Some of the most important watches ever manufactured by MB&F are the HM4 RT, the HM4 Thunderbolt and the Horological Machine No. 5 – they weren’t just some superbly finished state of the art timepieces, but added some innovative ideas to the world of timekeeping, mainly related to dial design. The brand new Music Machine is based on similar concepts, featuring an aircraft-inspired double cylinder design and bringing forth sci-fi classics like the Star Wars.
It was completed in close collaboration with world’s most exquisite music box manufacturer, Reuge. Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back are favorites of Maximilian Büsser, head of creative direction and founder of MB&F – maybe that’s why this gadget is so closely related to Star Wars. And the music this gorgeous sound machine plays is as astonishing as the device itself – “Smoke on the water” by Deep Purple, “Imagine” by John Lennon, “Another brick in the wall” by Pink Floyd and the “Imperial March”, the main theme of Star Wars. I do agree they all match the off-the-line character of MB&F products.
Maximilian Büsser describes: “Like many kids, saving the world was my full time job when I was a boy. For Music Machine, I delved into my childhood dreams and fantasies inspired by heroes such as Luke Skywalker and Captain James T. Kirk.” Having all these in mind, Mr. Büsser has chosen to get in connection with a state of the art music box-maker – Reuge. This way, the main components were the two independent movements with winding propeller, horizontal cylinder with pins for three different melodies and mainspring barrel. There’s also a vertical comb with individually hand-tuned teeth for the different notes.
Faced with the challenge of designing something truly unique and radical, Reuge specialists have chosen to apply their engineering expertise into a system of movements that mirror images of themselves. This results in the Music Machine being able to play classic tunes from each cylinder at users’ desires. Only 66 of these will be manufactured though, 33 of the lot in white and 33 in black.
Furthermore, in order to provide stunning sound quality and good amplification, Reuge has done the chambers in walnut wood painted in piano black or white. The outriggers are finished in bead blasted anodized aluminium, while the cylinders are done in nickel plated brass. The weight of the MB&F Music Machine is 2.97 kg, as it measures 395 mm in width, 475 mm in length and 165 mm in height.
[MB&F]
