MB&F's contribution to the Only Watch event in Monaco
I do not have to think long before I can do a write-up on Maximilian Büsser & Friends, not in the last place because Maximilian Büsser has been a friend of the show since some time now. MB&F watches are something special, something out of the ordinary. The same goes for MB&F’s contribution to the annual Only Watch, to be held in Monaco on 24 September 2009.
This year’s goal of the Only Watch event is to get attention (and financial resources) for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. This is a serious illness (genetic disorder) that affects boys only and shows itself by progressive weakening of muscles. Unfortunately, there is no cure yet, and eventually this illness will result in cardiac problems that will become fatal as the boys are getting older. Here in Europe, about 30.000 boys are suffering from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. You can read more about this terrible disease over at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchenne_muscular_dystrophy
One of the most important breakthroughs that have been made is the development of a surgical technique called Saut Exon or exon skipping, as it is being called in English. You can find a lot about exon skipping for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy via Google and I also was able to find a few (video) interviews with experts on the exon skipping surgery. Among them is Luis Garcia, who developed this technique together with his team. You can find the interview videos at: https://www.myology2008.org/en/news/112.html
Max Büsser, his team (Friends) and Sage Vaughn (an American painter) worked together to be able to contribute with a special watch for Only Watch later on this year. I am almost sure, and without seeing any of the other watches that will be contributed, that this watch will be the Only Watch that captures a lot of emotion that comes with the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy illness.
There is a great press release of this special Horological Machine No2, but I think these pictures will do the trick as well.
As you will see, the movement is surrounded by 3D barb wire,which – and I quote Maximilian Büsser’s e-mail – symbolizes the illness trapping the child’s body. In Sage’s works the butterly represents innocence and hope, and here the blued gold butterfly has one of its wings clipped, because unfortunately for the moment, there is no cure for children suffering from DMD…
Of course, I hope that every contributing watch will fetch a great amount of money in support of the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy illness and R&D of a cure, but this MB&F HM2 with the symbolic butterfly and it’s clipped wing is already my favorite time piece of the event.
