MB&F

Maximilian Büsser, founder and head of the MB&F brand, was previously best known as the originator of the Opus project of Harry Winston Rare Timepieces, the watch division of Harry Winston, which he headed as CEO from 1998 to 2005. With the same idea of watches full of creativity and allusions, he is also developing the MB&F collection and has now achieved much greater fame as the driving force behind this brand, while the Opus project has fallen into oblivion due to the apparent inability and unwillingness of the current owners to run this type of watch business. MB&F, on the other hand, is developing dynamically and showing the fruits of prosperity in design. The release of many versions of the MB&F Horological and Legacy Machines have been discontinued or produced as limited editions, making collecting “Machines” and other MB&F editions increasingly attractive on the highly competitive secondary market.

The Horological Machine No.3 is one of the most popular designs in MB&F’s short history. The original design, launched in 2009, was a complication-free, extraordinary vision of an everyday automatic watch. The layout of the automatic caliber, based on the Girard-Perregaux GP3000, was turned on its head to create turret-shaped displays for the hours (actually in 24-hour format, so day/night is not an additional complication here), the minutes and a large date ring that extends beyond the movement and sits on the outer edge of the automatic rotor. The great talent of Maximilian Büsser and his friendly team is demonstrated by the fact that literally everything about this watch has been turned on its head, resulting in one of the most unusual automatic wristwatches ever made. The original case and the architecture of the movement have resulted in a plethora of different variants, all of which are spectacular and unforgettable. These include the first versions of the original HM3 Starcruiser from 2009 with time “turrets” in line with the arm – with two versions in rose and white gold, the HM3 Sidewinder from 2009 with time “turrets” perpendicular to the arm – also in rose and white gold – and numerous other editions, including the JwlryMachine, which was created in 2010 in collaboration with Boucheron in purple and pink gem-set versions, the HM3 Frog Ti and the HM3 Black Frog with a green rotor (both 2010), the HM3 Chocolate Frog Purists 10th Anniversary Edition (2011), the HM3 ReBel (2011), the HM3 Frog Zr with purple rotor (2011), the HM3 Poison Dart Frog (2012), the MoonMachine made of titanium from 2012 in collaboration with Stepan Sarpaneva – versions in black and rose gold, HM3 Megawind in rose gold and white gold from 2013, Megawind Final Edition in black and luminous design from 2015 and the HM3 FrogX Purple, Blue or Turquoise in three limited editions with transparent sapphire crystal case – the unexpectable HM3 successors from 2020.

The MB&F Horological Machine No.3 Megawind Ref. 35.RTL.B in rose gold would be a great acquisition for the collector thanks to its unique and spectacular design and the excellent and intricate finishing of the case, dial and inverted automatic caliber. Therefore, we can consider this watch as an appealing embodiment of Maximilian Büsser’s creative spirit, designed as an exceptional collector’s timepiece. The HM3 Megawind seems to us to be the quintessence of the design of the HM3 line, with non-essential elements removed, which has allowed MB&F to create an absolutely pure and thus one of Maximilian Büsser’s most impressive messages as a designer.