MB&F - Maximilimilian Busser & Friends Introduces the LM Split Escapement EVO

LEGACY MACHINE SPLIT ESCAPEMENT EVO

Having previously introduced the LM Perpetual EVO, LM Sequential EVO, and LM Split Escapement EVO, MB&F now unveils two new iterations of the LM Split Escapement EVO. The first one has an ice blue base plate, a grey dial with open counters, and is made of grade 5 titanium. Based on the success of MB&F's M.A.D.Galleries, the company has developed a new retail format called MB&F LABs, and this second edition is the first in a series of limited editions available only at these locations. It has Westime's signature blue and black colour scheme, with a metallic blue dial and open counters set against a distinctive black base plate. The EVO collection gains prominence

THE TRUE STORY OF THE LM SPLIT EVACUATION

As with all excellent tales, it is important to begin at the beginning. The inspiration for the LM Split Escapement originated with the LM Perpetual in 2015. Stephen McDonnell, a master watchmaker from Northern Ireland, had two requirements for the perpetual calendar: make it foolproof and place MB&F's characteristic flying balancing wheel in the centre of the dial. McDonnell quickly saw a problem: there was nowhere to place the escapement. With earlier Legacy Machines, the balance wheel and escapement were located on the front of the watch, but with the perpetual calendar display of the more sophisticated LM Perpetual, there was simply no place for both.

McDonnell, a man of solutions, had the brilliant idea of creating the world's longest balance staff that would traverse the entire movement, leaving the large balance wheel on its own, on the front of the watch, and moving the remaining parts of the escapement – anchor and escape wheel – to the opposite side of the movement, approximately 12 mm below; hence the name 'Split Escapement'.

When the LM Perpetual was introduced, there were so many new features to discuss that the split escapement was completely overlooked. Therefore, MB&F decided in 2017 to develop the LM Split Escapement (LM SE) to showcase McDonnell's brilliant concept. The manual-winding, 298-component movement is powered by twin barrels with a 72-hour power reserve and has a user-friendly, failsafe quick date-changing technology that protects the user from accidentally injuring the movement while updating the date.

EVO-LUTION

First versions of the LM Split Escapement were featured in MB&F's iconic Legacy Machine case; however, the collection now now includes the EVO case, which was designed for an active lifestyle.

This new case design debuted in the LM Perpetual EVO in 2020; it has 80 metres of water resistance, a screw-down crown, an integrated rubber strap, and a bezel-less design. But the EVO idea goes even further: within the casing, the movement is suspended by a world-first, monobloc shock-absorbing "FlexRing" system, which absorbs the vertical and horizontal stresses associated with real-world experiences.

After the LM Perpetual EVO, the EVO case made its way deeper into the Legacy Machine collection, most recently and with a bang with the LM Sequential EVO, MB&F's first chronograph. On the occasion of the UAE's Golden Jubilee, however, a 10-piece limited edition of the LM Split Escapement EVO was revealed incognito.

In addition to the EVO case, the Golden Jubilee edition featured a modification that radically altered the design of the LM Split Escapement: the entire mechanism was rotated clockwise by 30 degrees, with the crown at 4:30 instead of 2 o'clock – altering the watch's symmetry and giving it an entirely new personality.

THE NEW COLD-WEATHER EDITION

MB&F has introduced not one but two new LM SE EVO variants. The first watch is made from grade 5 titanium and has an ice blue base plate, slate grey dial, and open counters that will make you shiver in a good way.

A particular darker treatment on the movement side accentuates the difference between the wheels, rhodium-plated barrels, and rose gold embellishments, symbolically evoking the contrast between the energetic, modern essence of the EVO line and the classic finishing of the movement. MB&F is one of the few handmade manufacturers that continues to carefully hand-finish components, making the movement as captivating as the dial.

THE BEVERLY HILLS EDITION

The second edition is the first of a series of limited editions reserved exclusively for the MB&F LABs – a new retail format building on the success of MB&F's M.A.D.Galleries, combining MB&F timepieces with a limited number of art pieces, but adapted to spaces not quite large enough to house a full-fledged M.A.D.Gallery. This year will witness the debut of MB&F LABs in Paris, Singapore, and Beverly Hills, with this version created just for the Rodeo Drive location.

The MB&F LAB in Beverly Hills is maintained by the famous American watch retailer Westime, who has not only been a partner of the brand from its inception, but was also one of the first to create an MB&F LAB. This new edition of 25 pieces has the blue and black corporate colours of Westime, as well as a stunning black base plate, a metallic blue dial, and open counters. This will be the only MB&F LAB edition to be issued in 2018.

LEGACY MACHINE SPLIT ESCAPEMENT EVO

TECHNICAL Specifications

Legacy Machine Split Escapement EVO is offered in two distinct variants:

- Ti variant: grade 5 titanium case with pastel blue dials and baseplate.

- Beverly Hills version: 25-piece limited edition grade 5 titanium case with black baseplate and blue dials.

Engine

Stephen McDonnell created a new movement for MB&F.

With a split escapement, the balance wheel is hung above the dial and the anchor is located underneath the mechanism.

Manually wound mainspring with multiple barrels.

Customized 14mm balance wheel with typical regulating screws visible on the movement's surface.

Superior hand finishing throughout in keeping with the style of the nineteenth century; bevelled internal angles showing hand craftsmanship; polished bevels; Geneva waves; hand-made engravings.

FlexRing is an annular shock absorber installed between the casing and the movement to provide shock protection along the vertical and lateral axes.

Super-LumiNova on the hands and numerals.

Crown secured with screws.

72 hours of battery reserve

Balance frequency: 2.5Hz / 18,000bph

The number of elements is 298

Number of jewels: 35

Functionalities and signs

Indicators for the hours, minutes, date, and power reserve.

A push button next to the date dial for rapid date adjustments.

Case

Material: grade 5 titanium

Dimensions: 44 x 17.5mm

Quantity of parts: 52

80 metres / 8 ATM / 270 feet water resistance

Sapphire gemstones

Sapphire crystals on top and anti-reflective coating on both sides of the display back.

Strap & buckle

Integral rubber strap with folding titanium buckle.

'FRIENDS' RESPONSIBLE FOR LEGACY MACHINE

SPLIT ESCAPEMENT EVO

Theoretically, Maximilian Büsser / MB&F

Design of the product: Eric Giroud / Through the Looking Glass

Management of manufacturing and technology: Serge Kriknoff / MB&F

Stephen McDonnell and MB&F are responsible for the design and execution of the movement's finish.

Movement development: Stephen McDonnell and MB&F

MB&F's R&D team consists of Thomas Lorenzato, Joey Miserez, Mal Mendel, and Pierre-Alexandre Gamet.

Jean-Francois Mojon / Chronode, Atokalpa, Paul-André Tendon / Bandi, Daniel Gumy / Decobar Swiss, Rodrigue Baume / HorloFab, DMP, and Le Temps Retrouvé.

Andréas Kurt / Precision Engineering, Benjamin Signoud / AMECAP, and Marc Bolis / 2B8 / Balance Wheel

Barrel: Stefan Schwab / Schwab-Feller and Swiss Manufacturing

Perpetual calendar parts: Alain Pellet / Elefil

Movement engraved by hand: Glypto

Laser Automation with FlexRing

Components of the mechanism hand-finished by Jacques-Adrien Rochat and Denis Garcia / C-L Rochat

Pierre-Albert Steinmann / Positive Coating PVD/CVD-treatment

Components of the case and movements: Alain Lemarchand, Jean-Baptiste Prétot, Stéphanie Carvalho, and Fabien Ramazzino / MB&F

Movement assemblage: Didier Dumas, Georges Veisy, Anne Guiter, Emmanuel Maitre, Henri Porteboeuf and Mathieu Lecoultre / MB&F

Service after the sale: Thomas Imberti / MB&F

Control of Quality: Cyril Fallet and Jennifer Longuepez / MB&F

Case decoration: Sandra Lambert / Bripoli, Giuseppe Di Stefano / STG Création

Dial: Hassan Chaïba and Virginie Duval / Les Ateliers d'Hermès Horloger

Super-LumiNova on the dials: Frédérique Thierry / Monyco

Buckle: G&F Chatelain

Crown and administrators: Cheval Frères

Hands: Waeber HMS

Stettler is a manufacturer of sapphire crystals

Treatment against refraction for sapphire crystals: Anthony Schwab / Econorm

Thierry Rognon / Valiance, BIWI, Strap

Box for presentation: Olivier Berthon / Sixty-Two

David Lamy, Ashley Moussier, Fanny Boutier, Houda Fayroud, and Mélanie Ataide / MB&F. Logistics and production.

Charris Yadigaroglou, Vanessa André, Arnaud Légeret, and Paul Gay / MB&F Marketing & Communication

M.A.D.Gallery: Hervé Estienne / MB&F

Thibault Verdonckt, Virginie Marchon, Cédric Roussel, Jean-Marc Bories, and Augustin Chivot, MB&F, were responsible for sales.

Visual communication: Sidonie Bays / MB&F

Product photography: Maarten van der Ende and Laurent-Xavier Moulin

Photographer of portraits: Régis Golay / Federal

Webmaster: Stéphane Balet / Idéative

Film: Marc-André Deschoux/MAD LUX, Manouil Karapetsis/Brosky Media, Dominik Lang/Brosky Media

Sophie Furley / WorldTempus Texts

MB&F - THE EMERGENCE OF A CONCEPT LABORATORY

About

MB&F was established in 2005 and is the world's first horological concept laboratory. MB&F continues to pursue Founder and Creative Director Maximilian Büsser's goal of producing 3-D kinetic art by deconstructing conventional watchmaking, with around 20 exceptional calibres forming the basis of the highly renowned Horological and Legacy Machines.

Maximilian Büsser left from his role as Managing Director at Harry Winston in 2005 to establish MB&F - Maximilian Büsser & Friends, after 15 years of experience in the management of famous watch companies. MB&F is an artistic and micro-engineering laboratory devoted to inventing and constructing small series of radical concept watches by assembling skilled horological specialists that Büsser appreciates and likes working with.

MB&F introduced its first Horological Machine, HM1, in 2007. HM1's sculpted, three-dimensional shell and exquisitely crafted engine (movement) established the benchmark for all subsequent distinctive Horological Machines — Machines that tell the time, rather than Machines that tell the time. The Horological Machines have investigated the universe (HM2, HM3, HM6), the sky (HM4, HM9), the road (HM5, HMX, HM8), and the animal world (HM2, HM3, HM6) (HM7, HM10).

In 2011, MB&F introduced its Legacy Machine series with round cases. These more traditional timepieces – traditional for MB&F – pay homage to nineteenth-century watchmaking mastery by reinterpreting complexities from the great horological inventors of the past to create modern objets d'art. LM1 and LM2 were succeeded by LM101, the first MB&F Machine with an in-house built movement. The addition of LM Perpetual, LM Split Escapement, and LM Thunderdome expanded the collection. MB&F celebrated 10 years of Legacy Machines in 2021 with the LMX. The year 2019 marked a turning point with the launch of the first MB&F machine devoted to women, the LM FlyingT. Typically, MB&F alternates between introducing modern, uncompromisingly unusual Horological Machines and historically inspired Legacy Machines.

As F stands for Friends, it was only natural for MB&F to form partnerships with artists, watchmakers, designers, and manufacturers they respect.

This resulted in the formation of two new categories: performance art and co-creations. Co-creations are not wristwatches, but rather different forms of machinery, created and made by one-of-a-kind Swiss Manufactures from MB&F concepts and designs. Many of these Co-Creations, such as the clocks made with L'Epée 1839, tell the time, whilst partnerships with Reuge and Caran d'Ache resulted in the production of various types of mechanical art.

Instead of a regular storefront, Büsser decided to display all of these devices in an art gallery alongside the mechanical works of other artists. This resulted in the establishment of the first MB&F M.A.D.Gallery (M.A.D. stands for Mechanical Art Devices) in Geneva, followed by M.A.D.Galleries in Taipei, Dubai, and Hong Kong.

There have been several honours highlighting the unique character of MB&F's journey so far. ‘ There have been no fewer than seven awards from the prestigious Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève: in 2021, MB&F received two prizes: one for LMX as the Best Men's Complication and one for the LM SE Eddy Jaquet 'Around The World in Eighty Days' in the 'Artistic Crafts' category; in 2019, the prize for Best Ladies Complication went to the LM FlyingT; in 2016, the LM Perpetual won the (voted for by the professional jury). In 2010, MB&F won Best Concept and Design Watch for the HM4 Thunderbolt. The HM6 Space Pirate earned MB&F the Red Dot: Best of the Best award in 2015, the highest honour at the worldwide Red Dot Awards.