Our Take

A titan in modern independent watchmaking, MB&F has only continued its momentum over the years. One of the most creative brands in independent watchmaking, all MB&F timepieces are avant garde, even when they revisit and re-interpret classics from horological history. Thrilled to have yet another one of these timepieces in our hands, the Legacy Machine Perpetual in yellow gold.

With a fresh aesthetic and a beautiful open worked dial with blue base plate, this timepiece bears all of the emblems of the brand’s innovative genius. After all, there’s an argument to be made that this is the first perpetual calendar created with the collector truly in mind. So what do we mean by that exactly?

With the LM Perpetual, many of the usual reliability and functionality issues with perpetual calendars were solved by the ingenuity of Stephen McDonnell. He did this by constructing a movement that does not rely on the standard long lever system or the 31-day month. Rather, the entirety of this perpetual calendar is based on a stacked gears construction and a 28-day month standard. This set-up effectively isolates the day, date, month, leap year indicators, and prevents each function from an undesired hiccup. This design allows collectors to adjust each function independently. No further need to cycle through a year or month to get where you need and no more pressure to keep your perpetual wound. If that wasn’t enough, no more worries about an accidental catastrophe by adjusting your watch around midnight. The pushers on the LM Perpetual disengage automatically, ensuring no costly accidents occur.

While the highlight of the LM Perpetual is McDonnell’s innovative caliber, MB&F makes no sacrifices to its exceptional design game. The flying balance wheel brings all the open worked elements of the perpetual calendar to life as it remains the signature element of the Legacy Machine collection. With the depth of the dial, all of its layers and components in full view, it feels like one could spend hours exploring all of the intricacies with a loupe.

All in all, the LM Perpetual in yellow gold is legendary for fusing complexity and pragmatism, a high complication with reliability and ease of use in mind. This is the timepiece for watch collectors that want a perpetual calendar without all the anxiety of ownership.

The Details

MB&F LM Perpetual Yellow Gold

Case: in 18k yellow gold with blue face (limited to 25 pieces)

Functions: Hours, minutes, day, date, month, retrograde leap year and power reserve indicators.

Dimensions: 44 mm x 17.5 mm

Glasses: Sapphire crystal

Water resistance: 30m/100’/3ATM

Movement: Fully integrated perpetual calendar developed for MB&F by Stephen McDonnell, featuring dial-side complication and mechanical processor system architecture with inbuilt safety mechanism. Manual winding with double mainspring barrels. Bespoke 14 mm balance wheel with traditional regulating screws visible on top of the movement. Superlative hand finishing throughout respecting 19th century style; internal bevel angles highlighting hand craft; polished bevels; Geneva waves; hand-made engravings.

Power reserve: 72 hours

Condition & Warranty

This timepiece is pre-loved and in excellent like-new condition and remains under original factory warranty. It was acquired from its only previous owner. It includes the original box and papers.