Engine-uity

As a boy, Busser was fascinated by planes – they even hung from his childhood room ceiling. A favorite fighter of his was the A-10 Thunderbolt. With its heavy armour and ordnance, the A-10 still sees heavy duty, and is universally recognized by its large top- mounted dual jet engine turbine pods. These pods now make duty on the new HM4 watch – being the first thing you notice when looking at the wrist contraption. Oddly enough, this Horological Machine No. 4 feels the most like an instrument when compared with the first three MB&F watches. There is a sweet synergy between function and design. The pods are mounted to face the wearer, allowing for inspection without having to angle the watch towards oneself – perfect to see easily while driving or manning an aircraft.
Functionally, the Thunderbolt is simple and straightforward. One pod has a dial which indicates the time, while another is a power reserve indicator for the manually wound movement. The power reserve indicator has a hand shaped with the iconic MB&F battleaxe motif in mind. It is easy to confuse the theme of the HM4 watch if all you have is the design to go off. However, nowhere is its aviation DNA more apparent than on the watch face itself. MB&F’s rendition of the classic pilot watch style dial is a refreshing allusion to the multitude of pilot watches out there – a brief connection by MB&F to the rest of the watch world, though rendered in MB&F’s signature style.