The latest addition to the series – the LM101 Palladium edition, limited to 18 pieces – is also the first MB&F piece in palladium, a rare silvery-white metal. The naturally white colour of palladium contrasts with a new sunray dial, which varies between grey and shades of pale blue and green depending on the light. For a classically sized 40mm wristwatch, Legacy Machine 101 covers a lot of ground. Or to be more precise, LM101 covers a lot of time: over 100 years between inspiration and realisation.
Legacy Machine 101 embodies the very essence of what is essential in a wristwatch: the balance wheel, which is responsible for regulating precision; how much power remains in the mainspring, which indicates when it needs to be next wound; and of course, the time. Visually, LM101 is dominated by the monumental suspended balance wheel, relocated from its more usual position hidden at the back of the movement to majestically floating high above the dial. This suspension, composed by sedate oscillations, draws the eye even closer. Two pristine-white subdials hover just above the fine sunray-engraved movement top plate: At the top right, highly legible hours and minutes are displayed by beautiful blued-gold hands contrasting against the immaculate white, while the 45-hour power reserve indicator is displayed in a smaller, but similar subdial below.
In an apparent feat of magic, the sapphire crystal protecting the dial appears to be invisible; creating the illusion that you can reach out and touch the prodigious balance wheel hanging mesmerisingly from elegant twin arches. The arches are milled from a solid block of metal and require many hours of hand polishing to achieve their mirror-like lustre. Turning over Legacy Machine 101, the display back crystal – domed to reduce the thickness of the caseband and, visually, the height of the watch – reveals the exquisitely hand-finished movement. Sensually curved plates and bridges pay homage to the style found in high quality historic pocket watches and testify to the respect accorded to historical legitimacy.
With its undulating Geneva waves, hand polished bevels, gold chatons and countersunk blued screws, the beauty of LM101’s movement doesn't just stay faithful to a bygone era. It also heralds the dawn of a new epoch. While award-winning independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen took responsibility for the movement's fine finishing specifications and fidelity to the horological past, its architecture and construction are 100% pure MB&F.
