Just last month, MB&F founder Maximilian Büsser was telling me how surprised he was at the number of people firmly entrenched in the fine watch industry who had never heard of Stepan Sarpaneva. This statement surprised me too, for Sarpaneva is one of the most artistic watchmakers to grace the mechanical landscape. His romantic sense of adventure combines beautifully with his skilled hands and detailed eye. Is it really possible that he is still so unknown?
It doesn't actually matter because as of this minute, the whole world will get the chance to get to meet him and his work thanks to Büsser. And – much to their as-yet unknown delight – they will also have the chance to get to know his signature smirking moon, which is a caricature of Sarpaneva's own face.
Performance art
Up to now, MB&F's “performance art” editions have been completed with the help and collaboration of artists outside the watch industry like American artist Sage Vaughn (HM2) and Chinese artist Huang Hankang (HM4). The HM 2 was also stylistically embellished in a minimalist way by French watch designer Alain Silberstein, while the HM3 was transformed into a colorful owl by French jeweler Boucheron to make the JWLRYMACHINE. This Frog variation is a first for MB&F in two respects: it was co-created with a bona fide watchmaker, and it is the first to have an additional function.
The smirking moon
If you are already acquainted with Sarpaneva's work, it will come as no surprise to you that the piece revolves around the light of the Finn's smirking moon. Since founding his own brand in 2003, Sarpaneva's work displays a few characteristics that are present in most of his creations: the smirking moon (a characterization of his own face), the korona (his rendition of plasma atmosphere of the sun), and the inspiration from fairy tales, legends, and the night sky. All three of these are present in the Moonmachine.
“The visible movement at the top of HM3 Frog added a technical aspect that provided a serious counterpoint to the playfulness of the bulging frog-eyed indications,” says Sarpaneva. “In covering the movement, the moon phase and sky hide this and make the timepiece more poetic.”
Technology
Sarpaneva chose the Horological Machine 3 Frog variation as the base for his work – and then pushed it into a new “phase” to create the Moonmachine. This means that three outstanding technical creators are involved in this unusual movement: Girard-Perregaux, who supplied the base movement; Jean-Marc Wiederrecht and his team at Agenhor, who turned the base into the original three-dimensional machine; and now Sarpaneva, who modified it yet again to accommodate his poetic moon phase display.
Sarpaneva chose this Machine because of the large opening on the top that usually makes the automatic movement visible; it provided space for him to frolic. The result is a night sky that “hides” the recognizable battle-axe-style rotor of the HM3's movement with a multi-layered “northern sky” rotor. This animated PVD-coated background to the moon is laser-pierced to represent the seven brightest stars each of the Big Dipper and Little Dipper constellations, including the North Star. The light reflecting from the movement located below make them visible through the openings.
The northern sky rotor makes the perfect backdrop for the moon phase, which is displayed by two moons across from each other on a rotating disk, which is typical of most moon phase indications. The difference here is that when the moon is completely within the Korona itrepresents full moon, while if a percentage of the smirking moon is found within the Korona that is the current moon phase.
It is available in three limited editions of 18 pieces each: natural titanium, black titanium and red gold with matching moons and sky backdrops. All are sure to light up a collector's night sky.
