MB&F And Alain Silberstein HM2.2 Black Box Watch

Sometimes I wait a bit after news "breaks" to discuss a topic. That was the case with MB&F's new HM (horological machine) 2.2 watch. The timepiece is a further extension of the quite pricey luxury HM2 watch. MB&F has given the watch several version done in combos of metals (gold, titanium...), ceramic, and of course colors and styles. I've worn a few of them, and admit they are sorta cool. One of the biggest criticisms of that watch is that it was unwearable. True, the the wide box is tough to wear on your wrist, but it isn't exactly "unwearable" (like the DeWitt WX-1). From a practical standpoint MB&F watches are wearable art. Few people would actually wear and HM1, HM2, or HM3 watch all the time, but I for one quite appreciate them. Max Busser of the brand is a marketing master as well. He really knows how to get people excited about his watches, and items such as this limited edition of 8 pieces HM2.2 watch are a great was of doing that.

For me, this collaboration with watch maker Alain Silberstein is very impressive. I don't know whose idea it was, Max's or Alain's but the result is said to have quite shocked Mr. Busser. What Alain did is take a watch, make some arguably minor changes, and totally alter the look of the timepiece. His inspiration was vintage box style cameras from the 1940s, and you can see the connection in the design. Only the little colors triangle, square, and circle indicate his hallmark touch. Well those and the smiling moon phase indicator (styled after art nouveau characters. This "Little Nemo") .

Silberstein really changed how the watch seems to tell the time and other indications - even though he really didn't. What he did do is make reading the watch easier. As such, you can read the retrograde minutes, jumping out, and retrograde date and moon phase indicator with pleasant ease. While Busser is a showman, Alain is a true watchmaker who emphasizes function, and happens to be a great contemporary French artist as well. Oh, and I like that the dials have luminant on them. Much of the time these $100,000 watch forgo such "functional" embellishments.