Max Busser and Friends Reveal Horological Machine No3

Horological Machine No3 reveals the machine's majestically finished movement in operation. Watch aficionados may admire perfectly crafted bridges, rapidly oscillating balance wheel, gearing and signature automatic winding rotor shaped as a battle axe. The highly complex machine comprises over 300 ideally finished, high-precision components.

The creators of HM3 have literally turned the movement upside down to reveal the elegant arcs of the gold winding rotor and the balance wheel oscillating at high speed.

Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, awarded as the Best Watchmaker at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve in 2007, received the drawings and designs of Max Busser and designer Eric Giroud and, together with his team at Agenhor, managed to successfully turn their ideas into reality and design a three-dimensional horological engine.

Horological Machine No3 has been created in two versions. The first version, with 57 case components, is named Sidewinder and has cones lined perpendicular to the arm, while the second version, with 53 case components, is christened Starcruiser and incorporates cones in line with the arm.

Both versions of Horological Machine No3 are available in 18k white gold and titanium or 18k red gold and titanium. The case construction has the following dimensions - 47mm x 50mm x 16mm

The three-dimensional twin cones, responsible for indicating the time, allow at-a-glance time-reading. The first cone has an hour indicator and a day/night indicator, while the second cone has a minute indicator.

The top caps of the truncated cones are brazed to guarantee maximum water-resistance. The red 'hands' of the hour and minute indicators were laser-cut to come up with the remarkably high precision along with minimum mass as required by the design.

The considerably-sized date wheel exceeds the movement in diameter to allow very legible and well-spaced numbers that are 2.5-mm high. The date is marked by a triangle engraved into the top of the case.

The 22K solid gold rotor on the dial of the timepiece is a true mystery. The rotor seems to defy the laws of physics - it is symmetrically balanced instead of having a visibly off-centered mass. The mystery is explained by the underside of one arm machined to a razor-thin edge to diminish its mass.

The inverted movement of HM3 required an original solution to bring power from the bottom of the mechanism to the cones and date wheel at the top. Instead of common jeweled pinions, HM3 has incorporated two large in diameter (15mm) ceramic ball bearings to minimize the number of gear-wheels, and thus minimize friction. The large-diameter bearings allowed for a thinner movement, having required support only at one end (the base), due to the rigidity obtained as a result of their supreme precision design and manufacture.

Horological Machine No3 features redesigned slots of the case screws that now boast one-of-a-kind clover-leaf shape. The rounded clover-leaf pattern in the head of the machine's screws not only gladdens the eye, but also reduces the risk of damage to the screw.

Horological Machine No3 is coupled with a black hand-stitched alligator leather strap fitted with 18k gold and titanium custom-designed deployment buckle.