In MB&F’s whimsical catalog, the Legacy Machine (LM) line is as conventional as it gets with a round case shape that doesn’t make as wild a leap in style as its Horological Machine sister collection with which MB&F first planted its flag in the trade. However, the concession to convention stops at the case shape: the LM101 goes on to pay clever tribute to the pocket watch by inverting the very architecture of the mechanical watch, in bringing the regulator to dial centre. A balance wheel oscillating at a classically leisured 2.5Hz presides over the dial face, suspended on twin arches milled from a solid block and hand-polished to mirror perfection; no need for small seconds to display sign of life since this is plain enough from the state of the balance wheel, so two subdials display instead the time, and power reserve respectively.
The LM101 was launched in 2014 in red or white gold case and its movement was the first to be fully developed in-house by MB&F. This was followed by two limited ‘Frost’ editions with frosted finish, and another limited edition in platinum.
For its latest, MB&F is releasing a special edition LM101 in palladium case, limited to 18 pieces. The LM101 after five years is still as zany as ever, and we like the latest edition’s lacquered dial, which gives off pale shades of grey, blue and green depending on the light – somewhat like the sea.
Other delightful touches include the domed sapphire crystal in front which evokes the feel of domed undersea cities from the pages of pulp sci-fi, and the box sapphire display back that thins the caseband to make the watch appear slimmer than it is. The rest – hand finishing – is but par for the course, though just as important in legitimising MB&F’s unique creative vision into the rarefied standard of high watchmaking.
Technical Specifications
Movement
Manual-wind in-house movement; 2.5Hz; 45 hours power reserve
Case
40mm palladium
Strap
Leather with palladium buckle
