Originally launched in 2014, the Horological Machine No.6 (aka HM6) is one of the more eccentric watch designs, from a company that has basically defined the genre of unconventional independent high-end watchmaking.

This week, Max Busser (and friends), announced the next step in the HM6 saga: the HM6 Alien Nation. With a case now made entirely of sapphire crystal, the complexity of production has been increased many times over. There will be only 4 unique pieces, and they have already been pre-sold to one collector.

In order for the twelve separate sapphire crystals, which need to come together perfectly and seamlessly, the milling and polishing alone for a single case, exceeds 500 hours. Not including assembly, and the inevitable breakage.

This is a space ship and so it needs lights, and in this case, a mix of Superluminova, which highlights parts of the movement, and AGT Ultra, a high-powered lume produced by Ambient Glow Technology and pioneered by James Thompson, aka the Black Badger, was also used. The result is one of the craziest luminous watches ever.

Finally, the ship has to have a crew of Aliens to fly the ship. And so, MB&F outfits each watch with a crew of six miniature handcrafted aliens. One pilot sits outside the crystal case, and his crew of five inside to work the engine.

Each alien is hand-sculpted in 18K white gold by Olivier Kuhn of Atelier-Creation Kuhn. Production time is approximately 34 hours to complete one alien – or a full month to finish the crew of six.

Each HM6 Alien Nation is unique, distinguished by its lume color: blue, turquoise, green and purple. The retail price $500,000. Learn more about the HM6 at MB&F.