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The next step in MB&F's automotive-inspired creations: the HM8 Mark 2

When artists are true to themselves, they only create exactly what they want to see in the world. Across the entire MB&F catalog, we find only what Max Büsser wants to see in the world – timepieces with influences that are often drawn from his lifelong interests in sci-fi literature, airplanes, cartoons, aquatic creatures, and car design. With such a personal connection between inspiration and creation, there’s no surprise that MB&F timepieces feel like they are made with meticulous care, not only for the finishing or mechanics, but also to do justice to the concept as a whole. After a nearly 6 year hiatus from the brand’s “automotive inspired” timepieces, Max Büsser and friends are back with a new release – the HM8 Mark 2.

For collectors and enthusiasts of MB&F, the brand’s connection to cars runs deep. Released more than a decade ago, the brand’s first automotive inspired timepiece – the HM5 – took cues on its form from the unusual Amida DigiTrend while integrating Lamborghini Miura inspired slats that open and close to charge the numerals’ Super-LumiNova. Linked by their instantly recognizable speedometer-style display on the side of the case, the HM5 paved the way for MB&F’s other “automotive” timepieces – the HMX (2015) and HM8 (2016). Now, the HM8 Mark 2 is bringing the brand’s automotive-inspired designs to another level.

Pulling from the iconic Porsche 918 Spyder and Ugo Zagato’s “double bubble” roof for the sapphire crystal, the HM8 Mark 2 (like the HM5) is built from an independent water-resistant chassis to which the body panels of the watch are added. Coming in white or British racing green CarbonMacrolon®, this timepiece continues the trend of bringing MB&F cases to the next level. We’ve seen this with the fully transparent, sapphire case on the updated HM9 as well as with the brand’s release of coveted EVO cases on Legacy Machines.

Here, a material specifically designed for the HM8 Mark 2, CarbonMacrolon®, is showcased for the first time. A composite material composed of a polymer matrix injected with carbon nanotubes, it offers superior tensile strength and stiffness than traditional carbon fiber reinforcing. A solid that can be coloured, polished, bead-blasted, lacquered, or satin-finished, it additionally weighs eight times less than steel, making it extremely versatile and interesting from a technical, design, and ergonomic point of view.

Under the hood, the HM8 Mark 2 is yet another push beyond the “normal” engineering limits of watchmaking. Especially as it pertains to sapphire crystal production, MB&F stands alone. The creation of this double-curved sapphire has reached a complexity that is 30 to 40 times more expensive than a dome sapphire. Only one supplier agreed to take on the challenge. During the many hours required to produce each sapphire crystal, the risk of breakage is incredibly high – and if it is going to break, it is always at the very last moment, much to the utter desperation of all concerned. Once safely completed and fitted into the timepiece, however, it is just as robust as the sapphire crystal on any sports watch.

And last, but not least, the battle axe rotor that powers the movement is incredibly complex to make as one of the 22-carat gold blades is only two-tenths of a millimeter thick. It cannot possibly be machined so it had to be stamped, with the engraving already incorporated into the stamp.

Limited to 33 in each of the timepiece’s colorways, the HM8 Mark 2 takes everything that MB&F fans have loved in this automotive series over the last 10+ years and has made it more technical, more legible, even more modern, and easier to wear.