Messages: 2611 Location: East Coast, USA
Registered: November 2003
Photo report - The MB&F HM5 On the Road Again >>>
Fri, 07 December 2012 23:09
Hi All,
Yesterday a few of us had the good fortune of seeing and spending time with MB&F's latest release, the HM5 On the Road Again. Below are some quick photos I took with an iPhone 5...please forgive the poor lighting.
Inspired by the forward-looking, kinda quirky, futuristic designs of the 1970s, the HM5 is incredibly creative and in my opinion, the funnest watch released to date by MB&F.
Built in collaboration with Jean-François Mojon and Vincent Boucard of Cronode, the concept of the HM5 was inspired by the humble Amida Digitrend - a mechanical watch introduced in 1972, during the onslaught of quartz timepieces, to compete head-to-head with digital LED watches...
Apologies for the obscured view of the dial - the fact that it is very difficult to read time on the Amida shows why it didn't succeed.
Though HM5's concept is based on the Amida, the overall design was inspired by the back of 1970s sports cars - especially the Lamborghini Miura - with black louvers and all. Like the Amida, time is indicated vertically, at the forward facing back end of the watch using two rotating disks. The hours jump bi-directionally - forward when keeping time, and backwards when setting.
It's much more complicated than it looks, however. The disks, made of mineral glass, are actually flat, lying on top of the movement. To optically transmit and re-orient the hours and minutes from the flat-lying disks to the front, a precisely manufactured sapphire prism is used. The prism not only flips the disks' images 90 degrees upwards, it also magnifies them by 20%. Further enhancing the visibility of the disks, the numerals are coated in Super-LumiNova.
The two top louvers can be opened or closed via a sliding button on the side of the case. When opened, light can enter into the sapphire prism to charge the numerals' luminous material.
Similarly, the HM5's case is much more complicated than it appears. It's composed of two cases - a chassis for the movement and body work to protect the chassis - in a design inspired by motorcars. The "chassis" is a stainless steel shell for the movement which provides shock and water resistance. The chassis is secured then to the top of the second case - the "body work", which is made of zirconium. The louvers are mounted to this second, top case.
On the back of the HM5, one can see the movement secured within the chassis, which is secured to the top of the case...
The signature "battle axe" rotor is made of 22 karat gold...
The chassis is seals the movement from moisture, however water is designed to enter the body work through the louvers and exit through "dual exhaust ports" found to the left and right of the oversized winding crown...
Side-by-side with the Amida...
Some wrist shots...
This is the first MB&F watch fitted on a rubber strap...
Though its dimensions are massive at 51.5 mm x 49 mm x 22.5 mm, I love the way it fits my wrist...
Like all MB&F watches, the finishing throughout the HM5 is superb. Without a doubt, it's one of my favorite MB&F watches.
Sincere thanks to MB&F's Charris Yadigaroglou for sharing the HM5 with us.
- Paul Boutros