Swan song of MB&F’s LM1

Six years after MB&F launched the Legacy Machine N°1 in 2011, the marque has unveiled the M.A.D. Dubai Edition and the Final Edition, bringing the LM1 series to a close

It was in 2011 that MB&F launched the Legacy Machine N°1 (LM1) series, establishing a collection of tradition-inflected Legacy Machines alongside the envelope-pushing Horological Machines. The LM1 debuted three unique technical features, two of which continue to set the LM1 series apart to this day. The cinematic balance, suspended from an arched bridge, is now an icon of the Legacy Machine collection. The two time displays, indicated on subtly convex dials of stretched lacquer, are based on a single movement and allow autonomous setting without reference to fixed time zones. Then there is the vertical power-reserve indicator, offering a strongly intuitive and legible reading of barrel wind.

Over the last six years, MB&F has produced a total of approximately 435 pieces of the LM1, making it the brand’s most prolific ambassador besides the Horological Machine N°3. The LM1 has appeared in red gold, white gold, platinum, and titanium, in faces of blue, grey, and green, and has spawned two Performance Art pieces – collaborative pieces with artists – the 2014 LM1 Xia Hang and  the 2016 LM1 Silberstein. The LM1 was awarded the Public Prize (voted for by horology fans) and the Best Men’s Watch Prize (voted for by the professional jury) at the GPHG in 2012.

LM1 M.A.D. Dubai
The concept of Friends is such an integral part of MB&F that it’s right there in the name: the “F” in MB&F stands for Friends. And few Friends have been as supportive of the creative horological lab as the Seddiqi family in Dubai. Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons was one of the six core retailers that supported – well before the first watch had been produced – Büsser’s vision of a horological laboratory focused on creating kinetic sculptures that give time. They also recently opened an MB&F M.A.D. Gallery in Dubai. LM1 M.A.D. Dubai is actually a heartfelt micro-mechanical thank you note.

LM1 M.A.D. Dubai is a limited edition of just 13 pieces in Ti-6Al-4V (grade 5) titanium, and is easily distinguished from its stable mates by the eye-catching vivid green of its CVD-treated movement main plate, as well as the Arabic-Hindi numerals of the “home time” sub dial. Green CVD has only recently become an option as the colour was for long considered too unstable for commercial applications. LM1 M.A.D. Dubai is a limited edition of 13 pieces in grade 5 titanium, available exclusively through the MB&F M.A.D. Gallery in Dubai.

Legacy Machine N°1 Final Edition
The LM1 Final Edition takes its final bow in steel, with a dark chocolate face, wearing the white lacquer dials, suspended balance, and gracefully arched power reserve indication in their well-known configuration. A new balance bridge, cambered and tapered in the style MB&F introduced in the Legacy Machine 101, is the one departure from the original design. The LM1 Final Edition is limited to 18 pieces in stainless steel.