Disclosure: Purple isn’t one of my favorite colors. I like some purple flowers, but that’s about it. However, thanks to growing up with a sister who simply adored purple, and even her bedroom walls were purple, I am well aware that, while not everyone is a big fan of the color, there are those who really do love purple.

One big fan of both MB&F and purple is GaryG, as he explained in Why I Bought It: MB&F Legacy Machine 101 2021 Edition.

So, off the bat, I don’t like the HM8 Mark 2 Purple because of its color, but I do like it because it captures the essence of the era and the original CAN-AM series car racing in the 1960s and ‘70s. With its music and colors, HM8 Mark 2 Purple video (below) is evocative of those years, and Purple was a big part of deco and fashion then.

And there’s the fact that it’s an incredibly sophisticated driver’s watch.

From the press release:

MB&F’s connection to cars runs deep, starting in 2012 with the HM5, followed by the HMX in 2015, and the HM8 in 2016. Each of these iterations is linked by its instantly recognizable speedometer-style display on the side of the case that recalls the daring and futuristic design of the 1970s.

A decade after the first automotive-inspired MB&F Machines, MB&F revealed the supercar-inspired HM8 Mark 2 in 2023.

After a successful introduction of two editions in 2023 – with white or green body panels, the latter limited to 33 pieces – the HM8 Mark 2 came back in 2024 with a limited edition featuring a glossy sapphire blue bodywork.

In 2025, MB&F presents a new limited variation of 33 pieces, showcasing a stunning purple case paying homage to luxurious car paints, both technically and aesthetically thanks to metallic pigments and a translucid material on its body panels.

The Initial Dream

To fully understand MB&F’s link to the car world, we need to step back in time to 1985 for a moment. As children, we all have dreams, some of them come true, others get abandoned along the way, and some are so part of who we are that they end up happening despite us.

This was the case with MB&F’s Founder Maximilian Büsser, who spent most of his childhood dreaming about becoming a car designer. He was so smitten with the idea that from the age of 4 to 18, cars were the only thing he would sketch and draw. When his classmates started discovering other areas of interest, his heart remained steadfastly loyal to the automobile with its aerodynamic lines and sleek forms.

Just before graduating from high school, he learned that the world-famous ArtCenter College of Design from Pasadena, was opening a campus in Europe, and not just in Europe, but in La Tour-de-Peilz, a stone’s throw from his childhood home. Could this be a sign? He could hardly contain his excitement until he discovered that the school fees were CHF 50,000, a huge amount of money today, and an even more colossal sum back in 1985.

Knowing how much he loved cars, his parents said they would find a way – but Maximilian knew that it would be too much for them. So as everyone keeps telling him he would make a very good engineer as he was so good at maths, he signed up for the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), and that could have been the end of the story, only it wasn’t.

“I lost my way, I lost my marbles, and ended up in the watchmaking industry,” he shares with a smile. “So, when I decided to tackle car design in a timepiece, this was humungous for me. It was everything I had ever dreamed of.”

Playing with Prisms

He found inspiration in a crazy design by Amida, called the Amida Digitrend, a watch that was unveiled in 1976, just before the company went bankrupt [ It was relaunch in 2025 – ED] . Working on a similar idea, MB&F employed a sapphire prism that would allow the jumping hours and sweeping minutes to be indicated vertically, when they were actually flat as a pancake on top of the movement.

The time was indicated in a window that resembled an old-style speedometer on the front of the case that could also be easily viewed while driving, no less. Unlike the Amida, with its discs next to each other, the MB&F HM design features discs that are one on top of the other, maximizing the size of the digits and therefore the legibility.

The idea didn’t end there, as the mission was to make the numerals look almost digital or electronic. This was achieved using sapphire disks that were coated with a black metallization, leaving the numerals clear. Super-LumiNova® was then added underneath the sapphire disc, so that the luminescence would be completely flat, not bulbous as it appears when it is applied to the dial.

It is interesting to note that the numerals had to be created back-to-front as they get reversed in the prism.

This system came to life in the HM5 with opening and closing slats that allowed the light into the movement to charge the luminescence. These slats were inspired by Marcello Gandini’s design for the Bertone Lamborghini Miura with its louvers on the rear window that gave the car its futuristic aesthetic.

These slats were dropped in the following model – the HMX – in favor of a sapphire crystal cover that gave a partial view on the engine beneath. This piece was inspired by another Italian coach builder – Touring Superleggera – and was equipped with miniature oil caps that could be unscrewed and filled with watchmaking oils.

Next came the HM8 ‘Can-Am’ with a sapphire crystal that also allowed a view on the spinning rotor. It was this movement, based on a Girard-Perregaux caliber, that is also providing the base for the brand-new HM8 Mark 2.

The HM8 took its design cues from Can-Am race cars (hence the nickname) from the famous Canadian American Racing Championship. The cars’ unusual design and distinctive roll bars became the inspiration for the watch’s two titanium roll bars.

The HM8 Mark 2, on the other hand, with its distinctive “double bubble” sapphire crystal, finds inspiration in the design of some of the most iconic supercars.

Chassis Construction

Not only did the design codes of these timepieces find their inspiration in the automobile world, but the construction did too. That engineering degree was not wasted on Maximilian after all! The HM5 and HM8 Mark 2 are built from an independent water-resistant chassis to which the body panels of the watch are added, while the HMX and HM8 favored a monobloc construction.

For the HM8 Mark 2, this coachwork first came in a choice of white or British racing green CarbonMacrolon® that has a matt finish on the top and a high polish on the sides. The white version was paired with a green CVD rotor and light green minute markers, while the British racing green version came with a red gold rotor and balance wheel and turquoise minute markers and was limited to 33 pieces.

After these first launch editions in 2023, MB&F decided to pursue its homage to the automotive world with a blue model, quickly followed in 2025 by a purple iteration, both limited to 33 pieces only.

The HM8 Mark 2’s deep yet sparkly blue and purple are obtained from metallic pigments of mineral origin, the same as those found in metallic car paint. They come as a powder which is incorporated into resin according to a very specific protocol (incorporation time, mixing temperature, mixing speed and duration, etc.).

Thanks to its beautiful and unique body panels, the timepiece comes back with a bang, in colors that should please both watch aficionados and car enthusiasts alike. The piece is completed by a sporty and comfortable rubber strap.

CarbonMacrolon®

Developed specifically for MB&F, CarbonMacrolon® is a composite material composed of a polymer matrix injected with carbon nanotubes, which add strength and rigidity. Carbon nanotubes offer superior tensile strength and stiffness than traditional carbon fiber reinforcing. MB&F’s CarbonMacrolon® is a solid material that is hard and can be colored, polished, bead-blasted, lacquered, and satin-finished.

In addition to all these attributes, it weighs eight times less than steel, making it extremely versatile and interesting from both a technical and design point of view.

Under the Hood

Like any super- or hyper-car, a lot of the technology inside the HM8 Mark 2 is not visually obvious, starting with the titanium chassis, which is extremely complicated to mill. Even in stainless steel, it would have been extremely complex to make, but the hardness of this alloy really put MB&F’s technicians to the test.

The same is true of the CarbonMacrolon® body panels, which due to the small production quantities, could only be milled from a block, adding another layer of complexity to the watch’s coachwork.

A long line of MB&F timepieces has pushed the limits of what is physically possible in terms of sapphire crystal production, and the HM8 Mark 2 is no exception. The creation of this double-curved sapphire has reached a complexity that is 30 to 40 times more expensive than a dome sapphire.

Only one supplier agreed to take on the challenge. During the many hours required to produce each sapphire crystal, the risk of breakage is incredibly high – and if it is going to break, it is always at the very last moment, much to the utter desperation of all concerned. Once safely completed and fitted into the timepiece, however, it is just as robust as the sapphire crystal on any sports watch.

And last, but not least, the battle axe rotor that powers the movement is incredibly complex to make as one of the 22-carat gold blades is only two-tenths of a millimeter thick. It cannot possibly be machined so it had to be stamped, with the engraving already incorporated into the stamp.

World-Premiere Crown

Not under the hood, but equally hidden, is a brand-new type of crown that has a sort of “double de-clutch” system, to coin an automobile term. It works by pushing the crown in and turning it three-quarters of a turn to release it. This has the advantage of gaining space and providing additional security to the system, which is a genuine advantage for a sports watch.

The HM8 Mark 2 takes everything that MB&F fans have loved in this automotive series over the last 10+ years and has made it more technical, more legible, sexier and easier to wear. But more than that, it is a reminder that, wherever you are in life, it is never too late to follow your dreams.

For more information, please visit www.mbandf.com/machines/mbf-machines/horological-machines/hm8-mark-2

Quick facts: MB&F HM8 Mark 2
HM8 Mark 2 is available in a grade 5 titanium case with white CarbonMacrolon® body panels; or in limited editions of 33 pieces each with green, blue or purple CarbonMacrolon® body panels.
Functions/indications
Bi-directional jumping hours and trailing minutes, displayed by dual reflective sapphire crystal prisms with integrated magnifying lens.
Engine
Three-dimensional horological engine, composed of a jumping hour and trailing minutes module developed in-house by MB&F, powered by a Girard-Perregaux base movement.
Mechanical movement, automatic winding
22K gold automatic winding rotor
Power reserve: 42 hours
Balance frequency: 28,800bph/4Hz.
Number of components: 247 components
Number of jewels: 30 jewels
Case
Grade 5 titanium with green, white, blue, or purple CarbonMacrolon®
Dimensions: 47 x 41.5 x 19 mm
Number of components: 42
Water resistance: 30m / 90’ / 3atm
Sapphire crystals
Sapphire crystals on top, front and display back treated with anti-reflective coating on both faces.
Dual reflective sapphire crystal prisms with integrated magnifying lens.
Strap & Buckle
Rubber strap – white for the British green, sapphire blue and purple models and green for the white model with a titanium tang buckle.
Limitations: in white CarbonMacrolon® body panels is a production model, also available in three limited editions of 33 pieces each with green, blue or purple CarbonMacrolon® body panels
Price: CHF 68,000- (excluding taxes)

You might also enjoy:

MB&F HM8 Mark 2: Horological Hypercars!

MB&F Special Project One: Seemingly-Simple, 38 mm, Time-Only, and Simply-Sensational

Why I Bought It: MB&F Legacy Machine 101 2021 Edition

MB&F Celebrates its 20th Anniversary starting with LM Perpetual Longhorn and LM Sequential Flyback Longhorn

M.A.D.EDITIONS M.A.D.2 by Eric Giroud with Bi-Directional Jumping Hours- Is Max Büsser creating an Affordable Opus series?