The original HM11 Architect
“A house is a machine to live in,” wrote Le Corbusier – a maxim MB&F made literal with HM11. The Machine transformed the idea of a “watch case” into a miniature home: four symmetrical rooms radiating from a central atrium crowned by a flying tourbillon beneath a double-domed sapphire roof. Every room had a function – time display, power reserve, mechanical thermometer, and time-setting module – and the entire case could rotate, aligning any room toward the wearer. Each 45° turn of the case delivered 72 minutes of winding, ten complete turns producing the full autonomy of four days (96 hours): a tactile ritual that connected the owner to the mechanism.
The 42mm grade 5 titanium case was built like micro-architecture, with curved walls, stacked sapphire domes, and a crown nearly ten millimetres wide, engineered with a complex multi-gasket “airlock” system to remain functional despite its size. Inside, an in-house manual movement drove a central flying tourbillon built around bevel gears, the engine suspended by four laser-cut steel springs derived from aerospace technology. The inaugural editions established a new aesthetic species: half timepiece, half inhabitable structure.
The new HM11 Art Deco
The new HM11 Art Deco builds on the same foundations while adopting a distinct visual language. Guided by Maximilian Maertens’ fascination with early-20th-century architecture – from Parisian cinemas to Manhattan skyscrapers – the design trades the organic fluidity of the Architect for the geometry and rhythm of the Art Deco movement.
On the dial side, radiating “sunbeam” motifs – partially skeletonised for legibility – replace the original conical rods, while two-tone rings and period-inspired typography define the displays. The hands feature a red stained-glass effect thanks to translucent enamel. The bridges rise in more vertical, architectural forms reminiscent of ornamental stonework, and the roof’s grooved profiles echo the stepped silhouettes of skyscrapers like the Chrysler Building. The re-drawn tourbillon bridge now aligns with the base plate, creating a visual axis that ties the structure together; even the crown gains subtle steps recalling layered poster art. Put together, the modifications reinforce a sense of upward momentum: an Art Deco skyline.
Viewed side by side, the two chapters of HM11 reveal a study in contrasts. The original Architect evokes the soft concrete curves of the 1970s: human, tactile, experimental. The new Art Deco stands upright, structured, graphic: a city in miniature. Yet both share the same spirit: a Horological Machine to be lived, not merely worn.
The HM11 Art Deco is crafted in two editions of 10 pieces each, totalling 20 pieces for MB&F’s 20th Anniversary, both in grade 5 titanium:
- Blue dial plate with 3N yellow-gold-toned bridges, paired with a white lizard strap;
- Green dial plate with 5N rose-gold-toned bridges, on a beige lizard strap.
