The newest MB&F Frog is here – HM3 Frog Zr

There’s a new Frog in town. MB&F’s new HM3 Frog Zr is made of the tough metal zirconium, normally used in nuclear reactors and spaceships! No kidding, the new HM3 Frog Zr is out of this world.

The HM3 Frog Zr is based on the HM3 Starcruiser, how appropriate. Zr is the chemical symbol for zirconium, a transition metal resembling titanium. However much tougher as 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 MB&F HM3 Frog Zr is limited to 18 pieces.

However this new Frog isn’t the first of this family. In 2010 MB&F released the HM3 Frog in two variations and last year the Chocolate Frog was released, a limited edition of only 10 pieces, to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of watch forum The PuristS. This is a gesture that shows how much on the forefront of interaction with customers and fans MB&F really is.

From top to bottom are the new HM3 Frog Zr, the Chocolate Frog and first HM3 Frog (in white gold).

Besides very cool looks and being a conversation starter ‘pur sang’, the HM3 Frog makes it easy (and fun) to read the time. With the HM3 Starcruiser and Sidewinder, the first HM3 models, you had to peak at the indicators from an angle. The HM3 Frog models make it much easier to read the time, although I would never consider it problematic if reading time from a watch like this isn’t as easy as on a simple two hand watch.

This is in my opinion the fun of it and I consider a timepiece like this, to be a piece of mechanical art that can be worn on the wirst and even tells the time. This is art, it bold and it’s a statement.

Like we can expect from Max Busser and his Friends, this watch isn’t only complicated from the outside! Inside its tough black PVD zirconium skin ticks a movement created by Jean-Marc Wiederrecht (Agenhor). It is powered by a Girard-Perregaux base with a balance frequency of 28,800 vph. In  total this piece of horological art is comprised of 304 components, of which 36 jewels.

The purple automatic winding rotor is made of 22 carat rose gold. Above the rotor and positioned around the movement, is a rotating ring that indicates the date. The hour and minutes information is transmitted via ceramic ball bearings to rotating domes… or the Frog’s eyes.

One more photo, from a different angle…

More information about MB&F’s timepieces including this very nice Frog Zr can be found at the MB&F website and official Facebook page (of which you are fan by now, because you want to win the Seiko Discus that was sponsored by Max Busser and Friends).

This article is written by Frank Geelen, executive editor for Monochrome Watches.