Usually the yearly Legacy Machine watch from MB&F is one of the brand's more sober moments, a chance for it to offer something a little more reserved and less out there than its typical sci-fi creations. This year things are a little different. There's no question about it: The Legacy Machine Perpetual is MB&F's most ambitious creation yet.
As
MB&F founder Max Busser describes it, the Legacy Machine collection is
meant to show what MB&F watches might look like if the company were
operating 100 or 150 years ago instead of today. The Legacy Machine Perpetual
has all the basic elements collectors have come to expect over the past few
years. The 44mm case has that exaggerated domed crystal to accommodate the 14mm
balance wheel that hangs over everything else via the swooping bridge. The time
is shown on that small white enamel dial (here accompanied by ring-shaped
enamel subdials that appear to float over the skeletonized movement). And if
you turn the watch over, you'll see the traditional finishing, including Geneva
stripes, deep beveled edges, and mirror polishing, that adorns the other LM
movements.
But fundamentally, the LM Perpetual is a watch about doing something new.
For
this project, MB&F brought in Irish watchmaker Stephen McDonnell and let
him try a totally new kind of perpetual complication based on a 28-day month,
using only gears to make the adjustments. The result is an accurate calendar
that won't experience as much wear and tear over the life of the watch by
better managing power and tension within the mechanism. There are no springs to
bend or snap, and gears don't have to rapidly speed through those extra days on
shorter months. It's better engineering that makes the customer's life easier
in the end, plus you can see the 650 components at work right on the front of
the watch.
The first three Legacy
Machines were all time-only watches. The first showed two time zones, the
second used two timekeeping mechanisms to display one super-accurate account of
the time, and the third was an attempt to make a smaller, more wearable LM at a
slightly lower price point (not unlike this year's HMX). The LM
Perpetual moves in the opposite direction. It could easily have been a
disaster, muddying up the clear vision of the line, but I think MB&F has
done a nice job keeping the visual cues while creating an interesting watch
that stands on its own and offers something genuinely unique beyond marketing
language.
The LM Perpetual comes in two
versions, each limited to 25 individually numbered pieces. The rose gold
version is lower-contrast, a little more conservative, and will set you back
$145,000, while the platinum edition has a vivid blue dial behind all the
mechanics and is priced at $176,000.
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