Are you a fan of horror/scary movies and a lover of horology? The latest creation from MB&F will surely have you jumping for joy! If you are scared to death of spiders then be warned! Introducing the MB&F Arachnophobia Table Clock.
The inspiration for Arachnophobia comes from a giant spider sculpture called Maman that MB&F founder Maximilian Büsser had seen in both Geneva and Doha. Maman (mother in French), was created by Louise Bourgeois (1911 – 2010) in bronze, stainless steel, and marble. Measuring 9.27 x 8.91 x 10.24 metres (more than 30 x 33 feet), the monumental sculpture has been installed in a variety of locations around the world.
The MB&F Arachnophobia Table Clock was created in conjunction with premier Swiss clockmaker L’Epée. L’Epee have collaborated with MB&F previously for the MB&F Starfleet Machine and Melchior clocks.
The clock features a movement with an 8 day power reserve, which has been utilised to re imagine it as the head and body of a big spider!
The MB&F Arachnophobia Table Clock. Even the shadow of the clock is bad ass!
The hours and minutes are read on a high dome representing the spider’s body, with rotating curved hands indicating hours and minutes on a polished, central dome featuring MB&F’s signature numerals. Like your favourite wristwatch the body (movement) and the legs of the clock features Côtes de Genève, anglage, polishing, sand-blasting, and circular and vertical satin finishing have been applied.
At either end of Arachnophobia’s time-displaying abdomen, important mechanical processes take place: the head houses the regulator with its oscillating balance wheel (and a set of jaws in case it gets peckish at night), while the other end contains the mainspring barrel, which powers the movement. Attached to the abdomen are eight, visually enticing legs articulated where they join the body by ball-and-socket joints. The legs can be rotated so that Arachnophobia can stand tall on a desk. Another position provides an optical treat for fans of large arachnids: the front legs can be moved forward while the six others maintain the standing position, an interesting and alarming posture that says, look out!
The clock movement made by L’Epée. It represents the body of the spider. It has a 8 day power reserve and is manually wound.
It’s not just a table clock. An innovative catch underneath the movement hooks on to a stainless steel wall bracket. It will make one hell of a standout wall clock! The legs can be splayed out, giving the clock a size of 40.5 centimetres. At a glance it will look like it is crawling around on your wall! The black version’s legs are made of injection-moulded aluminium, which is hand-finished and lacquered black.
Want to hang out? The Arachnophobia can be also mounted to a wall, creating a wall clock that will surely give visitors a scare! Or possibly even the owner in the middle of the night!
If the black version makes you want to jump out of your boots, there is a 18k gold plated model which takes away some of the fear factor but still has menace to it, with its contrasting black torso and gold legs. The legs on the gold plated model are made from brass.
The striking 18k gold plated version!
The clock will require winding after an 8 day period, so the owner will have to take a deep breath and get up close and personal with the underside of the belly of the spider to wind it and set the time. In the words of MB&F: ” The owner will building a close relationship with it”.
The black version will retail for $15,300 Swiss Francs and the gold-plated version will retail for $17,500 Swiss Francs.
For more information please visit MB&F.
Technical Specifications
Arachnophobia is available in black and 18k yellow gold-plated editions.
Hours and minutes: curved hands rotate to indicate hours and minutes on a polished, central dome featuring MB&F’s signature numerals.
L’Epée in-house designed and manufactured movement.
Balance frequency: 18,000 bph / 2.5Hz
Power reserve: 8 days
Total components: 218
Jewels: 11
Incabloc shock protection system
Mechanism in palladium-plated brass or gold-plated brass
Winding: key winding and setting on underside of clock
Movement finishing: includes Côtes de Genève, anglage, polishing, sand-blasting, circular and vertical satin finishing
Dimensions: 203 mm in height (legs extended); clock diameter (legs flat) 405 mm; movement dimensions 75.3 x 134.9 x 63.8 mm
Weight: gold-plated version 1.96 kg; black version 0.98 kg
