If you thought that Max Büsser had “gone soft” in the last couple of years, his eponymous brand’s latest creation proves just the contrary. Meet the MB&F HM6 “Space Pirate”.

It’s certainly been a while since MB&F released an entirely new Horological Machine. Having focused the last few years on the neo-classical Legacy Machine series and variations on existing Horological Machine pieces, not to mention setting up the brand’s in-house movement development and manufacturing capabilities, the HM6 ushers in a new era for MB&F.

The HM6 project began in 2010, around the same time the HM4 was first launched. Requiring almost 4 years of development, the HM6 brings a new aesthetic code to MB&F, as well as the brand’s most complicated movement to date.

While incorporating sci-fi elements is hardly anything new for MB&F, they did choose a source of childhood nostalgia that strays away from the more mainstream Star Trek or Star Wars franchises. The inspiration was actually an anime cartoon from the late 70’s that I admittedly had never heard of before (probably because I wasn’t even born yet), known as “Capitaine Flam” in French. Specifically, it was his space vessel the “Cyber Lab” that the HM6 takes design cues from.

As far the “friends” part of the equation, MB&F once again sought the supernaturally gifted Eric Giroud for the case design and David Candaux Horlogerie Créative For the movement.

Using elements of “bio-design” a la Luigi Colani, the HM6’s case is all about the curves. You wont find a single flat straight line here. Crafted from Grade 5 titanium, the HM6 Space Pirate’s case is perfectly symmetrical, with a largely satin-brushed surface save for a few elements that are polished. The HM6 has a total of ten sapphire glasses, nine of which are domed. Not just any domed sapphire crystals, these are practically semi-spheres, a real nightmare to manufacture – not to mention fairly expensive to source. For me it’s really these glass elements that lend the HM6 its futuristic, organic look.

The hours and minutes are displayed on two separate spheres in the same vein as the HM3 Frog, though this time they’re positioned vertically by means of conical gears and a setup that’s not unlike a car’s gearbox, which also provide more efficient energy transmission.

Right in the middle of the case is a raised flying tourbillon escapement, sitting under the most pronounced sapphire glass dome on the case. Perhaps the quirkiest and most interactive feature of the HM6 is the retractable shield covering the central raised tourbillon escapement. Made up of four Titanium blades measuring a mere 0.18mm and 0.10mm in thickness, the shield emulates a space vessel in “hyperspace mode” and is opened and closed using the 9 o’clock crown. Besides being just plain fun to play with, the cover protects the lubricants in the tourbillon escapement from accelerated oxidation as a result of exposure to UV rays.

At the other end of the case are two sets of double turbines, which are connected to the central rotor. Interestingly, the HM6’s movement was originally designed without a central winding rotor, as the intention was to use the turbine system instead. But as they didn’t wind efficiently enough to provide the juice the movement needs, they were instead incorporated with a more traditional oscillating mass where they regulate excess movement that could otherwise damage the movement.

Unlike the majority of previous creations in the Horological Machine saga, which for the most part used existing base movements (albeit modified beyond recognition), the HM6’s movement was developed from scratch by David Candaux and MB&F’s in-house movement development team. With 475 components and 68 jewels, this is by far the most complex movement MB&F have used to date. Beneath the teal blue solid platinum oscillating rotor, one can admire the surprisingly traditional hand finishing applied on this otherworldly movement. The movement provides a power reserve of 72 hours when fully wound.

What I found really surprising was how easily the HM6 wore on the wrist. It’s actually not that big of a watch (by MB&F Horological Machine standards) and thanks to its curved case as well as the moving lug pieces, it wraps around the wrist just perfectly.

From the get-go, Max Büsser insisted on not altering the case’s design, making it an absolute nightmare for the movement developers. It is this coherence in form and function as well as the no-compromise approach that makes the HM6 for me the most outstanding Horological Machine to date.

The MB&F HM6 Space Pirate comes with a price tag of 198’000 CHF and will be limited to 50, and while we can certainly expect a few variations in the coming years, its worth nothing that only 100 HM6 movements will ever be made.

More information on www.mbandf.com