HM3 Frog Zr
32.ZBL.B
| Brand : | MB&F |
| Collection : | Horological Machine N°3 |
| Model : | HM3 Frog Zr |
| Reference : | 32.ZBL.B |
| Nber of pieces : | 18 |
| Complement : | Zirconium |
| On sale : | 2011 |
PDF INDEX CARD
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Brand : MB&F Collection : Horological Machine N°3 Model : HM3 Frog Zr Reference : 32.ZBL.B Nber of pieces : 18 Complement : Zirconium On sale : 2011 List Price : 79 000 € Height : 47 mm Width : 50 mm Thickness : 16 mm Styles : High Horology Atypical Types : Self-winding Case material : Zirconium Case peculiarity : Screwed-down crown Open caseback Shape : Other Dial color : Black Display : Hour on one dome (aluminium dome rotating in 12 hours) Minutes on second dome (aluminium dome rotating in 60 minutes) Date around the movement Indexes : Arabic numerals Glass : Sapphire Antireflective coating Strap material : Alligator leather Strap color : Black Strap clasp : Folding buckle + More characteristics : Movement
Three-dimensional horological engine designed by Jean-Marc Wiederrecht/Agenhor;
Powered by a Girard-Perregaux base
Balance oscillating at 28.800 bph
Purple 22K rose gold battle-axe shaped ‘mystery’ automatic winding rotor
Hour and minutes information transmitted via ceramic ball bearings to rotating domes
Number of jewels: 36 (all functional)
Number of components: 304
Case
Number of case components: 53
Dials:
Rotating aluminium domes – 0.58g. stationary hands
Domes and both display backs with anti-reflective treatment on both faces
Black hand-stitched alligator strap with 18K white gold & titanium custom designeddeployment buckle
DESCRIPTION
- HM3 Frog Zr
Until recently, the world's rarest frog was thought to be Isthmohyla rivularis, which was rediscovered in 2008 in the rainforests of Costa Rica. Now, however, that tiny tree frog's place in the record books has been taken by a new amphibian, one with a black satin skin tough enough to take anything the jungle can dish out: MB&F's Frog Zr, a numbered limited edition of just 18 pieces.
Zr is the chemical symbol for zirconium, a transition metal resembling titanium. Titanium on steroids! To give an idea of just how tough zirconium is, the blades and vanes in modern jet engines and gas turbines can only support the incredibly high temperatures and stresses they generate thanks to a protective ceramic layer of zirconium and yttrium oxide. Ninety per cent of all zirconium produced is used in nuclear reactors, and zirconium alloys are used in space vehicles for their resistance to the extreme heat of atmospheric re-entry.
The Frog Zr is one amphibian that can stare adversity in the eye . . . and not blink first!
MB&F introduced the HM3 Frog to bring some playfulness into high-end watchmaking. It certainly did just that and the Frog Zr is no exception. Underneath its apparently tough guy zirconium exterior, the flamboyant purple 22K gold rotor animatedly spinning on the dial, reflecting intriguing hints of green and yellow, sends a crystal clear message that the Frog Zr also has a healthy sense of fun.
The bulbous domes housing the hours and minutes of the Frog Zr are not just there to make an in-your-eye statement - although they certainly do that - they enable the wearer to easily read the time from a wide variety of angles without having to turn the wrist. And, as with its brothers, the Frog Zr differs substantially from HM3 in that it is the aluminium domes that rotate under the sapphire crystals in the Frog Zr, whereas the hour and minute hands rotate around stationary cones on HM3.
Those hour and minute domes are machined from solid aluminium, chosen for its optimal strength-to-weight ratio, to a thinness of just 0.28mm and they tip the scales at just 0.5g, thus reducing rotational energy requirements to an absolute minimum. The fabrication of the semispherical sapphire crystal domes was just as demanding, because the slightest imperfectionin the sapphire would introduce a disconcerting magnification effect - and the Frog Zr doesn'tneed any help in the disconcerting department!
The Frog Zr may portray the time in a playful manner, but there is nothing playful about themeticulous attention to detail regarding the fine hand-finishing of the 304 component highlytuned36-jewel engine purring within its space-grade zirconium case. It is a case replete withcarefully thought-out detailing including clover-head screws, an engraved arrow indicating theeasy to read over-sized date and a display back revealing the dual ceramic bearings thatdrive the domes.
While we did say that the Frog Zr was extremely rare, we should have specified that was on earth, because zirconium is relatively abundant in S-type stars and it has been detected in the sun and in meteorites. But if you jump to it, you won't have to go that far.
The Frog Zr is a limited edition of 18 pieces in zirconium with a purple 22K gold rotor.
- HM3 Frog Zr
Until recently, the world's rarest frog was thought to be Isthmohyla rivularis, which was rediscovered in 2008 in the rainforests of Costa Rica. Now, however, that tiny tree frog's place in the record books has been taken by a new amphibian, one with a black satin skin tough enough to take anything the jungle can dish out: MB&F's Frog Zr, a numbered limited edition of just 18 pieces.
Zr is the chemical symbol for zirconium, a transition metal resembling titanium. Titanium on steroids! To give an idea of just how tough zirconium is, the blades and vanes in modern jet engines and gas turbines can only support the incredibly high temperatures and stresses they generate thanks to a protective ceramic layer of zirconium and yttrium oxide. Ninety per cent of all zirconium produced is used in nuclear reactors, and zirconium alloys are used in space vehicles for their resistance to the extreme heat of atmospheric re-entry.
The Frog Zr is one amphibian that can stare adversity in the eye . . . and not blink first!
MB&F introduced the HM3 Frog to bring some playfulness into high-end watchmaking. It certainly did just that and the Frog Zr is no exception. Underneath its apparently tough guy zirconium exterior, the flamboyant purple 22K gold rotor animatedly spinning on the dial, reflecting intriguing hints of green and yellow, sends a crystal clear message that the Frog Zr also has a healthy sense of fun.
The bulbous domes housing the hours and minutes of the Frog Zr are not just there to make an in-your-eye statement - although they certainly do that - they enable the wearer to easily read the time from a wide variety of angles without having to turn the wrist. And, as with its brothers, the Frog Zr differs substantially from HM3 in that it is the aluminium domes that rotate under the sapphire crystals in the Frog Zr, whereas the hour and minute hands rotate around stationary cones on HM3.
Those hour and minute domes are machined from solid aluminium, chosen for its optimal strength-to-weight ratio, to a thinness of just 0.28mm and they tip the scales at just 0.5g, thus reducing rotational energy requirements to an absolute minimum. The fabrication of the semispherical sapphire crystal domes was just as demanding, because the slightest imperfectionin the sapphire would introduce a disconcerting magnification effect - and the Frog Zr doesn'tneed any help in the disconcerting department!
The Frog Zr may portray the time in a playful manner, but there is nothing playful about themeticulous attention to detail regarding the fine hand-finishing of the 304 component highlytuned36-jewel engine purring within its space-grade zirconium case. It is a case replete withcarefully thought-out detailing including clover-head screws, an engraved arrow indicating theeasy to read over-sized date and a display back revealing the dual ceramic bearings thatdrive the domes.
While we did say that the Frog Zr was extremely rare, we should have specified that was on earth, because zirconium is relatively abundant in S-type stars and it has been detected in the sun and in meteorites. But if you jump to it, you won't have to go that far.
The Frog Zr is a limited edition of 18 pieces in zirconium with a purple 22K gold rotor.
-
Brand : MB&F Collection : Horological Machine N°3 Model : HM3 Frog Zr Reference : 32.ZBL.B Nber of pieces : 18 Complement : Zirconium On sale : 2011 List Price : 79 000 € Height : 47 mm Width : 50 mm Thickness : 16 mm Styles : High Horology Atypical Types : Self-winding Case material : Zirconium Case peculiarity : Screwed-down crown Open caseback Shape : Other Dial color : Black Display : Hour on one dome (aluminium dome rotating in 12 hours) Minutes on second dome (aluminium dome rotating in 60 minutes) Date around the movement Indexes : Arabic numerals Glass : Sapphire Antireflective coating Strap material : Alligator leather Strap color : Black Strap clasp : Folding buckle More characteristics : Movement
Three-dimensional horological engine designed by Jean-Marc Wiederrecht/Agenhor;
Powered by a Girard-Perregaux base
Balance oscillating at 28.800 bph
Purple 22K rose gold battle-axe shaped ‘mystery’ automatic winding rotor
Hour and minutes information transmitted via ceramic ball bearings to rotating domes
Number of jewels: 36 (all functional)
Number of components: 304
Case
Number of case components: 53
Dials:
Rotating aluminium domes – 0.58g. stationary hands
Domes and both display backs with anti-reflective treatment on both faces
Black hand-stitched alligator strap with 18K white gold & titanium custom designeddeployment buckle