The MB&F x L’Epée 1839 Albatross brings Jules Verne to life
Buffy Acacia- MB&F has teamed up with L’Epée 1839 yet again, this time for a fictional aircraft from the mind of Jules Verne.
- The Albatross isn’t just a desk clock, but also a repeater and an automaton with spinning propellers.
- It has 1,520 components across two movements, and its 8-day power reserve is wound by turning the horizontal propellers.
Is there any creative space in which Jules Verne hasn’t been an inspiration? Whether it’s the bottom of the ocean or the far reaches of space, his work has had an incredible hold on the adventurous imagination. For the most recent collaboration between MB&F and L’Epée, one of the most creative watch and clockmaking duos in the last decade, it is Verne’s Robber the Conqueror from 1886 that forms the basis. The Albatross is described as a ship with many vertical “airscrews” and two horizontal ones, and that’s exactly how MB&F and L’Epée have made it in reality.
Desk clocks are just like wristwatches, in that you can cheap out for a no-name digital one, or go the complete opposite direction. By the time you’re looking at anything from either MB&F or L’Epée individually, you’re looking at a mechanical work of art rather than a clock. Together, that’s even more true. The Albatross uses a deceptively simple display of two rotating wheels, one pointing to the hours, and the other to the minutes in five-minute increments. Just looking at it, you’d have no idea it was constructed from 1,520 parts, or that it contained two high-end complications.
In addition to the time, the MB&F x L’Epée Albatross is also a repeater and an automaton. The clock will chime out the hours as they pass, as well as the half-hours with a single chime. On the hour, all of the Albatross’ propellers will start to spin for approximately seven seconds. The slow rotation not only cuts down on unnecessary airflow which could send the paper on your desk flying, but also implies a more gigantic size for this miniature model, as if it was actually large enough to keep itself aloft. Both of these functions can be turned off if you want a break from them, as well as being manually activated on-demand.
Incorporating interesting ways of interacting with a desk clock is one of the most fun elements of mechanical clocks, and the Albatross does that through its winding. There are actually two separate movements that help power the clock, one controlling both the time and the chiming, with the other controlling the automaton. To wind up the eight-day power reserve for the time, you spin the left propeller counter-clockwise, or clockwise to wind up the repeater. The power reserve for the automaton is wound with the right-hand propeller, and that lasts about a day. As highly complex structures, these are definitely highly limited releases. In total, only 40 will be produced, limited to eight pieces in each of the available highlight colours of royal blue, black, champagne, teal green, or red.
MB&F x L’Epée 1839 Albatross price and availability
The MB&F x L’Epée 1839 Albatross is limited to a total of 40 pieces, or eight in each of the five available colours. Price: on request
| Brand | MB&F x L’Epée 1839 |
| Model | Albatross |
| Case Dimensions | 60cm (L) x 60cm (H) x 35cm (W) |
| Case Material | Brass, stainless steel, and aluminium |
| Water Resistance | N/A |
| Crystal(s) | N/A |
| Dial | Black hour and minute wheels |
| Strap | N/A |
| Movement | Two movements by MB&F and L’Epée 1839, manual wind |
| Power Reserve | 8 days for the time and repeater 1 day for the automata |
| Functions | Hours, five-minute increments, repeater, propeller automaton |
| Availability | Limited to 8 pieces per colour |
| Price | On request |