MB&F – Legacy Machine 101 ‘Frost’

MB&F – Legacy Machine 101 ‘Frost’ Limited Edition 

Frost. Brrrrr! For many, the word "frost" conjures forth images of breath-condensing cold and bright, early-morning winter sunshine scintillating off frost-covered lawns. That natural frost sparkles vivaciously due to light reflecting off the microscopically uneven ice crystals – exactly like the LM101 Frost sparkles due to light reflecting off its microscopically uneven frosted surface.

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First presented in 2014, Legacy Machine 101 embodies and accentuates what is essential in a wristwatch: the balance wheel, which is responsible for regulating precision; how much power remains in the mainspring, which indicates when it needs to be next wound; and of course, the time. With the new ‘Frost’ limited editions, those essential LM101 elements now contrast magnificently against the effervescent backdrop of the frosted gold dial − which paradoxically is not really a dial at all, but the top plate of the movement. Additional contrast is provided by Frost's highly polished bezel and lugs, which make the matte surface of the frosted dial really pop.

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Abraham-Louis Breguet is credited with inventing the “frosted” finish (“finition grenée” in French) in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. At the time, frosting protected dials and movements from oxidation – more common in Breguet's day – and added subdued vivacity to movement plates. Traditional frosting methods involved dangerous acids which have been largely replaced by the environmentally (and medically) safer method of carefully compressing the surface with a wire brush. However, this is a much more difficult process to master and obtain a uniform, non-polished surface. Very few artisans today create true frosted finishes: the majority of surfaces that look frosted have in fact been bead blasted, which does not quite have the same visual impact.

Visually, LM101 Frost is dominated by the monumental suspended balance wheel, now rhodium plated so that it stands out even more. Two pristine-white subdials hover just above the fine frosted movement top plate: contrasting blued-gold hands display hours and minutes at the top right, while the 45-hour power reserve indicator is displayed below.

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LM101 Frost's highly domed sapphire crystal is virtually invisible, creating the illusion that you can reach out and touch the prodigious balance wheel hanging mesmerisingly from elegant twin arches. The arches are milled from a solid block of metal requiring hours of hand polishing to achieve its mirror-like lustre.

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Turning over LM101 Frost, the display back crystal – domed to reduce the thickness of the caseband and, visually, the height of the watch – reveals the exquisitely hand-finished movement. Sensually curved plates and bridges, hand polished bevels, gold chatons and countersunk blued screws pay homage to the style found in historic pocket watches and testify to the respect accorded to historical legitimacy.

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While award-winning independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen took responsibility for the movement's fine finishing and fidelity to the horological past, its architecture and construction were developed in-house by MB&F.

Legacy Machine 101 Frost is available in two limited editions: 18 pieces in yellow gold and 33 pieces in red gold.

LM101 Frost – in detail

Dial and Indications:
The animated suspended balance has always visually dominated LM101 and the frosted movement top plate amplifies this even more. Set off by the frosted finish, the blued-gold hands and pristine white dials for the time (hours and minutes) and power reserve indications are both aesthetically appealing and highly legible.

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The dials are gently domed with a translucent, high-gloss lustre created using a laque tendue process in which multiple layers of lacquer are applied and heated, causing them to stretch over the surface of the dials. To ensure aesthetic purity of the dials, a sophisticated fixation underneath removes the necessity of visually obtrusive attachment screws. A fine golden perimeter circumscribing each dial elegantly reinforces their timeless classicism.

Frosted finish:
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, frosting was created by treating the components with a special acid mixture and then heating on an open flame (what could possibly go wrong). The result was a silvery-white effect looking similar to frost, which protected the surfaces from oxidation; this was important when watches and clocks were not water resistant at all.

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As watchmakers became more attentive to the potential hazards associated with working with powerful acids, alternative methods were explored, the most effective – in terms of the quality of finish – being to very carefully brush the surface with a wire brush. However, it is extremely difficult to obtain a uniform result because just slightly too much pressure or brushing for too long can quickly ruin the desired matte surface with uneven polish.

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Today there are very few craftsmen with the skills and experience necessary for creating a traditional frosted finish, and they closely guard their secrets. Modern traditional brushed frosting actually burnishes the surface (compresses the metal without removing material), creating a finish so hard that it is impossible to hand engrave.

Engine:
Presented for the first time in 2014, the LM101 movement is an entirely new calibre conceived and developed in-house by MB&F.

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 The balance wheel and spring are at the very heart of any mechanical watch movement and their isochronal (equal intervals of time) oscillations regulate the movement's precision. MB&F founder Maximilian Büsser has long been fascinated by the large slowly oscillating balance wheels of antique pocket watches (2.5 Hz/18,000 vph compared with the much faster 4 Hz/ 28,800 vph more common today). So it was no surprise that this was his starting point.

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What was surprising though is just how radically he re-interpreted tradition by relocating the balance wheel from its more usual position hidden at the back of the movement to majestically floating not just the above movement, but high above the dial. While the location of LM101's oscillator may be considered avant-garde, ‘tradition’ is upheld by the large 14mm diameter balance wheel, featuring regulating screws specifically developed for MB&F, balance spring with Breguet overcoil and mobile stud holder.

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Fine Finishing and Historical Legitimacy:
While the movement was developed entirely in-house, acclaimed master watchmaker Kari Voutilainen assumed responsibility for ensuring the movement's historical accuracy of the bridge design, as well as defining and supervising the fine finishing.
The frost pattern on top of the movement plate (dial side) subtly catches the eye at certain angles without distracting attention from the white dials of the time and power reserve indications. But it is in the style and finish of the bridges and plates visible through the display on the back of the movement where Kari Voutilainen has excelled in providing exquisite historical fidelity; this is demonstrated by both the shape of the elegantly curved bridges and the traditionally wide space between the bridges and between the perimeter of the bridges and the case.

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Over-sized ruby jewels set in highly-polished countersunk gold chatons provide striking visual counterpoints to the curved bridges. While providing historical links with the large jewels seen in high-grade antique pocket watch movements, the ruby bearings have a practical application in reducing wear/increasing longevity by accommodating large diameter pinions and holding more lubricating oil.
In addition to 18k red gold, the LM101 Frost case is available in 18k yellow gold, a first for MB&F – and a further tribute to traditional watchmaking.

Inspiration and Realisation:
Maximilian Büsser has had a long affinity with pocket watches of the 18th and 19th centuries. Virtually all horological complications we see today were not only imagined in that period, they were developed using just paper and pen (no sophisticated computer programs). Components were produced to extremely high precision using – by today’s standards – fairly primitive machines (no electricity) and finely finished, assembled and regulated to an incredibly high quality that we still strive to match today. Their generous size compared with modern wristwatches allowed for uncluttered movement architectures with beautifully shaped bridges and plates.
MB&F's Legacy Machines were conceived when Maximilian Büsser started fantasising: "What would have happened if I had been born in 1867 instead of 1967? In the early 1900s the first wristwatches appear and I would want to create three-dimensional machines for the wrist. There are no Grendizers, Star Wars or fighter jets for my inspiration but I do have pocket watches, the Eiffel Tower and Jules Verne. So what might my early 20th century machines look like? They had to be round (tradition) and three-dimensional (MB&F Machine): Legacy Machines are the answer."
While Legacy Machine No.1 (LM1) was the first in this new collection, LM101 and LM101 Frost take the traditional theme even further by offering a more classically sized 40mm case compared to 44mm for LM1.

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Model: LM101 Frost

LM101 Frost is a limited edition of 33 pieces in red gold and 18 pieces in yellow gold.

Engine:
Three-dimensional movement developed in-house by MB&F
Movement aesthetics and finish specifications: Kari Voutilainen
Manual winding with single mainspring barrel
Power reserve: 45 hours
Balance wheel: Bespoke 14mm balance wheel with four traditional regulating screws floating above the movement and dials
Balance spring: traditional Breguet curve terminating in mobile stud holder
Balance frequency: 18,000 bph / 2.5 Hz
Number of components: 229 components
Number of jewels: 23
Chatons: gold chatons with polished countersinks
Fine finishing: frosted mainplate,
superlative hand finishing throughout respecting 19th century style;
 internal bevel angles highlighting hand craft; polished bevels; hand-made engravings
Functions:
Hours, minutes and power reserve indicator.
Large suspended balance wheel over dial
Case:
Available in 18k red gold (33 pieces) or 18k yellow gold (18 pieces)
Dimensions: 40 mm wide x 16 mm high
Number of components: 35
Sapphire crystals:
High domed sapphire crystal on top and box sapphire crystal on back with anti-reflective coating on both sides.
Strap & Buckle:
Dark or light brown hand-stitched alligator strap with gold tang buckle to match case.

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