MAT Watches Introduces The Whimsical Egg Master II
Generally, watches are serious business. At least to most of us, they are. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for some fun. Some good examples are the many seconde/seconde/ collaborations we have seen from various brands. Obviously, the theme should appeal to you and make you like one of these whimsical timepieces. If there is a theme that pretty much all watch fans are familiar with, it’s timing an egg. It’s especially common for chronograph owners to time how long it takes to boil one. French brand MAT jumped on that idea and created the Egg Master in September 2020. Almost six years on, the brand now introduces the new and improved Egg Master II, created with a famous chef who is an expert on eggs.
When the independent French watchmaker MAT (Mer-Air-Terre) released its Egg Master in 2020, it was quite a break from the usual adventurer’s and military watches the brand produces. It was essentially a quartz-powered yacht timer with a countdown function modified for cooking. It made sense as the first Egg Master model, as chronographs and boiling eggs are a thing among watch fans. For the new Egg Master II, MAT founder Fabrice Pougez, a foodie, decided to mix things up. First, he chose the MAT Picobello as the canvas for the new egg timer. The Picobello is the brand’s adventurer’s watch that, generally, has a bit of retro charm. For the Egg Master II, the look has drastically changed to make the watch appropriately themed for its new purpose.
The details of the MAT Egg Master II
The stylistic shift also changes the functionality of the Picobello — and the Egg Master II, for that matter. The new watch has a 39.5mm stainless steel case with a 46.7mm length and 12mm thickness. It includes a bidirectional bezel with an aluminum insert featuring a set of colorful markers indicating the color-coded boiling time for poached, soft-boiled, medium-boiled, and hard-boiled eggs. The bezel was developed in collaboration with chef Fabien Pairon, the 2023 world champion of oefs en meurette, a classic Burgundian dish of poached eggs in a rich, flavorful red wine sauce. On top of that, he is the head of Auberge Communale du Mont-sur-Lausanne in Switzerland.
Chef Fabien Pairon wearing the Egg Master II
Pairon helped carefully validate every cooking duration to create a functional tool for both food lovers and watch enthusiasts. The text on the bezel is in French but easy to decipher. The carefully defined timings are Poché (poached) = 2 minutes and 35–45 seconds, Coque (soft-boiled) = 3 minutes and 5–15 seconds, Mollet (medium-cooked) = 5 minutes and 55–60 seconds, and Dur (hard-boiled) = 8 minutes and 20–30 seconds. The cooking times are based on medium-sized (53g/1.8oz) eggs cooked at sea level (Alt. 0).
Using the MAT Egg Master II
So, how do you use the Egg Master II? It’s rather simple. First, you rotate the bezel to align your chosen cooking level with the minute hand’s current position. Next, you wait for the seconds hand to reach the zero mark; that’s when the boiling time starts. Cooking is complete once the minutes have elapsed. Since cooking is not an exact science, there is a 5- to 10-second window for each boiling time to make sure you get it right. The scale and colors located on the rehaut indicate the number of seconds remaining corresponding to the boiling time and color on the bezel insert.
Apart from timing your eggs, you can obviously also read the time. The dial’s crisp white outer ring with oversized markers makes that easy to do. On top of that, both the ring and markers light up bright blue in the dark. Along with the lume-filled hour and minute hands, they ensure the time is legible in low light. The eggshell-colored center of the dial displays the brand name on the upper half and “Eggmaster II” in yellow on the lower half, along with the “Automatique” text hinting at the caliber.
The Soprod M100
Speaking of the caliber, the new MAT Egg Master II is powered by the Soprod M100. This 25-jewel automatic movement operates at 28,800 vph and offers a 42-hour power reserve. Based on the famous ETA 2892-A2, this caliber has been a popular choice for watches from independent brands, including fellow French brand Serica. The movement is visible thanks to the case back’s sapphire display, which adds a nice touch to the release. Especially since the first Egg Master was a quartz chronograph, it is a nice touch to see that MAT has chosen a mechanical caliber for the Egg Master II.
Completing the watch is a trio of included straps. The first is a yellow Tropic-style rubber one that gives the watch a fitting yellow-and-white color combo. The second is a sand-colored canvas strap that changes the look rather nicely, making it look more like an adventurer’s watch. Finally, MAT includes a cream-colored rubber strap with the same design as the yellow one. All three options work well with the watch and allow you to change up the look easily.
Final thoughts on the new MAT Egg Master II
I love how MAT founder Fabrice Pougez perfectly walks the thin line between fun and seriousness with this. Despite the playful idea behind the watch that makes it such a fun release, cooking eggs is serious business. That’s why I love that he worked with chef Fabien Pairon on determining the perfect cooking times for your eggs. It’s something that I definitely have to try regardless of the Egg Master II. It’s nice to discover the sweet spot for perfectly runny eggs to put on a nice bowl of ramen.
If you are interested in the Egg Master II, the preorder is open now on MAT’s official website. The brand will produce as many examples as are ordered on the website, and each watch is part of a limited run of individually numbered timepieces. All unique numbers will be assigned in the order of preorders received. The price of the MAT Egg Master II is €990 / US$973. Included in the price are a nice travel case, a strap-changing tool, and the three straps I mentioned. Considering what you get for the money, the MAT Egg Master II is an affordable, fun watch that looks good and is considerably cheaper than the regular Picobello models. I think that is more than worthy of a compliment.
