The MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual Evolution

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. With the new Legacy Machine Perpetual EVO, this year the Manufacture is undertaking the greatest journey yet – that of evolution. With this watch, you can become a navigator and explore the map of your own life.
In terms of combining prestige, tradition and innovation, Legacy Machine Perpetual has remained at the apex of MB&F watchmaking savoir-faire since it was introduced five years ago.

MB&F has built the LM Perpetual Evolution into a 44 mm zirconium case. This lustrous silvery-grey metals‘ material properties are surpassing those of stainless steel and aluminium. Nevertheless, zirconium is rarely used in watchmaking. The material is known to spontaneously ignite in powdered form, making it dangerous to machine.
The new profile emphasises openness and extreme clarity and a specially developed monobloc shock-absorbing system – the FlexRing – makes for the most robust Machine ever to emerge from MB&F. In this design, MB&F has eliminated the bezel and fused the domed sapphire crystal directly to the case. New geometries had to be calculated, achieving the mechanically opposing aims of maintaining structural strength and decreasing ist height-to-diameter ratio.
The previously circular pushers have been enlarged into double-sprung oblong actuators, boosting the tactile comfort and ease of adjustment. And for the first time in any MB&F creation, the LM Perpetual EVO is rated at 80m of water restistance, enabled by its screw-down crown.

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.
The three color variants of the coated dial include an atomic orange. Although dark shades of PVD and CVD coating have been used for years in watchmaking, with colours toward 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 technique allows this Legacy Machine to don an outrageous orange. Blue and black versions are also available.

The LM Perpetual Engine, designed in 2015, features a perpetual calendar that replaces traditional constructions with an innovative mechanical processor consisting of a series of superimposed disks. It takes the default number of days in the month at 28 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. And where, in other watches, exists the very real risk of damage by pressing the pushers during the date changeover, this one comes with an inbuilt safety feature. It disconnets the quickset pushers during the date changeover, so that the movement cannot be damaged.

A closely-fitted, integrated strap provides the smoothest wearing experience of any MB&F Machine ever.
Each of the three colours is produced in a limited series of 15 pieces – celebrating the brand’s 15th anniversary.

MB&F Horological Machine N°9 Flow

In the post-war years of the late 1940s and 1950s, aerodynamic principles were just beginning to take root in the field of automotive design. Curvilinear forms became more prominent, carrying the immediate promise of power and speed. Thereby, designers were guided by their aesthetic sense. The result were automobiles like the Mercedes-Benz W196 and 1948 Buick Streamliner. Other industries followed, notably that of aviation.
And now, MB&F is presenting the Horological Machine N°9 Flow, which is inspired by the dynamic profiles of automotive and aviation mid-century design.

Reminiscent of a jet engine, a highly complex case in alternating polished and satin finishes encloses an equally complex manual winding movement, developed fully in house. Independent twin balance wheels beat at a leisurely 2.5 Hz on each flank of Horological Machine N°9, visible under elongated domes of sapphire crystal. A Third pane of sapphire crystal on the central body reveals the gearbox of the HM9 engine: a planetary differential that averages the output of both balance wheels to provide on stable reading of the time.
Sitting perpendicular to the rest of the HM9 engine is the dial indicating hours and minutes, driven by conical gears that ensure precise engagement even when motion is put through a 90° planar translation. The winding and setting crown is located on the rear of the central body, its deep fluting providing ergonomic grip as well as aesthetic coherence with the overall design.
Two satin-finished air scoops are mounted alongside the pods containing the oscillating balance wheels, evoking the raised vents that allow continuous airflow to high-performance motor engines.

HM9 Flow treads the path first opened by the HM4 Thunderbolt and subsequently by the HM6 Space Pirate, utilising a geometrically complex combination of milled case elements in both sapphire crystal and metal (titanium and red gold). However, HM9 goes beyond its predecessors, redefining what was thought to be possible in case design – illustrated for example by a three-dimensional gasket ensuring water resistance.

Quite naturally, HM9 Flow was therefore declined in two versions, drawing their inspiration from the two main sources: A „Road“ version with a speedometer-style dial; an „Air“ version with an aviator-style dial.
Both versions are limited to 18 pieces each.

May We Introduce: Grant – MB&F’s New Machine

MB&F and L’Epée once more joined forces to introduce a new collaboration.Grant is a triple-tracked, Mad-Max-cross-Transformer robot clock on a mission. In today’s fast-paced, always-on, 24/7 world, we are under constant bombardement from time: seconds race by; there is never enough; everyone wants more; and it keeps getting faster and faster. Once, the nearest hour was precise enough – now our clocks are exact to a second. Who feels stressed, can relax: help is at hand, Grant is here.

Grant is a robot with a time display on his shield and a mission to slow things down when time runs too fast. That’s why MB&F has decided to refrain from flashing digital numbers or a constantly spinning second hand. This way, Grant transforms frantic chaos into relaxing hours and minutes, wich is really all, anyone really needs.

While Grant’s time moves relatively slow, he can travel quickly over rough terrain (or the messiest desk) on his three operational rubber tracks. Grant can also transform into one of three different modes: lying horizontally over his chassis for a low profile; crouching at 45 degrees; and sitting up 90 degrees. Grant’s time shield can always be set to a comfortable and optimal viewing angle.

Whatever the angle, Grant’s highly polished clockwork is on full display, and you can follow every click and turn of the gears. The mainspring barrel click near his „belly button“ is particularly mesmerizing in operation. The isochronal oscillations of the regulator keeping time in Grant’s glass-domed „brain“ are evidence of the clockwork’s high precision. Watching Grant „think“ in real time is a stress-relieving activity in itself: Thus, Grant transforms time so that its observer can relax and enjoy it.
Grant’s 8-day, in-line manufacture movement features the same superlative fine finishing as found on the finest wristwatches: Geneva waves, anglage, polishing, sandblasting, plus circular and vertical satin finishing.

Grants Uhrwerk ist auf Hochglanz poliert und aus jedem Blickwinkel vollständig einsehbar, so dass man jedes Einrasten und Drehen der Zahnräder verfolgen kann. Besonders faszinierend ist es, die Sperre des Federhauses in der Nähe von Grants „Bauchnabel“ in Aktion zu beobachten. Die isochronon Schwingungen des Gangreglers, der im „Gehirn“ unter dem Glashelm die Zeit misst, zeugen von der hohen Präzision des Uhrwerks. Schon, wenn man Grant beim „Denken“ in Echtzeit beobachtet, merkt man, wie der Stress abnimmt. Und so verwandelt der Roboter Zeit in solche, die entspannt genossen werden kann.

While he doesn’t look for fights, Grant believes offense is a great form of defense and packs appropriate weaponry. His left arm holds a „you-really-don’t-want-to-mess-with-me“ spinning disk, while his right arm clasps a removable grenade launcher. And with the latter, he has a surprise up his sleeve: it is removable and doubles as a winding and time-setting key for his clockwork.
Grant is a lot of things, but small is not one of them. He measures 115 mm in height, 212 mm in width and 231 mm in length in the flat position. In the vertical position, Grant measures 166 mm in height, 212 mm in width and 238 mm in length. The contains 269 components and weighs 2.34 kilograms.

Grant is available in three limited editions of 50 pieces each in Nickel, Black, and Blue.