Aliens Invade $500,000 MB&F HM6 Alien Nation Watches

Those familiar with MB&F know how space-inspired the brand is. As such, it will come as no surprise that the newest creation, HM6 Alien Nation, is pretty out of this world. A series of four unique pieces were made – each with a case entirely crafted of sapphire, and each with cosmic glowing effects, and each retailing for $500,000. Stop drooling. They’re all sold. Want to get even more jealous? They all sold to one collector.

What made these particular HM6 watches ever so appealing? The 12 different case components made in sapphire that required 510 hours of precise machining and polishing and that come together seamlessly could be the key . . . Or, it could the lume of the watches. To create these newest pieces, MB&F mixed Super-LumiNova and AGT Ultra (the same material the brand worked with when it unveiled the Black Badger watches) and highlighted different parts of the movement and case in different colored hues: turquoise, green, blue and purple. This could have been the hot button.

However, I sense it was the fact behind the HM6 Alien Nation name: the aliens. Yes, MB&F outfits each watch with a crew of six miniature-handcrafted aliens. One pilot sits outside the crystal case that serves as the alien ship, and his crew of five others man the engine. Each tiny alien is hand-sculpted in 18-karat white gold by artisan Olivier Kuhn of Atelier-Creation Kuhn. Each takes approximately 34 hours to complete – or a full month to finish the crew of six.

The five aliens that accompany the pilot on his space mission are visible in the movement of the radical HM6 Alien Nation. The result of three years of development the highly complex 496-part movement topped by a 60-second flying tourbillon with retractable shield is the same as is used in the previous HM6 watches. The only difference is that the aliens have invaded the movement of these four watches.

HM6 ALIEN NATION – TECHNICAL DETAILS

4 unique pieces (blue, green, turquoise and purple)

Engine:

Three-dimensional horological engine developed exclusively for HM6 by MB&F with David Candaux

Flying tourbillon with retractable semi-spherical titanium shield

Platinum 950 battle-axe automatic winding rotor matching the version: green for the green version, blue for the blue and turquoise and purple for the purple.

Twin aluminium turbines with Super-LumiNova driven by winding rotor

Power reserve: 72 hours

Balance frequency: 2.5 Hz / 18,000 bph

Number of components: 496

Number of jewels: 68

Functions/indications:

Hours and minutes on separate semi-spherical aluminium indications

Left crown opens/closes tourbillon shield; right crown for time setting and winding

Dual turbines regulate the automatic winding rotor

Specificity of HM6 Alien Nation:

Aliens: manufactured in white gold. There are 5 different aliens inside the movement and 1 on the case.

AGT Ultra (Ambient Glow Technology): Internal circumference highlighted by the 4 slats in solid AGT Ultra.

Super-LumiNova: applied on the turbines, dials, friction wheel, the MB&F logo on the top of the movement and the tourbillon’s bridge battle-axe. Green Super-LumiNova on the green version and blue on the purple, blue and turquoise versions.

Gaskets: Gaskets matching the AGT Ultra colour. Blue gasket for the AGT blue, green with the AGT green, purple with the AGT purple, and light blue for the turquoise AGT.

Case:

Complete sapphire crystal case with some reinforcing elements in grade 5 titanium.

Dimensions: 51mm x 50mm x 22.7mm

Number of components: 95

Water resistance: 30m / 3atm

Strap & Buckle:

Grey hand-stitched alligator strap with stiches matching the gasket’s colours. Custom designed folding buckle in titanium.