MB&F’s Legacy in titanium
Two-and-a-half centuries after three of the world’s greatest watchmakers put two balance wheels into their movements, MB&F celebrated their pioneering works by creating LM2, a timepiece with two balances hovering outside the movement. The marque has now brought out another limited-edition version in titanium
The eye-catchingly vivid green dial of Legacy Machine N°2 Titanium (LM2 Ti) is likely to be the first thing that draws the gaze of admirers; it’s the subtle sophistication of a multitude of initially less obvious features that encourages deeper appreciation and differentiates the LM2 Ti from its stable mates.
The rounded profiles of Legacy Machine N°2 Ti’s majestically arching balance wheel bridges impart a softer aesthetic than the original LM2 models. A keen eye might notice that the highly polished bezel visually slims the elegant case, but that’s not just a trompe l’oeil: the redesigned bezel makes the case a full one millimetre slimmer than those of its predecessors.
Ti-6Al-4V (grade 5), the high-tech titanium alloy used in aerospace and medical applications, offers a perfect blend of strength and lightness, ensuring that LM2 Ti sits seductively and comfortably on the wrist. When that spectacular PE-CVD-treated green dial catches the light from alternating angles, it comes alive with constantly changing iridescent sheens and hues of green and blue.
Legacy Machines are wondrous reinterpretations of significant horological inventions by the greatest watchmakers in history. The LM2 is a timepiece tracing its lineage back over 250 years to three of the greatest watchmakers who ever lived: Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), Ferdinand Berthoud (1727–1807) and Antide Janvier (1751–1835). These horological legends of the 18th century have all constructed clocks and watches with two balances.
Oscillating on high, the exalted double balance wheels of LM2 were inspired by, and pay homage to, one of the rarest mechanisms in the history of watchmaking: the dual regulator. And rarer still, the average rates of Legacy Machine No.2’s dual regulators are transmitted by a differential to a single gear train, where the majority had two separate movements.
On display under a domed sapphire crystal cupola, the dial of Legacy Machine N°2, which is actually the top plate of the exquisitely finished movement, embodies symmetrical simplicity. Top to bottom: the white stretched lacquer sub dial at 12 o’clock, with its blued gold hour and minute hands, is visually balanced by the large, raised differential at 6 o’clock. Left to right: the two flying balances and their escapements are identical mirror images.
The movement of Legacy Machine N°2 was developed to MB&F’s specifications by award-winning watchmaker Jean-François Mojon (Best Watchmaker at the 2010 GPHG) and his team at Chronode. Acclaimed independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen ensured that the movement’s aesthetic style was consistent with high-quality traditional timepieces of the 19th century and for specifying the superlative hand-finishing.
With the names of the two men responsible for the movement hand engraved on the back, the LM2 Ti is a limited edition of 18 pieces.
