MB&F Legacy Machine No. 1, Avant-Garde and Tradition

MB&F decided to deliver a masterful horological slap in the face by creating the Legacy Machine No.1 (LM1).

MB&F had “got us used” to watches with mind-blowing shapes through the collection known as Horological Machines. With the Legacy Machine No.1, the manufacture returns to roundness.

The concept behind the LM1 watch originates in the mind of Maximilian Büsser (hence “MB&F”: Maximilan Büsser & Friends). The watchmaker asked himself what watch would have come out of his workshop had he been born 100 years earlier. Back then, Büsser’s sources of inspiration (Star Wars, Goldorak, or jet aircraft) did not exist. On the other hand, there were the Eiffel Tower, the books of Jules Verne, and pocket watches.

MB&F thus combines watchmaking tradition with its three-dimensional technology to produce the Legacy Machine No.1.

The tone is set at first glance with, at the centre of the dial, a substantial balance wheel with long oscillations. While the balance wheel follows the pure tradition of old pocket watches, the LM1 nonetheless radically upends convention by placing it on the dial rather than on the back of the movement.

The balance wheel, paired with its hairspring, seems to float weightlessly, as if it were independent of the watch’s movement.

Among its distinctive features, it is worth highlighting the ability to set two time zones independently (hours and minutes, which is rare). You have therefore understood the presence of two crowns used to set the two dials.

As if the Legacy Machine No.1 were not unique enough, MB&F developed the world’s first vertical power-reserve display. This feature makes the most of the watch’s three-dimensional character, offering a new perspective to admire through the domed sapphire crystal.

The blued-gold hands point to the Roman numerals on the dials which, like the balance wheel, appear to float above the movement. An ingenious system was devised to avoid the use of unsightly screws on the surface. This is refinement at its finest.

The movement’s back is particularly well finished, with elegant—almost sensual—bridges, large jewels, and decorations that are in keeping with the concept and design of the watch.