Of all the schools of design you might associate with MB&F, Art Deco probably isn’t among the first. The elegant, geometric designs and jewel colours of the 1920s don’t square all that well with the sci-fi curves and horological bravado of Max Busser’s collaborative watch project. And yet here we are, with the MB&F HM11 “Art Deco” Editions.
When MB&F released the original HM11 Architect back in 2023 for Dubai Watch Week, it took its own moniker pretty seriously. Drawing inspiration from 1970s bubble houses and lashings of post-modern architecture, the unique four-chambered, grade 5 titanium case was aesthetically out-there, even for a brand that’s never really come in.
Now, exactly two years later, MB&F is revising the concept in a slightly different way. The overall construction of the HM11 “Art Deco” is the same. It still has the four chambers with different displays – hours and minutes, power reserve, temperature (because of course) and an exhibition crown. Those four chambers can still revolve around the central ‘house’ to change the view and wind the watch’s 96-hour power reserve. In fact, the bones are exactly the same. It’s just the style that’s changed.
Whereas the first version was all curves and bubbles, the Art Deco has more structure to it. Fluted bands cross the outer chambers, while the ‘dials’ use gold geometric ‘sunbeam’ shapes that actually do feel very 1920s. The colours have been amped up too – the coloured plates have had their intensity dialled up and the bridges have been changed from silver to gold. It gives the whole thing a much more vibrant look, less space age, more jazz age. The central tourbillon has also been redone to be more in-line with the baseplate, creating a stronger central column around which everything else rotates.
There are two versions, one where those coloured plates are in blue with yellow gold bridges, one with green plates and rose gold bridges. They’re paired with white and beige lizard straps respectively (very flapper) and are limited to 10 pieces each.
Small individually, these changes make for a dramatically different aesthetic presence. Although to be perfectly honest, it would have to change a lot more for the HM11’s four-chambered construction to not dominate the story here. But it’s still good to see MB&F experimenting with some very different design schools. So, what’s next? Bauhaus maybe? Now that I’d love to see. After all, I hear Alan Silberstein loves a collab.
Price and Specs:
More details at MB&F.
Maybe it’s me, but I guess not, as the review also pokes fun at this ridiculous timepiece.
There is one good aspect to this ludicrously expensive item, and that is the strap, sadly the one positive doesn’t make up for the negatives.