MB&F HM2.2 ... raphmeister meets with maximilian busser & alain silberstein & a new creation

ok lets get this started right. my thanks to the cool team at the hour glass for the invite down to their wonderful l'atelier at ion for this. the highlights of this evening would be to again chat with max which is always a pleasure, meet mr silberstein, who is an affable, friendly gentleman and of course catchup with my watch loving mates :)

before going into a fair number of pics though, i would like to say that i love many of MB&Fs timepieces and am impressed with what max is achieving with it. i hope for his and his team's continued success... (for my readers out there who can afford these wonderful pieces do seriously consider them yuh :)

max and alain were in town because of the release of the HM2.2 ... in the press pics it didn't do it for me, but in the metal, i must say it started to grow on me :) what can i say, its cute in the metal (pvd'ed titanium front, red ceramic in the middle which u can see from the side...)

from my earlier press release post... (see 3rd post down from this one) i had noted a desire to present a wristshot but the closest i could get is this live pic from last nite...

pic of the rotor and caseback...

the press pic below is more up close and nicer though :)

mr silberstein... a cool gent who i enjoyed meeting... he had an interesting watch on his wrist but i didn't manage to get a pic of that model... its a chrono that can time up to the 10th of a second with the pushers & crown on the left side of the case...

they aren't for me, due to overall aesthetic and pricing for what i view as fun watches, but there are design touches that i like, including the smiley face :) somedays its got a sad face [ thats probably monday :( ] cute & fun watches...

next we come to maximilian busser... a storied past over a short span of time... from his time in JLC to becoming the managing director of Harry Winston Rare Timepieces at the young age of 31, overseeing the creation of magnificent Opus series of timepieces... then in 2005 setting out wif MB&F and the ideal of assembling dedicated Collectives to create amazing horological machines, which he has achieved and is doing today...

it was good to speak with him on the only watch auction. my view is that the hm2 only watch piece (read about it here) is just amazing and should have gone for a whole lot more. i also believe the auction could have benefited from making a stopover in singapore and having the actual auction done during asia's late evening hours... but its done and its raised a good amount of $ for the charity looking into muscular dystrophy disorders in children...

he spied my vianney halter antiqua, a piece he loves as well (which alain also commented on that he liked very much), and talked about how he had met with Vianney for the Opus 3 project. It seems that Harry Winston is finally going to release it, probably in 2010, and its a validation for the original parties involved in its creation once its realised and presented. for me, the daring and the dreaming up of such a fantastic piece was in itself special and the truth that it is mechanically possible, the realisation of it... its just going to be amazing.

fyi: current talk is that it will start delivery in Dec 09 after a 6 year wait... approximately 5-6 pieces per month out of a total edition of 55: 25 RG, 25 Plat and 5 Platinum with diamonds. the press info is under embargo until the week of Nov 16... but as of now, the info out there is that the new movement has been developed by Renaud and Papi. it has the second count down and simultaneous jump function & all six windows, but the display of it differs from the original design... harry winston should be applauded for not giving up the ghost of this even after max moved on.

the long awaited opus 3... all the blessed owners of this piece will have such a great story to share after 6 years of waiting for its realisation...

[ click to read the rest of the post... expand or collapse ]

and then i started asking about the HM4 but alas before i could extract even 1 sliver of information on the next piece, some friends had grabbed him (not literally ;) for a photo op... this is me totally guessing yuh but i believe it will be a pricey piece [as he's looking to lower the output next year] and i somehow feel that depending on the price point, eg if its very high than i believe it'll be a chiming piece(repeater or sonnerie), not so high then perhaps a rattrapante with an additional complication... or perhaps a perpetual calendar with something added... we'll see in 2010 :)

note to self: stand behind the man next time...

the first horological machine... the hm1... decked out in new livery... a very cool piece

next the revised HM2s in the ceramic rose gold...

and ceramic ti case... i love both of em :)

and then we have the HM3, a space mobile pretending to be a timepiece :) i had initially found it alright but have grown to like it a whole lot more since. a very nice piece traversing space and time as u can see ;)

but if i had to put my $$$ down... [$$$ that i don't have right now :( otherwise i would have taken up alan's {boutique manager} cash and carry offer ;) ] it would probably be on 1 of these 2... still undecided... hmm lets see... eeny, meeny, miny, moe... catch a tiger by the toe, if he hollers let him go... eeny, meeny, miny, moe...