MB&F’s M.A.D. Gallery, dedicated to supporting the most unconventional projects, gets even wilder with the Nixie Machine II. All for the 5th anniversary of the gallery.
The Nixie Machine was created by German artist Frank Buchwald for M.A.D.Gallery and is based on an idea by Alberto Schileo. It took the realms of clock making to new heights and features beautifully glowing Nixie tubes that were made half a century ago. Each of Nixie Machine’s glowing six digits were displayed via an original, incredibly preserved Z568M Nixie tube manufactured by RFT in East Germany during the 1960s and recently discovered in a Bulgarian army depot. Introduced in the 1950s, Nixie tubes – also known as cold cathode displays – became a popular way of presenting numerals using glow discharge.
Frank Buchwald
Coming back to the present, this clock gets a befitting update. This time, there is one more talented artist joining the gang. The six Nixie tubes are produced by Dalibor Farny, another Nixie fanatic if you please. Farny manufactures Nixie Machine II’s modern, vacuum Nixie tubes in his workshop in the Czech Republic. The inner structure of the tubes is a nod to steampunk aesthetics. Honeycomb grids and tungsten wires smelted with glass lighting up filigree digits encapsulated in blown glass cylinders…it’s all there.
But, it’s the connectivity aspect that adds an extra edge to this. We increasingly see ‘connected’ timepieces. MB&F has a fun take on this as well. The clock has an electronic heart. Nixie Machine II is completely innovative. There Wi-Fi enabled electronics dock, connects the clock to the internet to automatically keep accurate time, removing the need to set it manually. The connectivity aspect is not just for the time alone.
Everything that the clock does can be regulated. Whether it is scroll effects, day/night modes, digit light dimming or time zone settings, it is possible to program them intuitively online. Should mechanical aficionados be wary? Not at all. The clock can also operate offline, regulated by a knob on the back.
The Nixie Machine II not only speaks of the collaborative success of two experts but also of the seamless merger of mechanics and modern connected technology.
Available at three M.A.D Galleries around the world (Dubai, Geneva and Taipei) at a price of approx. CHF 30,000, only 12 of these clocks will be made.