Is the MB&F HM4 Thunderbolt the coolest watch we’ve ever featured on crankandpiston?
We pride ourselves at crankandpiston in bringing you the best, the brightest and the downright wackiest the fashion and accessory world has to offer. With an automotive flavour, naturally. This though is perhaps the most awesome timepiece we’ve ever featured on-site.
It hardly needs saying, but as manufacturers MB&F – horologists Maximilian Büsser and Friends, who specialise in creating one radical item every year – have stated, ‘the HM4 Thunderbolt is not a traditional wristwatch’. How very true. For starters it has not one but two faces, both of which are infused into separate bullet-shaped casings/pods yet are incorporated into the same body, which is attached to a calfskin strap. One face tells the time with the traditional hour and minute hands, while the other shows a power reserve indicator for the miniature engine (not ‘works’, MB&F are very clear on that) that runs the watch. To look at, the HM4 would probably be more appropriate for Morphin’ Time than telling the time.
Inspired by classic aviators, the HM4 is made from lightweight titanium, though also houses a sapphire centre case that acts as a viewing hole for the engine. So key is the aviation influence that the engine in both pods has been designed with a jet turbine in mind, while oscillating wheels in the main body of the engine keep the watch running and stand as examples of MB&F’s ‘kinetic art’. So precise is the design that development took the best part of three years.
Several versions are available, including Red Gold and the inquisitively named Razzle Dazzle, though we’ve taken quite a shine – is that the right word? – to the HM4 Final Edition, only eight of which exist. The design and colours have been inspired by those used on World War II aircraft.
You may perhaps be wondering where the automotive theme comes in with the HM4. Well, you could either by this or a Rolls Royce Ghost for the $255,000 asking price.
– Shots courtesy of MB&F
