If you haven’t heard of Maximilian Busser and Friends, or MB&F, it may be because they aren’t exactly your Omega or even Rolex. The small Swiss atelier specializes in creating highly complex timepieces that, more than just telling the date and time – your iPhone does that equally well – are actually works of art. MB&F’s creations are so intricate and spellbinding that it almost feels like a crime even thinking of putting one of them on the wrist. Rather, hang them in the Louvre.
And they don’t just make wristwatches either. They also make stuff like this, the MB&F Arachnophobia. If you are afraid of spiders or creepy-crawlies in general, this is where you should probably turn away.
The MB&F Arachnophobia is inspired by the famous ‘Maman‘ (French for “mother”) sculpture by Louise Bourgeois and has been created in collaboration with L’Epée 1839, with whom MB&F has partnered on other projects. It is a pretty big thing: measuring over 40 centimeters when the spider’s legs are fully extended, which looks best when the piece is hung on the wall by way of an innovative catch on the underside, allowing the piece to be attached to a wall-mounted bracket. Just imagine entering a dark room with the creepy ticking sound of the movement echoing inside, and the outlines of a massive creepy-crawler shaping up on the wall.
Powering the 218-component timepiece is a L’Epée in-house designed and manufactured movement, beating at 18,000 bph / 2.5Hz with 218 components and 11 jewels, delivering 8 days of power reserve.
To wind and set the movement, MB&F say that “the owner must interact with the clock in an intimate manner to wind and set the time of this precision instrument, thereby building a close relationship with it” – for both winding and setting may be performed using a key on the underside of the spider. To finish the design, injection-molded metal was coated in an 18k yellow gold or a glossy black with MB&F’s signature numerals.
Maximilian Busser, the idiosyncratic founder of MB&F, does not come from a typical horological background and so he, along with only a handful of others in today’s luxury watch industry, exists to shock, evoke, and inspire people, not to toe the line. It is clear he has no interest in creating watches for the common man to wear, but by creating horological sculptures, timekeeping curios, and wacky wristwatches, he is giving the experienced aficionados of the world a way out – clearly something not all, but many consciously or subconsciously have been looking for.
The MB&F Arachnophobia is available in black or 18k yellow gold-plated editions, and Swiss retail prices are CHF 15,300 (approx. $15,806) for the black version, CHF 17,500 (approx. $18,079USD) for the gold-plated version.