Maximilian Büsser never did become a car designer. But sometimes, the dreams we think we’ve left behind find a new — and even more spectacular — way to come true. Over the past decade, Büsser has steadily revisited his childhood obsession with automobiles through MB&F’s car-inspired Machines. The latest chapter is the HM8 Mark 2 in purple CarbonMacrolon® — a continuation of a passion that’s been shifting gears since the HM5 in 2012. “I lost my way, I lost my marbles, and ended up in the watch industry,” Büsser shared in a statement. But with each new release, he circles closer to that original dream. “This was everything I had ever dreamed of.”

On this year of MB&F’s 20th anniversary, the new HM8 Mark 2 continues a journey that began with the HM5, and was later followed by the HMX (2015) and HM8 ‘Can-Am’ (2016). All of them share a distinctive automotive DNA: lateral speedometer-style time displays, radical case architecture, and design cues pulled straight from the golden age of 1970s supercars.

Beneath the HM8 Mark 2’s swooping “double bubble” sapphire crystal lies a jumping hours and sweeping minutes display that reads like a vintage speedometer. The design inspiration was taken from a short-lived but legendary watch called the Amida Digitrend, introduced in 1976. MB&F re-engineered its concept using a sapphire prism to vertically project the time, using overlapping discs and an ingenious backlit system of Super-LumiNova® on black metallized sapphire for that “faux-digital” glow.

But MB&F wasn’t satisfied with just clever optics. The entire HM8 platform is built around an independent titanium chassis — a watertight structure to which colour-saturated CarbonMacrolon® body panels are mounted. The composite material, developed specifically for MB&F, is composed of a polymer matrix injected with carbon nanotubes. Its properties comprise a stronger and stiffer structure than conventional carbon fibre, and it’s also eight times lighter than steel, which can be milled, polished or lacquered like metal. The colour itself is made from metallic mineral pigments mixed into resin using a strictly controlled process that mimics the paintwork on high-end sports cars. As Büsser himself explained in the 2024 blue edition, it’s not merely a surface treatment. The original HM8 debuted in British racing green and crisp white in 2023, followed by the gleaming blue edition in 2024. Now, in 2025, comes a 33-piece limited edition clad in a metallic purple that would make a Lamborghini Countach blush.

Completing this case construction is the double-curved sapphire crystal, which is one of the most complex ever produced. MB&F claims that it is 30 to 40 times more costly than a standard dome sapphire, and prone to heartbreak-inducing breakage during manufacturing. Only one supplier was willing to take on the risk.

Powering the HM8 Mark 2 is an automatic movement based on a Girard-Perregaux caliber, visible beneath the sapphire crystal engine cover and brought to life by a battle axe rotor in 22K gold. It carries the same special crown system, using a “double de-clutch” mechanism that releases with a push and a three-quarter twist, adding security and conserving space.

(from left) HM8 Mark 2 in white and green (released in 2023), in sapphire blue (released in 2024), and the new model in purple (released in 2025)

Available in grade 5 titanium, the new purple edition joins previous limited runs in green and blue. For collectors who’ve followed MB&F’s wild journey through horological design, the HM8 Mark 2 is just like any good car story, one that proves that speed, style, and passion never really go out of fashion.

Tech Specs: MB&F HM8 Mark 2 Purple

Movement: Self-winding in-house movement by MB&F, powered by a Girard-Perregaux base movement; 42-hour power reserve
Functions: Bi-directional jumping hours; minutes
Case: 47mm × 41.5mm × 19mm; grade 5 titanium with purple CarbonMacrolon® body panels; water resistant to 30m
Strap: White rubber strap with titanium tang buckle
Price: CHF 68,000 (incl. VAT) / USD 88,000 / EUR 74,000 (incl. taxes)
Availability: Limited to 33 pieces