“Performance art born of latent anger
Creativity can come from a multitude of sources, but for Black Badger founder James Thompson, it’s essentially the result of anger – a fire of revolt ignited in him when, as a student, he was expelled from his course following an administrative decision he deemed unfair. Like MB&F, James Thompson is an outsider who challenges the established order.
And he defends his creative preserve with the most unlikely of weapons: a luminescent material. James Thompson makes three-dimensional objects from blocks of light!
More than a decade after the perceived injustice, James Thompson’s anger continues to manifest itself, in the form of a bright light. He says: “It’s not like I tried and failed, it’s the fact that I was brushed aside like a bread crumb on a table. Today, 12 years later, I still feel anger!”
For the Performance Art collection, James Thompson has reinterpreted two MB&F machines: HMX, launched in 2015 to mark the brand’s 10th anniversary, and Starfleet Machine, the first table clock born of the collaboration with L’Epée 1839.
For HMX Black Badger, he redesigned the HMX engine rocker covers, visible under the supercar-style sapphire hood. They are cut from his signature material, massive blocks that emit a particularly colorful and efficient light.
While the colors – Radar Green, Phantom Blue and Purple Reign – are eye-catching during the day, it’s when the sun goes down that they really come into their own. The long-lasting glow emitted by the high-performance material spreads into the HMX engine compartment to form a sublime halo of light.
HMX displays bidirectional jumping hours and trailing minutes. By day, light entering through the transparent cover charges the motor surface, and by night, the ultra-luminescent material provides colored backlighting for the time display.
For Starfleet Machine Black Badger, James Thompson has added his exclusive material to the outer ring surrounding the movement, to the upper inner part of the spaceship landing feet, and to the display domes and hands. The Black Badger touch makes the Starfleet Machine as beautiful by night as it is by day.
Although it looks like a miniature spaceship, Starfleet Machine Black Badger is a true high-precision clock with a 40-day power reserve, created by L’Epée 1839 from an MB&F design.
HMX Black Badger is limited to 3 series of 18 in grade 5 titanium and steel, with Radar Green, Phantom Blue or Purple Reign luminescent material.
Starfleet Machine Black Badger is limited to 3 series of 18 in palladium-plated brass, with Radar Green, Phantom Blue or Purple Reign luminescent material.
Black Badger luminescent material and composition of light energy
While most watch enthusiasts are familiar with the luminescent Super-LumiNova used to enhance hands and hour markers, this substance is very different from the exclusive Black Badger material. Whereas Super-LumiNova is a liquid that is applied to the surface and dries, Black Badger material comes in solid blocks that are shaped by hand or machine into the desired form. Not only is the latter highly efficient at storing and diffusing light, but because it’s solid, it generally contains more of it and shines brighter and longer.
White light, including sunlight, is actually made up of red, green and blue light waves. In addition, there are radiations imperceptible to the naked eye such as infrared and ultraviolet, red and blue emissions located just beyond the visible limit. The different colors, or frequencies of light, contain varying degrees of energy, with reds and infrareds at the lowest level, blues and ultraviolet at the highest.
When a luminescent material is charged with white light, the greatest amount of energy comes from the ultraviolet end, the part of the spectrum that contains the most energy. However, since ultraviolet radiation represents only a small fraction of the white light emitted by most flashlights or by the sun, only a small portion of the light source will actually charge the material. On the other hand, given its high energy content, ultraviolet light will charge the material much faster, since it consists exclusively of high-energy light, enabling the luminescent material to absorb energy more quickly.
According to this phenomenon, normal white light sources will more easily charge Black Badger Radar Green and Phantom Blue materials, while Purple Reign absorbs more energy and requires ultraviolet light.
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