Watchmaker MB&F has been ubiquitous in the watch industry for a long time, beginning with the HM5 in 2012, the HMX in 2015, and the HM8 in 2016. All sprang from MB&F founder Maximilian Büsser’s long-forgotten desire of becoming a car designer. His aspirations were rekindled as he continued to realize them into exquisitely designed automotive-inspired timepieces.
The HM8, specifically, was inspired by the Can-Am cars from the famous Canadian American Racing Championship. The watch had a sapphire crystal cover that also allowed a view on the spinning rotor. This year, the brand brings the reimagined version of the classic HM8 – renamed as HM8 Mark 2.
Even though the latest model is powered by the same Girard-Perregaux caliber, it looks substantially different from its predecessor. With subtle hints of the original HM series, the watch has a more refined and contemporary appearance. The shape of the body follows the sleek lines of the Porsche 918 Spyder, while the Zagato double bubble inspired the sapphire crystal. The time display has bi-directional jumping hours and trailing minutes with sapphire crystal prisms.
The model also features Carbon Makrolon, a new material developed specially for MB&F. Carbon Makrolon is a solid material that is hard, can be coloured, polished, bead-blasted, lacquered, or satin-finished, and weighs eight times less than steel.
What’s more, HM8 Mark 2 has a novel “double de-clutch” system on the crown, which has the advantage of freeing up space and adding security to the system, which is a significant benefit for a sports watch. It operates by pressing the crown in and twisting it three-quarters of a turn to release it.
The timepiece is available in two colors: the white version is paired with a green CVD rotor and light green minute markers, while the British racing green version is paired with a red gold rotor and balance wheel and turquoise minute markers and is limited to 33 pieces. Retailing at US$78,000, the watches are certainly worth it!
