MB&F Horological Machine No. 1 Daily Wear

Bernard Cheong offers a rare, candid look at his MB&F Horological Machine No. 1 after eight months of daily wear. His essay challenges the conventional perception of luxury watches as pristine objects, instead celebrating the beauty of a timepiece that ages and gains character through consistent use. Cheong's perspective invites collectors to reconsider their relationship with their watches, embracing the marks of a life well-lived.

The MBF is much more than a "new cutting edge" design or a "steam punk" take on art.

When I first saw it, I did not realise how much Max envisioned his "machine" as a "machine"..in other words, it aged and continues to age like a true tool, a machine...yet very much like "steampunk" art, especially the French version of "steampunk". I changed the strap to a canvass material, for 2 reasons.

1 To move the design closer to the machine steam punk feel, it needed more width, more warmth.

2 I was about to make this watch a daily wearer, and I needed the balance, the comfort on my wrist.

For what it was worth, the strap, a B&R canvass, made the watch very comfortable...and by a stroke of luck, it aged the watch well.

Looking at the natural tungsten lit pictures here, you can see that the watch has been worn, gathered much dust, scratches, and a few dimples....but more important, I has always had a very soft spot for watches that look better after being worn and seasoned..like a good pair of jeans or sneakers.

The busy, detailed design of the MBF1 was ideally suited to wearing and aging well..like a fine wine.

Look at how much the case has been worn, the uneven dirty patches on the case actuall made the watch so much more "personal".

In contrast, the Opus 5 has to be spotlessly clean and shiny...it may not look as good with smudges and scratches.

Having the MBF1 look better as it ages, was a great feeling...and I am determined to wear it more often.

Here below, is a series of pictures that show the tourbillon that is derived from several modified versions of the more simple Progress type design, but unlike the very raw and simple Progress, you can see the incredibly complex power delivery from the 4 barrels spread out in a spread eagle formation. Note the small little wheel you can see between the 40 and the 50 in the last picture...incredibly absorbing to watch.

The machine is a labyrinth of movements, each with its own independant atractiveness. Much more than the obvious of having 2 movement like architecture..the single broad machine movement is like a 12 cylinder straignt inlne piston engine, with a "cam cover" designed over and between the names Laurent Besse and Peter Speake Marin.

The deep etches of the Geneva stripes are executed in a unique fashion parallel to the pinion of the watch which extends deep into the watch. When the owner has time on his hands, this watch holds up to the premise that it has to behave like a piece of art, it has to entertain without too much cerebral involvement...and it has to provide a certain depth of mystery, to reveal details to the owner who would explore the watch with both the naked eye..or a loupe over the years of ownership.

I have been finding new things about the wtahc for the last 8 months. Small details like the holes in the bridges, the arches, the barrels, the tiny connections between the tourbillon and its supporting structures...the depth and extremely complex tourbillon architecture...

I can imagine looking at this watch in 1910 and in 2010..and it may look totally "in synch" and able to communicate with the atmosphere around it..the clothes, the culture, the technology...

Truly..a watch that challenges, communicates and comes close to being "alive" as in becoming a companion...and similar to the much more affordable bronze Gefica made in 2007 by Gerald Genta, the MBF1 will also age and weather well.