MB&F: Two joyful friends just in time for this festive season!

Sometimes I find myself liking a watch, but in most occasions, I don’t really feel anything emotional.

Maybe I’m a little bit too unemotional? Who knows

There are few timepieces and mechanical wonders that truly transmit an emotional feeling tho.

The A. Lange Saxonia, with the pure class and feeling of neutrality and perfection of lines and shapes.

The Vintage 1950's Bovet Mono Bovet with a Mono-rattrapante chronograph with a 30 minute register, that ultimately transmits a feeling of perfect vintage coloring and almost pushes you back to the 50’s, makes you live part of those times.

The amazing DeBethune DB28 Digitale, a perfect show of Berlecorn dial, that is hand finished, want more? It features jumping hours at a window positioned at 12 o’clock and, for my own delight, a moon-phase circular window at the center of the dial.

This DeBethune makes me think about how little humans are facing the vastness of the university, the deepness of the blue colored elements really makes me wonder what’s out there.

The last will have to be two MB&F, one surely being the Split Escapement with blue dial, and the other, the recently released tortoise, which is named Kelys & Chirp.

Kelys which is from the Greek chelone or chelys for tortoise.

A automaton surprise

It’s unusual, at least for me, to see a mechanical animal displaying such energy, joy and excitement.

I know tortoise pieces have been seen since the 70’s, but, sometimes, some brands know how to appeal in a specific way to different types of persons.

I know there are several other tortoise pieces out there, but, I love this one, and this one only.

In a certain way I feel attached to it like it was my own pet (although this one is a really solid animal who features jewels ehehe), a feeling that somehow may relate to our youthfulness, with a energetic coloring combination, textures that makes people want to hold it and finally, a game of polishing technics that give life to this beautiful novelty by MB&F.

Although it gains life due to its aesthetics, in reality, Kelys and Chirp are “alive” and they actually move, due to the clever usage of elliptical gearing in the power trains and cams, that dictate the order in which the legs of the tortoise move.

The logic behind this choice is logical, the elliptical gear allows two spaced movements, one for the front legs, the other for the rear legs.

If we imagine an elliptic shape we can acknowledge that two sides have tighter corners, these are the two corners that allow the tortoise legs to move on its natural ratio, because this order of movement is in reality, the actual and natural movement of turtles and tortoises.

Look at that mechanism!

At this moment I can only expect that you’re already enjoying this automaton!

All this aspects lead to a fulfilling experience of joy when seeing this two move and “live” together in such harmony!

Harmony.

After analyzing and experiencing some of MB&F you start to realize that, instead of a design that could cause an impact due to roughness of shapes and contrasts, resulting in a unnatural usage of this two, MB&F presents a combination of shapes always in a perfect order that perfectly combines shapes.

It’s now all about the looks in life, as you may know.

And this premise applies, also, to this automaton.

Let’s follow the logic:

Ok, the tortoise walks due to elliptical gears, if he walks, where will it walk?

It’s certainly an object to be placed on tables.

Tables have finite shapes, edges, if the tortoise walks, at a certain point it will reach the table edge and fall?

Well, this is where a metal staff keeps almost the right amount of pressure and height facing the base where the tortoise is.

This way the staff, when facing the end of an edge its released and it completely stops the legs of the tortoise.