The Low-Down

Known for producing watches with an asking price that many would reserve for a house, MB&F presents a new edition of a bestseller, this time forged from Palladium 950.

The Legacy Machine Perpetual, (LM Perpetual for short), was first launched in 2015. Since then it has been crafted in red gold, platinum, white gold, titanium, and yellow gold.

Now, for 2021, a new limited edition of 25 pieces joins the series, crafted in palladium 950 and beautifully paired with an aquamarine sunray dial, which, depending on the light, varies in color between shades of pale blue, green and grey. The new Palladium edition also inherits the ergonomic corrector pushers first seen on the LM Perpetual EVO editions.

No doubt about it, it’s not just a stunning looking watch, it’s also extremely clever. Starting with a blank sheet of paper, MB&F, in partnership with independent Northern Irish watchmaker Stephen McDonnell, completely reinvented the time-honored complication, the perpetual calendar.

Together, MB&F and McDonnell have created an in-house movement developed from the ground up to eliminate the drawbacks of conventional perpetual calendars.

The solution not only looks visually amazing with sub dials appearing to float in suspension, it’s also more accurate and more logical. The LM Perpetual features a fully integrated 581-component calibre with no module, and one that is not compromised by the workings of a base movement.

The proud owner of this watch will wear on his wrist a revolutionary new system for calculating the number of days in each month. That can be a failing in many Perpetual Calendar complications because dates can skip and they are relatively easy to damage if adjusted while the date is changing.

With the LM Perpetual, the full complication of the perpetual calendar is on dial-free display underneath a suspended balance. The fully integrated, purpose-built movement of the Legacy Machine Perpetual has been designed expressly to offer trouble-free use with no more skipping of dates or jamming of gears. Even the adjuster pushers automatically deactivate when the calendar changes.

With a traditional perpetual calendar a 31-day month is the default configuration and months with fewer days are merely scrolled through. For example, when changing from February 28 to March 1, a traditional perpetual calendar scrolls quickly through the 29th, 30th and 31st to arrive at the 1st.

Not content with this, the makers of the LM Perpetual movement turned the traditional perpetual calendar system on its head by eschewing a space consuming grand levier system and using a “mechanical processor”.

With this system, the default is 28 days seamlessly covering all days in a month with extra days added as needed. There is no need to skip dates or fast forward. Also on traditional perpetual calendars, the leap year is set by scrolling through up to 47 months. With the LM Perpetual there’s a dedicated quickset pusher to adjust the year.

The wearer can marvel at the open-worked dial revealing the full complication and suspended balance. The eye-catching balance is connected to the escapement on the back of the movement by what is likely to be the world’s longest balance staff.

IMHO

The technical specs and layout are the same as previous versions of Legacy Machine Perpetuals, save the corrector pushers as featured on the LM Perpetual EVO.

The latest 44mm LM Perpetual is destined to be one of the rarer pieces in an already rare series. Palladium has a natural silvery-white hue, and is harder and rarer. As you would expect, the watch is a labour of love with hand-finishings, internal bevelled and polished angles throughout, large gold chatons, Geneva waves on the bridges and hand-engraved surfaces. Reassuringly, you are getting more metal for your money because palladium is more expensive than both gold and platinum. With all this going for it, the price is inevitably going to hurt. Check the specs to find out.

Tech Specs

Movement: fully integrated manual-winding perpetual calendar movement developed for MB&F by Stephen McDonnell – 72h power reserve – 18,000vph/2.5Hz – 581 components – hours, minutes, day, date, month, retrograde leap year and power reserve indication
Case & Dial: 44mm case in palladium 950; Open-worked with aquamarine base; centrally mounted balance wheel – 4 suspended sub-dials for day, date, month, hours and minutes -power reserve indicator and retrograde leap year at 4 and 7 o’clock.
Strap: hand-stitched alligator strap with folding buckle
Price & Availability: USD 206,000; Limited to 25 pieces