MB&F – LMSE EVO - UAE Golden Jubilee Edition

MB&F – Legacy Machine Split Escapement EVO - UAE Golden Jubilee Special Limited Edition 

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MB&F joins Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons to celebrate the UAE ‘Year of the 50th’with a surprising new interpretation of its Legacy Machine Split Escapement.

YEAR OF THE 50TH

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the unification of the seven emirates under one flag with a whole year of celebrations running from April 2021 until the end of March 2022. The UAE’s leading luxury watch and jewellery retailer, Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, is commemorating the ‘Year of the 50th’ with the creation of over 35 instantly covetable limited-edition timepieces, including a LM Split Escapement EVO – UAE Golden Jubilee Limited Edition of 10 pieces.

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MB&F’s Founder Max Büsser explains why this limited edition is important to him on a personal level: “I have been living in the UAE for seven years now and the country has been incredibly hospitable and welcoming to me and my family. So when the Seddiqi family asked me if I wanted to create a limited edition for this historic occasion, it was a wonderful way for me to say thank you.”

THE STORY OF THE LM SPLIT ESCAPEMENT

The idea behind the LM Split Escapement started life in 2015 with the LM Perpetual. Designed and conceived by Irish master watchmaker Stephen McDonnell, there were two criteria for the perpetual calendar: make it fool-proof and display MB&F’s large signature suspended balance wheel in the centre of the dial. McDonnell was soon to realise that there was a problem: there was nowhere to put the escapement. The concept had worked on the previous Legacy Machines, where the balance wheel was on the front of the watch along with the escapement, but with the LM Perpetual, there was just no room for both the balance wheel and the escapement.

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A man of solutions, McDonnell had the ingenious idea of creating the world’s longest balance staff that would traverse the whole movement, leaving the large balance wheel on the front of the watch and concealing the remaining parts of the escapement – anchor and escape wheel – on the opposite side of the movement, almost 12 mm below; hence the name ‘Split Escapement’. 

When the LM Perpetual was unveiled, there were so many innovations to talk about that the split escapement went largely unnoticed. So, in 2017, MB&F decided to create the LM Split Escapement to highlight McDonnell’s genius idea, publicly crediting him by including his name on the watch.

THE UAE GOLDEN JUBILEE LIMITED EDITION

The LM Split Escapement series has always been somewhat under the radar, so the UAE Golden Jubilee was the perfect occasion to celebrate both the 50th anniversary of the UAE and this unusual mechanical marvel.

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For this limited edition of only 10 pieces there are a host of changes that radically modify the design of the watch. Firstly, the whole mechanism has been rotated clockwise by 30 degrees, with the crown at 4:30 instead of 2 o’clock. This completely changes the symmetry of the watch, giving it a totally new character.

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Second, this special edition receives the new EVO case, offering enhanced comfort and robustness – and which until now has only ever been used in the LM Perpetual EVO series. The EVO case design features a no-bezel construction, with the domed sapphire crystal fused directly to the titanium case, integrated lugs and strap, and a water-resistance of 80 metres achieved thanks to a screw-down crown. The movement is suspended on the innovative “FlexRing” system, a specially developed monobloc shock-absorbing mechanism that works against both vertical and horizontal shocks.

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Finally, for the very first time in MB&F history, the dial plate comes in a rich salmon colour, while two of the dark grey sub-dials – for the date and power reserve indicator – have been opened up. Movement-side, the special darkened treatment creates heightened contrast between the wheels, the rhodium-plated barrels and the rose gold details.

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The manual-winding, 298-component movement uses the same base as the LM Perpetual with double barrels, a 72-hour power reserve, and a date-changing security system that prevents the user from inadvertently damaging the movement when adjusting the date.

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Special anniversaries deserve special timepieces and the LM Split Escapement EVO – UAE Golden Jubilee Limited Edition is the perfect way to join the UAE celebrations as the country looks ahead to the next 50 years.

AHMED SEDDIQI & SONS

Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons is the region’s leading retailer of luxury watches & jewellery. Established in 1950, the company has continuously developed and nurtured the needs of its clients through the combination of expert curation of its portfolio and commitment to service excellence. Today, the company is recognised as a pioneer amongst retailers in the region, with an extensive collection of over 60 luxury timepiece & jewellery brands across 40 locations in the UAE.
 

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Model: LM SE EVO UAE GOLDEN JUBILEE LIMITED EDITION

 Limited edition of 10 pieces in grade 5 titanium with salmon baseplate and dark grey dials.

Engine
Movement developed for MB&F by Stephen McDonnell.
Split escapement with the balance wheel suspended above the dial and the anchor under the movement.
Manual winding with double mainspring barrels.
Bespoke 14mm balance wheel with traditional regulating screws visible on top of the movement.
Superlative hand finishing throughout respecting 19th-century style; bevelled internal angles highlighting hand craft; polished bevels; Geneva waves; hand-made engravings.
FlexRing: an annular dampener fitted between case and movement, providing shock protection along the vertical and lateral axes.
Galvanic dark grey dials with both SLN numerals and hands.
Screw down crown.
Power reserve: 72 hours
Balance frequency: 2.5Hz / 18,000bph
Number of components: 298
Number of jewels: 35
Functions & indications
Hours, minutes, date and power-reserve indicators.
Push-button next to the date dial for quick adjustment of the date.
Case
Material: grade 5 titanium
Dimensions: 44mm x 17.5mm
Number of components: 52
Water resistance: 80m / 270' / 8ATM
Sapphire crystals
Sapphire crystals on top and display back treated with anti-reflective coating on both faces.
Strap & buckle
Rubber strap with titanium folding buckle.

Limited edition of only 10 pieces

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Press release - 2021-22
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For more information, please contact
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Charris Yadigaroglou  cy@mbandf.com +41 22 508 10 33.
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MB&F – HOROLOGICAL MACHINE N°9 ‘Sapphire Vision’ Edition

MB&F – HOROLOGICAL MACHINE N°9 ‘Sapphire Vision’ Edition 2021

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 N°9 ‘SAPPHIRE VISION’

First presented in 2018, Horological Machine N°9 – nicknamed HM9 ‘Flow’ – was a tribute to the extraordinary automotive and aeronautic designs of the 1940s and 50s. The result was a case like no other that echoed the epoch’s flowing, aerodynamic lines.

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Despite its striking external appearance, MB&F founder Maximilian Büsser described the engine inside HM9 as “the most beautiful movement we’ve created to date”. What other logical step was there to take, if not to encase the HM9 engine in a transparent sapphire crystal shell?

Presenting HM N°9 ‘Sapphire Vision’ – aka HM9-SV

An outer hull of sapphire crystal and precious metal, curved and bubbled and precisely fitted together in three parts, is sealed with a proprietary combination of patented three-dimensional gasket and high-tech compound bonding process. Two fully independent cantilevered balances channel data into a differential that turns two heartbeats into one coherent time-pulse. Ultra-precise conical gears efficiently turn the engine’s energy and information current through a 90° angle to feed the time display on a sapphire crystal dial, marked with Super-LumiNova.

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On the reverse, co-axial beneath each of the balances are propellers: twin turbines that spin freely as an element of pure visual interest, waiting for someone to begin a new type of exploration. Two years after the initial HM9 Flow ‘Air’ and ‘Road’ editions conquered land and sky, HM9-SV takes us to the depths of the ocean – the last realm on Earth that still holds a wealth of untold secrets. Before you is an exploratory vessel from Atlantis, powered by a divergent technology both familiar and strange to our eyes.

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Externally, the lines of HM9-SV glide over the blueprint of its Road and Air-designated predecessors. The laws of fluid dynamics remain dominant in its design, although the hydro-governed objectives allow HM9-SV to take a more lenient approach to the sharp inward angles and parabolic curves of the previous Flow versions. From a technical standpoint, the reworked dimensions were necessary to account for the differences in material properties of sapphire crystal; although extremely hard, sapphire can fracture sharply under pressure whereas a metal would merely deform. The smoother lines of HM9-SV minimise potential areas of mechanical vulnerability – but they also reinforce its ocean-dweller’s aesthetic.

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The HM9 engine follows in the paths opened by the engines of Horological Machines N°4 and N°6, casting aside conventions of movement construction. Its three-dimensional assemblage of wheels, gears, plates and bridges takes unexpected forms to inhabit the dynamic outer case, a beating union of mechanical viscera and endoskeleton in a crystalline body.

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A traditional balance frequency of 2.5Hz (18,000vph) may seem curiously anachronistic in a modern timekeeper, but the sensitivity to shock associated with a lower beat rate is compensated for by having two balances instead of one. Statistically speaking, two identically calibrated systems offer a better averaged reading than one system on its own, which may deliver anomalous results for any number of reasons.

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To further reduce sensitivity to shocks, the HM9-SV editions feature a new shock-absorbing system: helicoidal springs placed between the movement and the case. The springs are crafted by laser from a solid tube of polished stainless steel, offering excellent elasticity and limited lateral displacement.

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Performing the task of averaging the time measurement from the twin balances of the HM9 engine is a planetary differential, the gearbox of the movement, which then delivers a final reading to be displayed on the perpendicularly oriented dial. This complex mechanical computation was partially revealed in the original HM9 Flow, with sapphire crystal domes set over each balance and with a magnifying pane mounted above the planetary differential, visually emphasising the importance of its chronometric role. In HM9-SV, every aspect of the engine is open to discovery; the eye can follow the interplay of components from barrel to balance, from differential to dial.

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 order to seal the sapphire crystal exterior components into one watertight case, new solutions had to be created. A patented three-dimensional rubber gasket was already used in the original HM9 Flow to ensure water resistance when the tripartite case was bolted together. The 3-D gasket remains in HM9-SV, but the sapphire crystals are fused with the metallic frame thanks to a high-tech bonding compound, mastered via an in-house process involving a vacuum and high temperature. The result is a seal resistant to 3ATM (30m) of water pressure, despite practically invisible seams between the sapphire components and the minimalistic frame in 18K gold.

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HM9 Sapphire Vision comes in four editions, each limited to only five pieces: two editions with 18K red gold frame, combined with a NAC-coated black or a PVD-coated blue engine; and two editions with 18K white gold frame, featuring a PVD-coated purple or a red gold plated engine.

CLARITY OF VISION

Corundum, commonly known in its gem-quality form as sapphire crystal, is one of the hardest minerals known to man. It is surpassed in hardness only by a few other materials, notably diamond (crystalline carbon), which rates a 10 on Moh’s scale of hardness, while corundum is rated at 9. This exceptional hardness means that sapphire watch crystals are virtually scratch-proof, providing unparalleled legibility and material integrity over the long term, not to mention imparting a level of prestige that is not associated with regular silicate glass or transparent polycarbonate — the two most common alternatives to sapphire watch crystals.

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Concurrently, this also means that sapphire is extremely challenging to machine in complex three-dimensional shapes, a challenge that is compounded by the small machining tolerances required in watchmaking. Since its very first creations, MB&F has worked with ever-increasingly complicated sapphire crystal components; HM2 ‘Sapphire Vision’, the double-arched crystals of HM4 ‘Thunderbolt’, the recent HM3 FrogX and the hallucinatory body of HM6 ‘Alien Nation’ are prime examples.

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Preparing the crystals for a single case of HM9-SV requires approximately 350 hours of careful machining and polishing; weeks of work that would be extended greatly if not for the 16 years of boundary-pushing sapphire crystal design that MB&F has accumulated since 2005.

MORE ABOUT THE HM9 ENGINE

The result of three years of development, the HM9 engine is conceived and assembled entirely in-house, with the accumulated experience that comes with MB&F’s 18 different movements to date.

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Long-time members of the MB&F Tribe will recognise the mechanical pedigree of the HM9 engine. Its double-balance system with differential is descended from the similar mechanism in Legacy Machine N°2, albeit in vastly different aesthetic form. Whereas LM2 emphasised design purity and the hallucinatory effect of its suspended oscillators, HM9 is exultant in its celebration of expressive design.

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Two balances beating within the same movement will inevitably bring up discussions of resonance, the mechanical phenomenon that describes linked oscillators in a state of mutual harmonic excitation. As with the LM2 engine, Horological Machine N°9 deliberately avoids inducing the resonance effect. Its purpose in including two balance wheels is to obtain discrete sets of chronometric data that can be translated by a differential to produce one stable averaged reading. This purpose would be defeated by two balances oscillating perfectly in phase, giving the same chronometric data at every point.

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Regulating the twin balances is a challenge in its own category. Industry-standard equipment used in regulating a watch balance assembly uses the sound given off by an oscillating balance to measure beat rate. Because the HM9 engine has two balance assemblies operating simultaneously, creating two sets of sounds, this method is not possible here. When first launched in 2018, each example of Horological Machine N°9 had to be regulated by first blocking one balance to regulate the remaining one, and vice versa. When both balances were allowed to run, the calibration would shift slightly, requiring multiple rounds of re-blocking and re-regulating before an optimal chronometric result was achieved.

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Since then, the MB&F team has advanced significantly in chronometric regulation techniques, largely thanks to the experience gained in creating Legacy Machine Thunderdome. HM9-SV thus benefits from a few additional years of specialised expertise in this area — not much in calendar terms, but immeasurable in terms of savoir-faire.

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Model: HM9-SV 

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HM9 Sapphire Vision comes in four editions, each limited to only five pieces:

• - two editions with 18K 5N+ red gold frame, combined with a NAC-coated black or PVD-coated blue engine;
• - two editions with 18K white gold frame, featuring a PVD-coated purple or red gold-plated engine.
  

Engine
Manual-winding in-house movement
Two fully independent balance wheels with planetary differential
Frequency: 2.5 Hz (18,000bph)
Single barrel with 45-hour power reserve
301 components, 52 jewels
Hours and minutes on vertical dial display
Dual spherical turbines under the movement
Shock-absorbing helicoidal springs linking the movement to the case
Case
‘SV’ editions in sapphire crystal with frame in 18K white or red gold (5N+).
Hour/minute dial in sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment and Super-LumiNova on the numbers and indexes.
Dimensions: 57mm x 47mm x 23mm
52 components
Water resistant to 3ATM (30m)
Unique assembly process of the three sapphire crystal case parts with a patented three-dimensional gasket and high-tech bonding compound.
Sapphire crystals
Total of five sapphire crystals treated with anti-reflective coating: three crystals for the main components of the case, one crystal covering the dial, and one crystal for the dial itself.
Strap and buckle
Hand-stitched brown or black alligator strap with red or white gold folding buckle matching the case.

HM9 Sapphire Vision comes in four editions, each limited to only 5 pieces

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Press release - 2021
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www.facebook.com - MBandF
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For more information, please contact
MB&F SA, Rue Verdaine 11, CH-1204 Genève, Switzerland
Charris Yadigaroglou  cy@mbandf.com +41 22 508 10 33.
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MB&F – LEGACY MACHINE FlyingT Edition

 MB&F – LEGACY MACHINE FlyingT Tourbillon Edition 2020

The first MB&F Machine dedicated to women

 Even the most unpredictable and audaciously led lives, when observed from a distance, form patterns and fall into cycles. This is a fundamental truth that underlies all human existence, whether individual or collective.

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For Maximilian Büsser and MB&F, creative energy comes in seven-year cycles. It was in MB&F’s seventh year that the Legacy Machine collection was born, that the first M.A.D.Gallery opened in Geneva and opened the door to the MB&F co-creations.

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The 14th year of MB&F unveiled a new avenue of horological exploration, an evolution of creative horizons for founder and company alike: the Legacy Machine FlyingT, first launched in 2019, is the first of MB&F’s three-dimensional horological art pieces dedicated to women.

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A round case in gold or platinum, with a steeply cambered bezel and slender, elongated lugs, often fully set with diamonds. A high, extravagantly convex dome of sapphire crystal rises from the bezel. Beneath the dome, a subtly curved dial plate in various finishes: liquidly black with layers of stretched lacquer, guilloche, sparkling in lapis lazuli, or glittering with blazing white diamonds.

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An asymmetric ventricular opening in the dial plate frames the heart of the LM FlyingT engine – a cinematic flying tourbillon that beats at a serene rate of 2.5Hz (18,000vph). The tourbillon projects high above the rest of the engine, a kinetic, dynamic column that stops just short of the apex of the sapphire crystal dome. Affixed to the top of the upper tourbillon cage is a single large diamond that rotates simultaneously with the flying tourbillon, emitting the fiery brilliance of the very best quality stones.

LEGACY MACHINE FlyingT

At the 7 o’clock position – another reference to the numeric theme that runs throughout LM FlyingT – is a dial of black or white lacquer (or lapis lazuli) that displays the hours and minutes with a pair of elegant serpentine hands. The dial is inclined at a 50° tilt so that the time can be read only by the wearer, an intimate communication that highlights the personal nature of LM FlyingT.

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On the reverse, the automatic winding rotor takes the shape of a three-dimensional red gold sun with sculpted rays, providing LM FlyngT with fourdays of power reserve.

The design of Legacy Machine FlyingT is replete with associations drawn from the feminine and maternal influences in Maximilian Büsser’s life. Says Büsser, “I wanted LM FlyingT to possess the epitome of femininity as reflected by the women in my life, particularly my mother. It had to combine supreme elegance with tremendous vitality. The column-like structure of the flying tourbillon was very important to me as I felt very strongly that women form the pillar of humanity. At the same time, there is another layer of meaning coming in from the sun-shaped rotor, which incorporates the element of life-giving, a source of sustenance which we gravitate towards and around.”

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Legacy Machine FlyingT was first launched in 2019 in three editions, all in white gold and set with diamonds: black lacquer dial plate with case set with brilliant-cut diamonds; dial plate and case both fully set with brilliant-cut diamonds; and dial plate and case both fully set with baguette-cut diamonds.

In 2020, LM FlyingT added three new references, first shedding its diamonds with limited editions in red gold and platinum, featuring guilloche dial plates; and now back in an 18k white gold case adorned with diamonds, with a new dial plate in deep blue lapis lazuli.

LEGACY MACHINE FlyingT IN DETAIL

LM FlyingT INSPIRATIONS

The creative process behind Legacy Machine FlyingT started four years ago, when Maximilian Büsser began thinking about making something inspired by the feminine influences in his life. Says Büsser, “I created MB&F to do what I believe in, making three-dimensional sculptural kinetic art pieces that give the time. I was creating for myself, which is the only way we could have made all these crazy and audacious pieces over the years. But at some point there came a desire to create something for the women in my family. I’ve been surrounded by their influence all my life, so I gave myself the challenge to do something for them.”

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Inspiration came from the combination of seemingly incompatible qualities that characterised the greatest feminine figures in Maximilian Büsser’s life. Elegance was key, but so was an infectious energy that could captivate an entire roomful of people. The lines and composition of Legacy Machine FlyingT epitomise these qualities, being as refined and pure as any other Legacy Machine, but with the dynamism and exuberance of a central flying tourbillon.

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The intimate and personal nature of LM FlyingT led to the ultimate placement of the time indication at the 7 o’clock position on the dial plate, with the dial tilted 50° to face the wearer. The message is subtle but clear – that whoever the owners and wearers of Legacy Machine FlyingT may be, their time belongs to them and no one else.

UNLOCKING THE FEMININE SIDE OF MB&F

“The last thing I wanted to do,” says Maximilian Büsser, “was to take a masculine timepiece, resize it, put a different colour on it and call it a ladies’ watch.” Each MB&F creation is drawn together in a complex process that is equal parts original Max Büsser concept, design finesse by Eric Giroud, and mechanical ingenuity by the in-house technical team. Aesthetic and philosophical coherence is essential to the final result, from the adventurous Horological Machine N°5 “On The Road Again” to the high-complication, technically ambitious Legacy Machine Perpetual.

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To bring out a different level of refinement for the feminine LM FlyingT, the Legacy Machine case was completely redesigned. Case height and diameter were reduced in order to shift the focus to the highly convex sapphire crystal dome. The lugs were slimmed down, their curves were emphasised, and deep bevels were introduced to create a more elegant profile.

Harsh or particularly defined lines have been tempered throughout LM FlyingT, such as in the example of the hour and minute hands, which take on an undulating shape – echoed in the rays of the sun-shaped automatic winding rotor.

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Asymmetry is highlighted in the design of LM FlyingT, from the positioning of the time display at 7 o’clock to the ventricular dial-plate aperture that frames the emerging tourbillon. Even the tourbillon cage itself embraces asymmetry, opting for a cantilevered double-arch upper bridge instead of the symmetrical battleaxe which has topped all other MB&F tourbillons.

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Woven throughout Legacy Machine FlyingT are subtle references to the aspects of femininity that resonate strongest with Max Büsser, such as the solar motif of the automatic winding rotor and the column construction of the tourbillon, which introduce concepts of life-giving and support.

ABOUT THE ENGINE

The mechanical antecedents of Legacy Machine FlyingT lie mostly in the Horological Machine collection, namely with the HM6 series and HM7 Aquapod.

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In a departure from most modern watch movements, which take a radial and co-planar approach to movement construction, the LM FlyingT engine utilises a vertical and co-axial approach. The cinematic flying tourbillon, which boldly projects beyond the dial-plate of LM FlyingT, is a visually stunning example of the rotating escapement and stands in stark contrast to other flying tourbillons, which usually do not venture past the confines of their surrounding watch dials.

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Flying tourbillons, as their name suggests, are anchored only at their base, with no stabilising bridge to restrict lateral motion at the top. This increased need for overall rigidity is what causes the conservative placement of most flying tourbillons within their movements. Legacy Machine FlyingT breaks free of this limiting need for movement security and confidently displays its flying tourbillon in all its glory.

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An additional distinct challenge which arose in the construction of LM FlyingT was the shape of the upper tourbillon cage, which creates more mass on one side of the tourbillon than the other. In order to compensate and ensure that the mechanism remains balanced, a counterweight was hidden under the tourbillon carriage, on the opposite side of the upper tourbillon cage.

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In order to display the time as precisely as possible on the 50° inclined dial, conical gears were employed to optimally transmit torque from one plane to another, a solution first used in HM6 and subsequently in HM9 Flow.

The 280-component engine of Legacy Machine FlyingT has a power reserve of four days (100 hours), which is among the highest within MB&F, a testament to the growth of in-house expertise and experience.

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TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Model:  LM FlyingT –

Diamond-set editions in 18k white gold cases with dial plates in black lacquer, paved diamond-set, baguette diamond-set or lapis lazuli.
Red gold and platinum limited editions with guilloche dial plates.

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Engine
Three-dimensional vertical architecture, automatic winding, conceived and developed in-house by MB&F
Central flying 60-second tourbillon
Power reserve: 100 hours
Balance frequency: 2.5 Hz / 18,000 bph
Three-dimensional sun winding rotor in 18k 5N+ red gold, titanium and platinum.
Number of components: 280
Number of jewels: 30

Functions/indications
Hours and minutes displayed on a 50° vertically titled dial with two serpentine hands.
Two crowns: winding on left and time-setting on right.

Case
Material: 18k white gold and diamonds, 18k red gold or platinum.
High domed sapphire crystal on top with anti-reflective coating on both sides, sapphire crystal on back.
Dimensions: 38.5mm x 20mm
Number of components: 17
Water resistance: 30 m / 90’ / 3 ATM

Black Lacquer and Lapis Lazuli editions
💎168 stones (120 on the case, 21 on the buckle, 1 on top of the tourbillon cage and 26 for the crowns). About 1.7ct.

Paved diamond-set edition:
💎558 stones (390 on the dial, 120 on the case, 21 on the buckle, 1 on top of the tourbillon cage and 26 for the crowns). About 3.5 ct.

Baguette diamonds edition:
💎294-baguette diamonds and 3 stones (134-baguette diamonds on the dial, 124-baguette diamonds on the case, 12-baguette diamonds on the buckle, 24-baguette diamonds and 2 stones for the crowns, 1 stone on top of the tourbillon cage). About 8.2 ct.

Strap & buckle
Calf or alligator leather straps available with white gold pin buckle matching the case.


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‘FRIENDS’ RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LM FlyingT

Concept: Maximilian Büsser / MB&F
Product design: Eric Giroud / Through the Looking Glass
Technical and production management: Serge Kriknoff / MB&F
R&D: Simon Brette, Thomas Lorenzato, Robin Anne, Joey Miserez and Julien Peter / MB&F

Case: Giuseppe Di Stefano / STG Creation
Profile-turning wheel/pinion/axis: Paul André Tendon / Bandi, Decobar Swiss, Gimmel Rouages and Le Temps Retrouvé
Springs and jumpers: Alain Pellet / Elefil Swiss
Mainspring and barrel: Stéphane Schwab/ Schwab Feller and Atokalpa
Tourbillon: Andreas Kurt / Precision Engineering
Plates and bridges: Benjamin Signoud / Amecap, Rodrigue Baume / Horlofab and DEM3
Black dial plate fine-finishing: Hassan Chaïba and Virginie Duval / Les Ateliers d’Hermès Horlogers
Setting of diamonds and baguettes-cut diamonds (case, dial plate and crowns): Giuseppe Di Stefano /STG Creation
Lapis Lazuli dials: Groh + Ripp
Sun-shaped winding rotor: Nathalie Guilbaud / Cendres et Métaux
Ball bearing: Patrice Parietti / MPS Micro Precision Systems
Hand-finishing of movement components: Jacques-Adrien Rochat and Denis Garcia / C.-L. Rochat
Sapphire glass: Sebal
Anti-refection treatment for sapphire crystals: Anthony Schwab / Econorm
Serpentine hands: Isabelle Chillier / Fiedler
Dial (discs for hours – minutes): Hassan Chaïba and Virginie Duval / Les Ateliers d’Hermès Horlogers
Movement assemblage: Didier Dumas, Georges Veisy, Anne Guiter, Emmanuel Maitre and Henri Porteboeuf / MB&F
In-house machining: Alain Lemarchand and Jean-Baptiste Prétot / MB&F
Quality Control: Cyril Fallet / MB&F
After-Sales service: Thomas Imberti / MB&F
Buckle: Giuseppe Di Stefano / STG Creation
Crowns: Cheval Frères
Strap: Multicuirs
Presentation case: Olivier Berthon / Soixanteetonze
Production logistics: David Lamy, Isabel Ortega and Ashley Moussier / MB&F

Marketing & Communication: Charris Yadigaroglou, Virginie Toral and Arnaud Légeret / MB&F
M.A.D.Gallery: Hervé Estienne / MB&F
Sales: Thibault Verdonckt, Virginie Marchon, Cédric Roussel and Jean-Marc Bories / MB&F
Graphic design: Sidonie Bays / MB&F, Adrien Schulz and Gilles Bondallaz / Z+Z
Watch photography: Maarten van der Ende and Alex Teuscher
Portrait photography: Régis Golay / Federal
Webmasters: Stéphane Balet / Nord Magnétique, Victor Rodriguez and Mathias Muntz / Nimeo
Film: Marc-André Deschoux / MAD LUX
Texts: Suzanne Wong / Worldtempus
 

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Press release - 2020
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www.facebook.com - MBandF
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For more information, please contact
MB&F SA, Rue Verdaine 11, CH-1204 Genève, Switzerland
Charris Yadigaroglou  cy@mbandf.com +41 22 508 10 33.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.MBandF.com

MB&F – Legacy Machine Perpetual EVO Edition

MB&F – Legacy Machine Perpetual EVO Zirconium Limited Edition

Over the past 15 years, MB&F creations have transported their wearers to destinations that exist only on maps of the imagination: from star-cruisers to deep-sea jellyfish, Maximilian Büsser’s Machines are the mechanical cartographers of the multiverse.

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But the greatest journey has yet to be undertaken, and true progress is marked by evolution. Presenting Legacy Machine Perpetual EVO: with this new Machine, you are the navigator; the map is your life. On this journey, you’ll never have to leave your watch behind.

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A 44mm case in zirconium, a lustrous silvery-grey metal with material properties surpassing stainless steel and titanium. A new case profile that emphasises openness and extreme clarity. A specially developed monobloc shock-absorbing system – “FlexRing” – that makes for the most robust Machine ever to emerge from MB&F. The LM Perpetual Engine, designed by Stephen McDonnell, an award-winning perpetual calendar that replaces traditional constructions with an innovative mechanical processor. Three options of PVD/CVD dial-plate colour, including — for the first time in a high-end piece of Swiss watchmaking — atomic orange. And a closely-fitted, integrated strap for the smoothest wearing experience of any MB&F Machine ever.

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The MB&F collection has welcomed several complications and horologically prestigious mechanisms over the past 15 years, including the record-smashing TriAx that debuted in 2019’s Legacy Machine Thunderdome. In terms of combining prestige, tradition and innovation, however, Legacy Machine Perpetual has remained at the apex of MB&F watchmaking savoir-faire since it was introduced five years ago. With a new case of zirconium — lighter than steel and more durable than titanium — the LM Perpetual Engine gains a new level of liberation. Those already familiar with MB&F’s affinity for material experimentation will know how rare it is to see zirconium used in watchmaking. Zirconium is known to spontaneously ignite in powdered form, making it highly dangerous to machine. Balancing out the risk incurred during the manufacturing process however, are the hypoallergenic and anti-microbial properties of zirconium, qualities which make it popular in biomedical applications and the perfect material for an active-lifestyle watch.

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Although the 44mm diameter is unchanged from its 2015 iteration, the new EVO case design features a no-bezel construction, with the domed sapphire crystal fused directly to the case. The increased openness of this design highlights the equilibrium between the legibility of LM Perpetual EVO’s calendar indications and the cinematic play of the engine components — surmounted by the iconic MB&F hovering balance wheel. This expansive new presentation of the LM Perpetual Engine was no simple design reconfiguration. New geometries for the sapphire crystal had to be calculated, achieving the mechanically opposing aims of maintaining structural strength and decreasing its height-to-diameter ratio. Freeing LM Perpetual EVO from the bezel also necessitated the use of a sophisticated thermal bonding system between the sapphire crystal and the zirconium case.

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The previously circular pushers for adjusting the perpetual calendar have been enlarged into double-sprung oblong actuators, boosting the tactile comfort and ease of adjustment. For the first time in any MB&F creation, the LM Perpetual EVO is rated at 80m of water resistance, enabled by its screw-down crown. A small, but essential, detail of implementing a screw-down crown is the débrayage of the winding stem, disengaging the crown from the winding mechanism when it is pushed in and tightened, which eliminates the chance of manually over-winding the mainspring barrel.

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 An additional new element of the LM Perpetual EVO is the FlexRing: an annular dampener fitted between case and movement, providing shock protection along the vertical and lateral axes. Machined from a single block of stainless steel, the dampener imparts exceptional robustness to the perpetual calendar, a function that is associated with classicism and elegance, but is arguably the most pragmatic and utilitarian of all the high complications.

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When Stephen McDonnell set out to redesign the perpetual calendar for MB&F, he proposed a system that rethought the entire mechanical basis of the complication. The LM Perpetual uses a “mechanical processor” consisting of a series of superimposed disks. This revolutionary processor takes the default number of days in the month at 28 — because, logically, all months have at least 28 days — and then adds the extra days as required by each individual month. This ensures that each month has exactly the right number of days, and removes the possibility of the date jumping incorrectly. An inbuilt safety feature disconnects the quickset pushers during the date changeover, so that even if the pushers are accidentally actuated whilst the date is changing, there is no risk of damage to the movement.

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Reinforcing the dynamism and durability of the LM Perpetual EVO is a new dial plate colour — a shade of orange that is as bright as it is difficult to achieve. Although dark shades of PVD and CVD coating have been used for years in watchmaking, with colours towards the cooler end of the visible light spectrum becoming more common recently, warmer hues such as yellow, orange and red have always remained unattainable. A combination of technical innovations in the areas of coating material and coating technique allows the LM Perpetual EVO to don this atomic shade, bringing the next level of horological heat to your wrist. Two other dial-plate colours, black and blue are also available, with each of the three shades produced in a limited series of 15 pieces – celebrating the brand’s 15th anniversary.

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In design, in technique, in spirit, Legacy Machine Perpetual EVO is an evolution of your story with MB&F.

The LM Perpetual EVO is not a watch for sports. It is a watch for life.

PERPETUAL EVO IN DETAILS 
 A MATTER OF MATERIALS

The LM Perpetual EVO comes in a case of zirconium, a metal rarely used in watchmaking due to the extreme requirements involved in machining this high-risk material. When zirconium is finely divided into a powder, as might happen when it is being worked into different forms by industrial tools, it is known to combust. During conventional machining processes, when metallic particles are constantly being created and dispersed through the environment, zirconium has proved extremely dangerous. The creation of zirconium metal parts has to be conducted under controlled, secure conditions.

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Previously, this challenging metal was used in MB&F’s HM3 Frog and HM5. Zirconium’s biocompatibility and hypoallergenic and anti-microbial properties made it the ideal material for the organic curves of MB&F’s favourite amphibian, while its technical appeal and physical properties (lighter than steel, more durable than titanium) were a perfect fit for the motoring-inspired HM5.

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The LM Perpetual EVO introduces a new paradigm for MB&F — the use of zirconium is not in support of the journey of imagination initiated by the watch concept; it is the means by which LM Perpetual EVO will keep pace with whatever journey you choose to embark upon.

CALENDRIC COMPUTATION

Conventional perpetual calendars are generally modules comprising the complication, which is fitted on top of an existing movement. The calendar indications are synchronised by a long lever running across the top of the complication and passing through the centre. As the date changes, this long lever transmits information to the appropriate components and mechanisms by moving backwards and forwards. This traditional system, while beautiful in its interplay of levers and components, is also extremely unwieldy, restricting movement construction in several key ways that would make something like Legacy Machine Perpetual a mechanical impossibility.

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Created by Stephen McDonnell and premiered in 2015, the LM Perpetual Engine was — and still is — one of the most innovative perpetual calendar systems to exist in modern watchmaking.

In the traditional system, perpetual calendars assume that, by default, all months have 31 days. At the end of months with fewer than 31 days, the mechanism quickly skips through the superfluous dates before arriving at the 1st of the new month. Any manipulation or adjustment of the date during changeover can result in damage to the mechanism, requiring expensive repairs by the manufacturer. The dates can also jump or skip during changeover, negating the whole point of the perpetual calendar in the first place, which is not requiring adjustment for years. Or decades.

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Legacy Machine Perpetual uses a “mechanical processor” consisting of a series of superimposed disks. This revolutionary processor takes the default number of days in the month at 28 – because, logically, all months have at least 28 days – and then adds the extra days as required by each individual month. This ensures that each month has exactly the right number of days. There is no "skipping over" redundant days, so there is no possibility of the date jumping incorrectly.

Using a planetary cam, the mechanical processor also enables quick-setting of the year so that it displays correctly in the four-year leap year cycle, whereas traditional perpetual calendar mechanisms require the user to scroll through up to 47 months to arrive at the right month and year.

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The mechanical processor also enables an inbuilt safety feature that disconnects the quick-set pushers during the date changeover, eliminating any risk of damage while the date is changing.

In 2015, Legacy Machine Perpetual premiered the world's longest balance wheel pinion, connecting the hovering balance to the escapement on the back of the engine. This technical feat has since been showcased elsewhere in the MB&F collection, namely the Legacy Machine Split Escapement.

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 ORANGE ALERT

Finding a new shade of PVD or CVD treatment may seem at first to be a purely aesthetic endeavour that requires little in the way of technical expertise or innovation, but that could not be further from the truth. Colours that are a result of PVD or CVD (physical or chemical vapour deposition), are not simply applications of ordinary pigments. PVD/CVD coatings were originally reserved for utilitarian purposes, providing a thin layer of protective material for reasons of tribology, or to extend the longevity of mechanical parts.

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Applications of PVD and CVD for design purposes came later, but even when used for decoration, these coatings remain high-performance solutions for surface treatments, requiring aesthetic and material stability over the long term. Although PVD and CVD coatings are no more than a few nanometers thick, the colours they exhibit are known for their brilliance and intensity. This is due to an optical effect known as thin-film interference, where light is either disrupted or reinforced to drive only certain wavelengths of visible light back into our eyes, which we then perceive as colour.

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Dark PVD/CVD coatings are common, with colours that appear along the cooler end of the visible light spectrum becoming more familiar in watchmaking. Yellow, orange and red remain tantalisingly out of reach for all except the most technically advanced specialists, who keep their material compounds and application methods a close professional secret.

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The LM Perpetual EVO is the first timepiece to exhibit a bright orange shade of CVD coating, in line with the game-changing approach to watchmaking at MB&F.

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TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Model: Legacy Machine Perpetual EVO Edition

Legacy Machine Perpetual EVO is available in three variations of 15 pieces each:

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Zirconium case with orange CVD dial plate
Zirconium case with blue CVD dial plate
Zirconium case with black PVD dial plate 

Engine
Fully integrated perpetual calendar developed for MB&F by Stephen McDonnell, featuring dial-side complication and mechanical processor system architecture with inbuilt safety mechanism. Manual winding with double mainspring barrels. Bespoke 14 mm balance wheel with traditional regulating screws visible on top of the movement. Superlative hand finishing throughout respecting 19th century style; internal bevel angles highlighting hand craft; polished bevels; Geneva waves; hand-made engravings.
Galvanic black dials with both SLN numerals and hands (except for the leap year and power reserve)
FlexRing: an annular dampener fitted between case and movement, providing shock protection along the vertical and lateral axes.
Screw down crown
Power reserve: 72 hours
Balance frequency: 18,000 bph / 2.5Hz
Number of components: 581
Number of jewels: 41
Functions/indications
Hours, minutes, day, date, month, retrograde leap year and power reserve indicator
Case
Material: Zirconium.
Dimensions: 44 mm x 17.5 mm
Number of components: 70 components
Water resistance: 30 m / 90' / 3 atm
Sapphire crystals
Sapphire crystals on top and display back treated with anti-reflective coating on both faces
Strap & buckle
Rubber strap with titanium folding buckle.


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Press release - 2020
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For more information, please contact
MB&F SA, Rue Verdaine 11, CH-1204 Genève, Switzerland
Charris Yadigaroglou  cy@mbandf.com +41 22 508 10 33.
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