MB&F unfurls the eight-legged timepiece
In conjunction with its 10th anniversary this year, the Swiss watch brand MB&F releases ‘Arachnophobia’, a visually powerful machine that doubles as an impeccably finished table clock or wall clock
Marking a name in developing some of the world’s extreme horological machines, the Geneva-based lab MB&F continues to pride on its commitment to push creativity and playfulness in its creations. A testament to this undeniable passion for horology as well as the MB&F Founder Maximilian Büsser’s overactive imagination and appreciation of the arts is the company’s latest release of the eye-catching three-dimensional timepiece: The Arachnophobia.
Conceived and developed by MB&F while engineered and crafted by L’Epée 1839, the only specialised high-end clock manufacture in Switzerland, the exceptional concept is influenced by ‘Maman’, a giant spider sculpture by Louise Bourgeois that Büsser witnessed in art installations in Geneva and Doha. With this inspiration in mind, Büsser has imagined the machine to have the torsos of a spider as well as a high-end L’Epée clock movement for the mechanical head.
Arachnophobia comprises no fewer than 218 components where each one (except the jewels) are machined and finished at L’Epée’s Swiss atelier. The head of the machine houses the regulator with its oscillating balance wheel, while the other end contains the mainspring barrel, which powers the movement. The time-displaying body is outfitted with a black polished, central dome, featuring curved hands with MB&F’s signature numerals in white depicting the hours and minutes. Meanwhile, the eight rotating legs are connected to the body by ball-and-socket joints. The legs can be rotated so that Arachnophobia can stand tall on a desk or splayed flat for wall mounting. To hang it on a wall, L’Epée has also developed an innovative catch underneath the movement that hooks it on to a stainless steel wall bracket.
In terms of finishing techniques, the body and legs have received anglage, mirror polishing, satin finishing, circular satin finishing, sand-blasting and polishing. The most important thing was to play with light on each one of the spider’s parts. Some of the parts were sandblasted to continue the light play.
On one hand, the movement’s regulating organ features an Incabloc shock protection system, which minimises the risk of damage when the clock is being transported. This type of shock protection is generally seen in wristwatches only. The movement also flaunts superlative fine finishing of the type generally found on the finest wristwatches, including Côtes de Genève, anglage, polishing, sand-blasting, and circular and vertical satin finishing.
In creating Arachnophobia’s highly visible movement, L’Epée had to transform its eight-day movement to look more like a spider body. The palladium-plated main plates were redesigned as was the layout of the gear train to fit the design. The escapement was rotated 90° to better represent the head.
Arachnophobia measures 405mm in diameter, and is available in two colours, black or 18k yellow gold-plated editions. The gold-coloured edition features gilded brass legs, while the black version’s legs are made of injection-moulded aluminium, which is hand-finished and lacquered black. This remarkable spider-looking timepiece boasts a power reserve of eight days.
