MB&F – LEGACY MACHINE PERPETUAL

In what could be the most exciting development for the horological aficionados, MB&F has presented the world yet another marvel of skill & Engineering, brought to us as the ‘LEGACY MACHINE PERPETUAL'. Akin to the other popular versions of high-end luxury watches dedicated to a particular complication, this horological machine is branded after perpetual. It took the makers of MB&F to complete this class act.

Perpetual calendar has been one of the signature qualities of a mechanical watch, which by far remains the favorite of craftsmen & connoisseurs, the feature of a mechanical watch that helps us in figuring out any given day of a week or a future date, taking leap year into consideration. The popular watchmakers of the late 20th century have been very particular about this feature along with other common complications like tourbillion & chime. As the name suggests, Legacy machine Perpetual happens to be the first perpetual calendar edition from MB & F.

Sapphire Dome, spaceship-esque motif- which happens to be the pinion rod that acts as a conduit between the movement & the escapement system, & skeletonized dial with the eyeball-grabbing bezel add up to make a compelling 44 mm rose/platinum case. A quintessential of unity in diversity, the legacy machine perpetual is the assimilation of 4 floating sub-dials in 1 one big beautiful dial with the movement of 581 parts making the raw backdrop to an awe-inspiring spectacle. To elaborate the aforesaid, hour & minute dial is located at 12’o clock, day at 3, the month at 6 & date at 9 in their sphere. The beauty of the blued steel hands comes alive on each particular dial adorning the timepiece. The mechanical processor of the watch is calibrated to cover the 28 days calendar of a month, unlike the traditional perpetual timepiece, which uses 31 days of a month. The watch’s mechanism allows a 4-days jump at one date switch. Hence, increasing the reliability in switching the date correctly at the month’s end. The safety mechanism to block adjustment of the perpetual calendar when the date is changing evades any risk of damage to the watch mechanism. Horologically speaking, perpetual is a shrouded feature, which watchmakers call ‘Cadrature’ or under-the-dial-work, which is not just limited to the perpetual calendar, but includes other complications as well, like a minute repeater.

The legacy machine perpetual doesn’t boast of an automatic movement. Therefore, you have to wound the movement of the timekeeper manually. An actual resemblance of the 19th-century pocket watch that were designed with minute detailing, the legacy machine perpetual claims to supply an uninterrupted 3-day movement that functions at a frequency of 2.5 Hz (1800bhp). For the lesser mortals, frequency here is the movement of a timepiece. The legacy machine perpetual uses a particular system of stacked gears, which is about getting rid of the complex lever system entirely. Information wise, stacked gear system is another favorite feature of mechanical watches, where gear train relies on more precise movement thus increasing the accuracy of the machine.

However, if I were to make my pick from the little wonder from MB&F, it would be the large floating balance wheel, which adds to the design aesthetics ably backed by the skeletonized backdrop. The pinion rod, which is arguably the longest balance wheel pinion rod, with its subtle appearance, creates a spellbinding charm & is visible in the rear view of the dial along with the whole escapement system. The legacy machine perpetual comes along with an alligator leather strap.

MB&F Legacy Machine perpetual is no lesser a marvel when compared to some of the reputed timepieces released in the luxury timepieces category. At launch, the watch came in a limited series of 25 pieces in rose gold and 25 pieces in platinum. Price for the rose gold version is $145,000 while the platinum version is pegged at a whopping $176,000.