MB&F has never created watches so much as mechanical worlds, and the Horological Machine No. 11 is one of its most ambitious universes. First unveiled in 2023, HM11 blurred the line between timekeeping and architecture — a sculptural micro-habitat built around light, symmetry, and interaction.
For 2025, the Machine enters a bold new era. Designer Maximilian Maertens revisits the original concept through the lens of 1930s Art Deco, unveiling the HM11 Art Deco: a new chapter that transforms a futuristic dwelling into a miniature metropolis.
The Original HM11: A Machine You Could Almost Live In
When MB&F launched the HM11 Architect, it wasn’t just a watch — it was a philosophy made tangible. Inspired by the radical architectural movements of the 1960s and ’70s, it turned Le Corbusier’s maxim, “a house is a machine to live in,” into a functioning wrist sculpture.
The 42mm grade 5 titanium body was shaped like a four-room home radiating from a central atrium. Each “room” housed a distinct complication:
● Time display
● Power reserve indicator
● Mechanical thermometer
● Time-setting module
Rotating the case was not only playful — each 45° turn wound the movement by 72 minutes, with ten full rotations providing enough energy for 96 hours of autonomy.
The watch became something you interacted with, not just wore.
Under its double-domed sapphire crown sat a central flying tourbillon, suspended by four laser-cut steel springs derived from aerospace engineering. With stacked domes, curved walls, and a wide multi-gasket crown “airlock,” the Architect blurred boundaries between mechanical art, engineering, and micro-architecture.
HM11 Art Deco: A New City Rises
Two years on, the HM11 enters a different era of design. Maertens’ new Art Deco edition trades the flowing futurism of the Architect for sharper geometry, symmetry, and rhythm — paying homage to the cinemas of 1930s Paris and the soaring towers of Manhattan.
Key visual transformations include:
● Radiating sunbeam motifs replacing the original conical rods
● Two-tone rings and period-inspired typography
● Hands with a translucent red stained-glass effect, created through enamel
● More vertical, structured bridges reminiscent of carved stonework
● Grooved, stepped roof lines echoing skyscrapers like the Chrysler Building
● A newly aligned tourbillon bridge and baseplate, forming a clean architectural axis
● A stepped crown referencing layered Art Deco poster graphics
Where the Architect felt soft and organic, the Art Deco edition rises like a miniature skyline—disciplined, sculptural, and meticulously aligned.
The MB&F HM11 Art Deco is priced at SGD 346,000 with tax.
