magnitude of the crisis, with our teams already working from home on March 24th. Weighing the pros and cons, we finally decided to make the best of it and go ahead; the overwhelmingly positive feedback reassured us that we’d made the right decision.

The interesting thing about the HM10 Bulldog is that I pictured it very clearly in my mind, before starting the lengthy design and R&D process that inevitably follows any new project. Yes, I’m a dog person – and my beloved “Flash”, a golden retriever, was a trusted companion during many years of my youth – but I really don’t know why I imagined a bulldog-shaped watch during a jet-lagged bus ride while on a trip to Japan. The result four years later mirrors that strange vision!

What makes up the Bulldog? A rounded, compact body. Two bulging time-display “eyes”, rolling at anyone who dares look its way. Studded collars that allow you to wind the mainspring or set the time. Stout but flexible “legs” that wrap firmly around your wrist. A big heart beating steadily at 2.5Hz. And most importantly, the element that steals the show, without which this would not be a true bulldog: a massive jaw that opens and shuts, showing you how much power your canine friend has in store: fully closed tells you that he’s wound down and ready for a nap. If you can clearly see the rows of shining teeth, Bulldog is full of energy.

The engine of HM10 Bulldog was designed and developed by our in-house team, leveraging precious experience built up over the years: the flying balance wheel hovering just beneath the central dome of sapphire crystal, the unconventional 3-dimensional power reserve indication, the paper-thin aluminium domes, the dual crown system... If you’ve been following us, you’ll recognise distinctive traits of some of our previous creations: HM10 Bulldog is a highly-bred machine.

As we were fine-tuning the final prototype of this piece in 2019, we felt the urge during a product meeting to engrave a message on its body – a piece of advice for those who come across HM10 Bulldog. The beast may be intimidating, but it ultimately exists in service of another: “Forget the dog, beware of the owner”.

Check out our website for the full story – and if you’re interested in acquiring the Bulldog, please contact your favourite retailer or go to our M.A.D.Gallery eShop.

I truly wish I could do more to help the world fight Covid-19. Unfortunately, at MB&F we are neither scientists nor doctors, we are just watchmakers, so we’ll do our best to continue creating exceptional timepieces. The same goes for our friends at L’Epée 1839, with whom we’ve been creating clocks for the past 6 years.

Remember the Starfleet Machine, our very first table-clock collaboration with L’Epée, back in 2014? Well, that horological space station returned to our planet last week, in a much more compact size, bright colours, and accompanied by a fleet of three small spacecraft exploring the universe; we call it the Starfleet Explorer.

Besides the compact size, the time display system has changed a bit: at the top of the station, minutes are indicated on a revolving disk, read off when they appear through the centre of an aperture. The hours are indicated by a revolving hand, on a fixed hour ring placed below. And there’s the new feature which gives this piece its name: three small spacecraft, revolving continuously around the movement on a five-minute orbit: a space exploration guided by the mothership.

You’ll find out more about the Starfleet Explorer on our website – this new mechanical sculpture is available as of now at our worldwide retailers or at our M.A.D.Gallery eShop, at the price of CHF 9,900 + VAT.

If there’s one thing this crisis has reminded me about, it’s once again the need to constantly adapt. Together with my team, despite – or rather thanks to – the crisis, we are going through one of the most challenging, interesting and creative periods in our 15-year history. Look forward to many new initiatives in the weeks and months ahead – including our new series of IG Live conversations called “Fifty-Five Minutes”. We kicked off last week with Patrick Pruniaux, CEO of Ulysse Nardin and Girard-Perregaux – and on Thursday we’re back with the amazing Benoit Mintiens, the founder of Ressence, one of the most innovative independent brands.

If you’re not on Instagram yet, I recommend you sign up and follow us @mbandf to get in on the action. With the world in semi-confinement, there’s a lot of interesting stuff happening on Instagram!

Nonetheless, I hope to see you somewhere in the real world very soon, in the flesh!