SUMMARY
Octopod continues MB&F’s exploration of aquatic themes with an eight-leg, eight-day clock inspired by cephalopods, marine chronometers and The Abyss – blending contempo rary design with kinetic sculpture and a transparent bubble lled with precision horology.
Conceived by MB&F and built by Switzerland’s premier clock maker, L’Epée 1839, Octopod stands or crouches thanks to its eight articulated legs. Each leg can be individually adjusted to varying heights, enabling Octopod to rest securely on the most uneven of surfaces, just like a real octopus.
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However, the real horological magic and mystery take place in Octopod’s completely transparent spherical ‘head’.
The rst thing to notice is that Octopod’s transparent sphere is gimballed in a similar way to how traditional ship chronom- eters were gimballed – although on one axis rather than two – so that they remained at despite the pitching and rolling of the ship. In Octopod’s case, the gimbal ensures that no matter what angle or height it sits, it is easy to rotate the bubble so that the time display inside is at the ideal plane for maximum legibility.
The second thing the attentive eye will notice is that Octopod’s pulsating escapement, which regulates the clock’s precision, is located on its minute hand rather than the more usual (and mechanically simpler) position attached to stationary move- ment plates. While not technically a tourbillon according to Abraham-Louis Breguet’s original patent, with its movement vertical, the 60-minute rotation of Octopod’s regulator on the minute hand is closer to the primary aim of Breguet’s invention. His intention was to rotate the escapement of a pocket watch sitting vertically in a fob pocket to average out positional errors, while wristwatch tourbillons are continually moving through all positions without requiring 360° rotations.
And thirdly there’s the mystery of how Octopod’s clockwork is suspended inside its crystalline sphere, so that it appears to be oating in space (or water). The baseplate of the move- ment is a transparent glass plate that has been treated with a lm of anti-re ective coating on both sides so that it is vir- tually invisible. Like an octopus concealing parts of itself with camou age, Octopod conceals parts of itself with visual tricks of its own.
Octopod’s eight-day movement is an entirely new develop- ment by L’Epée 1839, with both the glass baseplate and counterbalanced regulator posing particular challenges.
Along with its octopus and marine chronometer connections to the sea, Octopod also brings to mind the then futuristic glass bathysphere of James Cameron’s 1989 lm, The Abyss. While the viewer may be outside looking in at the transpar- ent bubble, it’s easy to imagine sinking below the waves and looking out at the astonishing iridescent creatures of the deep oceans. However, you may well rest assured that despite its aquatic inspirations, Octopod is perfectly at home on dry land.
INSPIRATION
Octopod’s idiosyncratic design derives from three aquatic sources: the highly intelligent octopus with its ‘eight legs’ (more on that below) provided the inspiration for the eight articulated legs, while the gimballed traditional marine chro- nometer inspired the partially gimballed sphere housing the clockwork and time display. And then there is the transpar- ent bubble evoking memories of the bathysphere in James Cameron’s 1989 sci- classic The Abyss.
The original sketch MB&F gave to L’Epée 1839 showed the movement ‘ oating’ inside the transparent bubble, but this was more to allow the manufacture more latitude in devel- oping the support structure for the clockwork, than an expec- tation that a ‘ oating’ movement was actually possible. Not for the rst time (nor hopefully the last), L’Epée 1839 went far and beyond the brief to create something even more exceptional than planned.
REALISATION
While MB&F came up with the concept and design of the Octopod, it was L’Epée 1839, Switzerland’s premier clock maker, that developed the movement as well as the unusual transparent spherical case and articulated legs. L’Epée pro- duces most of the components, puts them all together and regulates the high precision, eight-day clockwork.
While nothing about this atypical project was easy, L’Epée faced two major challenges. The rst was in nding a sup- plier for the glass baseplate able to work to the tight toler- ances required, as companies cutting and drilling glass were not used to working to the extreme precision demanded by horology. The complete movement is mounted on the glass baseplate, so the position of the diamond-drilled holes was of critical importance.
The second signi cant challenge was in having to adjust the counterweight for the regulator-bearing minute hand in three dimensions. Originally two counterweight screws were thought to suf ce, but it was quickly discovered that ve minuscule adjusters were necessary to ensure that the minute hand was perfectly balanced for optimal timekeeping precision.
OCTOPUSES
Let’s get one thing out of the way rst: it is ‘octopuses’ not ‘octopi’ as the root of the word comes from Greek, not Latin. And secondly, despite what is commonly thought, octopuses do not have eight legs (or even eight arms), but two legs and six arms. The cephalopods use their two rear append- ages (legs) for locomotion or propulsion when moving along the sea bed and their six arms for manipulating food and objects. While all of their limbs look similar, they are anatomically three pairs of arms and a pair of legs.
Octopuses are very intelligent creatures and are the most intelligent of invertebrates. Maze and problem-solving exper- iments have indicated sophisticated memory systems and some species have been observed using tools. When threat- ened, octopuses have a number of defences including very effective camou age (their skin can change colour like a cha- meleon), water with jet propulsion, and releasing a cloud of ink to obscure and confuse.
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