MB&F one of the most romantic watch brands out there, is back with another watch, equally romantic. Encased entirely in gold, this watch celebrates what the brand considers the ‘Golden Age’ of design.
The Horological Machine N°9 ‘Flow’ may look overwhelming futuristic, but it is in fact inspired by automotive and aviation designs of the 40s and 50s. It was during this post-war time that the study of aerodynamics begin to permeate through car building, creating some super sleek and curvy cars, planes of the time followed a similar trend, and now almost 80 years later, MB&F is continuing the art.
The watch itself is reminiscent of a jet engine, with a central dial protruding in the front, and two domes of sapphire crystal behind it housing two independent balance wheels. Fans of skeletonised watches can (sort of) rejoice as there’s also a sapphire panel at the back to reveal parts of the in-house movement.
The balance wheel is the main organ of a modern watch, each swing of the balance wheel is responsible for one tick of a watch hand. It is one of the largest mechanisms in a watch and it is responsible for keeping the accuracy of a timepiece. In MB&F’s ‘Flow’, two balance wheels send energy to a central differential system which then averages out the energy and provides the ticking to the main dial. The wheels oscillate at different speeds as to provide two different energy readings to the differential system to then be averaged out.
Listen to our podcast with MB&F’s creator Max Büsser right here!
Horological jargon aside, the watch is finished in a red gold case, a new flavour from the previous titanium variants a few years back. This material was used to celebrate the 40s and 50s, what MB&F considers to be a ‘Golden Age’. Materials also include rhodium, which is used to plate the skeletonised balance wheels or movement.
Air
Road
Limited to 18 pieces each, the ‘Flow’ comes in two styles, the ‘Air’ and the ‘Road’, inspired by aviation and automotives respectively. The ‘Air’ version with blackened movement and rhodium-plated balance wheels; the ‘Road’ version with rhodium-plated movement and red gold balance wheels. The two versions also have different dials, inspired by their respective industry.
The retail price for the new ‘Flow’ models is US $198,000.
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