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Showstopping Watch of the Year 2015

Showstopping Watch of the Year 2015

Timepieces in this category will have the power to make anyone viewing them stop for a moment and consider how on earth they were made. They may not be to everyone’s tastes but they don’t lack for ambition or world-beating craftsmanship.

WINNER: MB&F HM6 Space Pirate

MB&F’s extraordinary HM6, aka the Space Pirate, was so outlandish and otherworldly that it immediately grabbed the attention of watch audiences around the globe. Max Busser’s approach to horology is the very antithesis of conventional and the titanium HM6 is his most extraordinary creation to date.

The irregular, undulating case shape with sapphire crystal globes at each corner and in the centre was apparently inspired by a spaceship from Busser’s favourite childhood anime. Form was one thing but developing a movement to fit such a case shape would take Busser and his friends a further three years research and development. The aluminium globes that indicate hours and minutes at two of the corners were machined from single blocks of the metal to paper thin dimensions before being mounted on ruby bearings.

Space inside the case prohibited the use of a tourbillon bridge and so Busser opted for a flying tourbillon, which is shrouded by a retractable spherical shield of six overlapping, curved titanium blades operated by the left-hand crown.

The remaining two corner globes are home to rotating aluminium turbines driven by the winding rotor via a separate gear train which increases their rotational speed. They serve no purpose other than to provide extra drama. In all, Busser, used 475 components and 68 jewels to pay tribute to a spaceship from a fondly remembered cartoon and that is precisely why the watch world is a better place for having him in it.

Highly Recommended

Angelus U10 Lumiere
Piaget Emperador Coussin Tourbillon
Breguet Be Crazy
Hoptroff No.16
Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime
Bulgari Diva
Faberge Lady Compliquee
TAG Heuer V4 Monaco Phantom
A. Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk Decimal Minute Repeater

James Buttery

Editor of WatchPro, the WatchPro Hot 100 and The Luxury Report.

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