Following on from the leggy T-Rex released last year, MB&F and L’Epee 1839 have teamed up once again to make another quirky timepiece – this time one that’s part desktop clock and part space station. Taking cues from the eponymous station from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the Starfleet Machine, the partners’ first collaboration released in 2014, the Starfleet Explorer boasts a more compact design, bright colors and an eight-day power reserve.
Hand-wound mechanical clocks may seem a bit anachronistic, but MB&F and L’Epee 1939 have carved out a bit of a niche for themselves by designing and building a series of conversation pieces that often tell a story as well as the time. In the case of Starfleet Explorer, as it tells time, it also puts on a bit of a show as three tiny spacecraft inside the movement orbit about the mechanism every five minutes.
Telling the time with the Starfleet Explorer is a bit unconventional, with minutes being displayed on a rotating disc through a fixed aperture, while the hours are read off a stationary ring by way of a revolving hand. This display is powered by the 11-jewel movement designed and manufactured by L’Epee 1839 in palladium-treated brass.
It runs at 18,000 vph (2.5 Hz) and incorporates an Incabloc shock protection system, so the clock can be safely moved or flipped upside down for winding or setting using the double-ended key. In addition, the Starfleet Explorer can run happily in the horizontal or tilted position.
The entire polished movement is visible inside the concentric C-shaped external structure and boasts finely-polished surfaces. The Starfleet Explorer stands about 11 cm (4.3 in) high and is about 16.5 cm (6.5 in) wide, with the main structure made of stainless steel.
The Starfleet Explorer is available in three limited editions of 99 pieces each, in blue, green, and red. One will set you back CHF9,900 (US$10,186).
Starfleet Explorer brings a touch of Star Trek to timekeeping [New Atlas]