Three editions, each limited to eight pieces, bring Gabriel's imagination to life through cloisonné enamel. A pair of macaws takes flight in a landscape dominated by red, a mischievous monkey inhabits a world of blue, and a crocodile emerges from lush green surroundings. Inspired by the richly coloured enamel dials of the 1950s, these compositions offer a contemporary interpretation, with each scene built around a dominant colour rather than a conventional multicoloured palette.
The project originated in MB&F's desire to support Gabriel as an independent artist and give his work the recognition it deserved. It also offered him unusual creative freedom: rather than interpreting a predefined design, he was invited to develop his own compositions. Working closely with the MB&F team, he explored the possibilities of traditional cloisonné enamel through a nuanced approach to colour, combining an extensive range of shades within each dominant hue with translucent, semi-opaque and opaque enamels. The result is a remarkable interplay of light, transparency and depth. Yet every firing carries an element of uncertainty. With Gabriel completing approximately one enamel composition per month, producing the 24 watches is expected to take more than two years.
Each scene is crafted by Gabriel using traditional cloisonné techniques. Fine gold wires define the contours of the artwork, while layers of enamel are applied and fired to build colour and depth. Gabriel's artwork continues on the reverse of the movement: an enamelled ratchet wheel echoes the colours and jungle motifs of the main composition.
Equally fascinating is the encounter between Gabriel's artwork and the LM101's three-dimensional architecture. The oversized suspended balance wheel, sculptural bridges and off-centre displays are not simply obstacles to work around: they become part of the composition. Subtle mechanical adaptations, including a modified dial plate and extended hands, create space for the enamel landscapes to unfold.
The LM101 is one of MB&F's most coveted creations. Its movement was the first to be entirely conceived by MB&F's in-house engineering team, in collaboration with independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen, who established its fine finishing specifications and fidelity to traditional watchmaking codes. For the Gabriel Colliard editions, the LM101 is housed in a 40mm platinum case and features an upgraded version of its manually wound movement. Comprising 222 components, it now offers a 60-hour power reserve, increased from the previous 45 hours, while its 14mm balance wheel benefits from a Straumann double hairspring.
The result is a meeting of two disciplines, each with its own demands and its own beauty – and a reminder that, however much experience and precision go into creating an enamel artwork, the fire always has the final say.
The F is for Friends
The “F” in MB&F stands for “Friends”. It is a familiar story, although what it asks of everyone involved is sometimes easier to overlook: trust, time and a willingness to learn each other's language. On paper, traditional métiers d’art might seem unexpected territory for MB&F; yet that apparent contradiction is precisely what makes such encounters interesting. In 2021, MB&F collaborated with master engraver Eddy Jaquet, transforming the LM Split Escapement into a canvas for literary classics. Now, artist and enameller Gabriel Colliard takes that dialogue further, bringing an age-old craft into the distinctly MB&F universe of the LM101.
The project began with a desire to support Gabriel as an independent artist and give his work the recognition it deserved. It also offered him a degree of creative freedom rarely available in his usual commissions: rather than interpreting a predefined design, he was invited to develop his own compositions, working closely with the MB&F team to bring his artistic vision to life. What followed was an exchange built on mutual trust: a willingness to explore, adapt and accept that enamel does not always behave as planned. For MB&F, that uncertainty leaves room for discovery. It is also part of the fun.
Three worlds, three colours
The starting point was the traditional cloisonné enamel dials of the 1950s, with their richly coloured depictions of the natural world. MB&F and Gabriel began exploring how this artistic tradition could find a contemporary expression within the unconventional LM101 architecture.
Gabriel’s instinct as a painter is to work with a broad palette, and his early proposals followed a relatively traditional approach to colour. The team then suggested a different direction: what if each composition were developed around a dominant hue? Gabriel revisited his drawings, exploring how different shades of one predominant colour could create depth, contrast and atmosphere. The resulting compositions are not strictly monochrome: touches of other colours punctuate each scene, but a strong unifying hue gives every edition its own identity.
The collaboration has given birth to three compositions, each produced in just eight pieces. Three very different characters, each inhabiting its own miniature jungle.
Macaw – Red: a pair of scarlet macaws takes flight between the jungle and the sea, reflecting the birds' sociable nature. The scene evokes communication, expression and connection, while vibrant reds and oranges convey energy, strength and vitality. The birds emerge from their surroundings in an exuberant composition where colour and movement take centre stage.
Monkey – Blue: playful, intelligent and mischievous, the monkey offers a reflection of our own human qualities and shortcomings. Its carefree character is also a reminder of the importance of not taking life too seriously – a sentiment that resonates well with MB&F. Surrounded by fruit and luxuriant vegetation, the monkey inhabits a blue landscape beside a lake of gently rippling water. The scene combines movement and tranquillity, its many shades of blue lending the composition a sense of serenity.
Crocodile – Green: an ancient reptile, the crocodile embodies strength, power and, above all, resilience. With its jaws open at the edge of a swamp, it commands its surroundings, equally at home on land and in water. Dominated by shades of green, the composition has an organic, almost dreamlike quality. The richly nuanced palette evokes nature and harmony, contrasting with the crocodile's imposing presence.
Together, the three compositions reflect Gabriel's artistic references, drawing inspiration from Post-Impressionism and vintage Symbolist imagery. Rather than adopting an elaborate Baroque style, they develop a more stylised visual language, with each scene unified by a dominant colour and enriched by a multitude of subtle variations.
On the reverse of the LM101 Gabriel Colliard editions, an enamelled ratchet wheel echoes the colours and jungle motifs of the main composition. Gabriel develops both elements in parallel, ensuring that they belong to the same visual world. Even when the watch is turned over to admire its movement, the presence of the artist remains visible.
A different kind of canvas
Creating an enamel landscape is one challenge; creating one around the architecture of an LM101 is quite another, since it already has a distinctive landscape of its own. The large suspended balance wheel rises prominently above the movement, while sculptural bridges sweep across the surface. Hours and minutes are displayed at two o'clock, with the power-reserve indication at six. Every mechanical element occupies space, physically and visually.
Accustomed to working on more open dial surfaces, Gabriel had to rethink his approach to composition. Vegetation needed to find its place around the bridges; animals had to remain recognisable beneath the mechanical structures; and the landscapes needed to retain their visual coherence despite the various openings and interruptions. From the earliest sketches, the movement became an integral part of the artwork.
The collaboration also called for some mechanical adaptations. To accommodate the thickness of the enamel, the dial plate – the movement's minute bridge – was modified. The sub-dials for the time and power reserve were removed, while their hands were extended. The result is an unexpected dialogue between the precision of the movement and the freedom of the artwork.
Gabriel Colliard: finding his own language
After studying fine arts in Argentina, Gabriel moved to Switzerland in 2003, hoping to pursue a career as an artist. His first opportunity in the watchmaking world came through polishing, a profession that allowed him to put his natural aptitude for working with his hands to good use.
By 2008, he was searching for a way to bring his artistic interests and watchmaking closer together. Enamelling offered precisely that possibility. He trained in Limoges, France, before gaining experience in specialist workshops and within prestigious watchmaking companies such as Patek Philippe. He eventually established his own independent practice.
His background as a painter continues to shape the way he approaches enamel. Rather than seeing the technique purely as a means of decorating a watch, Gabriel uses it to explore composition, light, colour and atmosphere. Enamel offers extraordinary possibilities in all these areas, but also introduces constraints quite unlike those of conventional painting.
Through open exchanges with the MB&F team, the compositions gradually evolved away from their initial historical references and towards Gabriel's personal interpretation. Ideas were shared, alternatives explored and adjustments made, with each participant contributing a different perspective.
A palette shaped by fire
At the heart of the LM101 Gabriel Colliard editions lies one of watchmaking's most demanding decorative arts: cloisonné enamel.
The process begins with the drawing. To reproduce its contours, Gabriel carefully bends extremely fine gold wires by hand, following the outlines of the animals, vegetation and surrounding landscape. These wires form a network of tiny compartments, or cloisons, which give the technique its name.
The compartments are then filled with finely ground enamel mixed with liquid. The piece is placed in a kiln, where the heat fuses the enamel into a glassy layer. By repeating the process – applying more material, firing, assessing the result and starting again – Gabriel gradually builds up the colours and the depth of the composition. The gold outlines remain visible, tracing the forms within the completed image. The technique demands immense precision, particularly at the scale of a wristwatch.
Gabriel works with translucent, semi-opaque and opaque enamels, selecting each according to the effect he wishes to achieve. Light interacts differently with every type, while the metal beneath the enamel also influences the final appearance.
Working within a predominantly monochromatic palette adds another layer of complexity. With fewer contrasting colours available, small differences in shade, opacity and transparency take on greater importance. Neighbouring tones must be close enough to create harmony, yet sufficiently distinct for the animals and vegetation to remain legible. Within the tiny gold boundaries, Gabriel works with minute quantities of enamel, building up these relationships a little at a time.
The material has a character of its own: unlike conventional paint, enamel changes during firing. A colour that appears one way before entering the kiln may emerge differently afterwards. Its final appearance also depends on the thickness of the material and on the colours surrounding it. Correcting a shade can mean removing enamel, applying a new layer and firing the piece again. Every intervention involves a degree of uncertainty, and each firing has the potential to affect work already completed.
The first examples therefore require considerable experimentation. Once the desired atmosphere and palette have been established, Gabriel carefully records the references and combinations that will guide the remaining pieces in the series.
Even then, the results can never be entirely identical. Each of the eight examples shares the same composition and overall character, but subtle variations inevitably arise through the hand of the artist, the behaviour of the material and the effects of the fire. Experience and technique help Gabriel anticipate these outcomes. But, as he likes to say, the fire always has the final say.
This painstaking process also determines the pace of production. Gabriel expects to complete approximately one enamel composition per month. The team anticipates more than two years of work to produce the full series of 24 watches – a rhythm dictated by the demands of the craft rather than by a conventional production schedule.
Learning how to look
For Gabriel, enamel presents a double complexity. The first lies in mastering the material itself: its response to heat, thickness and neighbouring colours retains an element of unpredictability. The second lies in how the finished artwork is appreciated.
Watchmaking demands precision, regularity and flawless finishing. Artistic enamel requires no less skill or attention to detail, but invites a somewhat different way of looking. Beyond the technical execution, there is the richness of the colours, the interplay of light and transparency, and the atmosphere created by the composition as a whole.
This does not mean that the details are unimportant – quite the contrary. Every subtle variation in shade, every transition between translucent and opaque enamel contributes to the finished image. Together, these details give each composition its unique character, revealing the subtleties of a material whose depth and response to light no printed image can fully reproduce.
Legacy Machine 101
First launched in 2014, Legacy Machine 101 (LM101) focuses, as its name suggests, on the essentials of mechanical watchmaking: the balance wheel that regulates precision, the display of hours and minutes, and the indication of how much energy remains in the mainspring. It is also one of MB&F's most compact Machines.
The LM101 movement was the first to be entirely conceived by MB&F’s in-house engineering team, working in collaboration with award-winning independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen, who was responsible for establishing the fine finishing specifications and ensuring fidelity to traditional watchmaking codes.
For the LM101 Gabriel Colliard editions, the manually wound movement has been upgraded. Its 222 components now deliver a power reserve of 60 hours, compared with 45 hours for previous LM101 versions. The 14mm suspended balance wheel, oscillating at 18,000 vibrations per hour, is complemented by a Straumann double hairspring. The calibre is housed in a 40mm platinum case, offering a precious yet understated frame for Gabriel's exuberant enamel compositions.
Turning the watch over reveals the movement through a sapphire crystal caseback. Sensually curved plates and bridges pay homage to the finest historical pocket watches, displaying traditional finishing details including undulating Geneva waves, hand-polished bevels, gold chatons and countersunk blued screws.
These finishes reflect the care devoted to the movement's construction and decoration – a tradition of craftsmanship that finds a rather unexpected counterpart in Gabriel Colliard's colourful enamel jungles.
