Legacy Machine Flying T
Even the most unpredictable and audaciously led lives, when observed from a distance, form patterns and fall into cycles. This is a fundamental truth that underlies all human existence, whether individual or collective. For Maximilian Büsser and MB&F, creative energy comes in seven-year cycles. It was in MB&F’s seventh year that the Legacy Machine collection was born, that the first M.A.D.Gallery opened in Geneva and opened the door to the MB&F co-creations.
The 14th year of MB&F unveiled a new avenue of horological exploration, an evolution of creative horizons for founder and company alike: the Legacy Machine FlyingT, first launched in 2019, is the first of MB&F’s threedimensional horological art pieces dedicated to women. A round case in gold or platinum, with a steeply cambered bezel and slender, elongated lugs, often fully set with diamonds. A high, extravagantly convex dome of sapphire crystal rises from the bezel. Beneath the dome, a subtly curved dial plate in various finishes: liquidly black with layers of stretched lacquer, guilloche, vibrant gemstones or glittering with blazing white diamonds.
An asymmetric ventricular opening in the dial plate frames the heart of the LM FlyingT engine – a cinematic flying tourbillon that beats at a serene rate of 2.5Hz (18,000vph). The tourbillon projects high above the rest of the engine, a kinetic, dynamic column that stops just short of the apex of the sapphire crystal dome. Affixed to the top of the upper tourbillon cage is a single large diamond that rotates simultaneously with the flying tourbillon, emitting the fiery brilliance of the very best quality stones.
At the 7 o’clock position – another reference to the numeric theme that runs throughout LM FlyingT – is a dial of black or white lacquer (or gemstone) that displays the hours and minutes with a pair of elegant serpentine hands. The dial is inclined at a 50° tilt so that the time can be read only by the wearer, an intimate communication that highlights the personal nature of LM FlyingT.
On the reverse, the automatic winding rotor takes the shape of a three-dimensional red gold sun with sculpted rays, providing LM FlyingT with four days of power reserve.
The design of Legacy Machine FlyingT is replete with associations drawn from the feminine and maternal influences in Maximilian Büsser’s life. Says Büsser, “I wanted LM FlyingT to possess the epitome of femininity as reflected by the women in my life, particularly my mother. It had to combine supreme elegance with tremendous vitality. The column-like structure of the flying tourbillon was very important to me as I felt very strongly that women form the pillar of humanity. At the same time, there is another layer of meaning coming in from the sun-shaped rotor, which incorporates the element of lifegiving, a source of sustenance which we gravitate towards and around.”
Legacy Machine FlyingT was first launched in 2019 in three editions, all in white gold and set with diamonds: black lacquer dial plate with case set with brilliant-cut diamonds; dial plate and case both fully set with brilliantcut diamonds; and dial plate and case both fully set with baguette-cut diamonds.
New editions have been added to the FlyingT collection: • Two editions in 18K red gold or platinum, shedding its diamonds but featuring guilloche dial plates; • Three diamond-set editions with gemstone dial plates: 18K white gold case with lapis lazuli dial plate, 18K white gold with malachite dial plate and 18K yellow gold case with tiger eye dial plate.
Legacy Machine Flying T Red Gold/Platinum
The story begins (as so many do) with a woman. Legacy Machine FlyingT owes its genesis to founder Maximilian Büsser’s ruminations on the keystone roles that women have played in his life. Launched in the first months of 2019, Legacy Machine FlyingT manifested a rich and complex femininity, choosing to embody elegance and vitality — a formidable resilience — over the softer conventions of womanhood as familiarly seen in watches aimed at the XX side of the chromosome divide.
A soaring flying tourbillon projects, column-like, from the dial plate of LM FlyingT, driven by energy generated by the sun-shaped rotor. A diamond flashes atop the upper tourbillon cage. Dynamism and precisely engineered motion characterise LM FlyingT, which debuted in three white gold diamond-set editions : one with a simple halo of brilliant-cut gems on the bezel and lugs, one fully paved with brilliants and one fully paved with baguette-cut stones. This powerful articulation of feminine horology, the first of its kind from MB&F, was awarded the Prix de la Complication pour Dame at the 2019 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.
In 2020, LM FlyingT sheds its diamonds and embraces its natural self with an edition in red gold and one in platinum. Removing the crystallised carbon crust of Legacy Machine FlyingT allows to rediscover the central column of the flying tourbillon in hyperfocus. In place of the stretched-lacquer dial plate is a guilloché plate with a radial pattern of scalloped arches, drawing the eye towards the cinematic heart of the in-house developed engine.
The guilloché dial plate, executed by longtime MB&F collaborator Kari Voutilainen in his specialised dial facility, exists in two versions. One is as dark as a moonless night, and is housed in a red gold case, while the other is midsummer sky-blue, with a platinum case. The same LM FlyingT, when switched between nocturnal and diurnal modalities, is as different as the world when seen by night and by day.
Only one glittering connection to their diamond-armoured predecessors remains to the new editions of Legacy Machine FlyingT. At the top of the flying tourbillon that gives LM FlyingT its name, a single 0.035-carat stone that rotates in time with the underlying mechanism, making one complete turn every 60 seconds. At each of the rotational angles that it undergoes — 300 per minute, as predefined by the 2.5Hz (18,000bph) balance — the diamond unleashes a new lance of prismatic light, thanks to its sharply faceted cut.
At the foot of the flying tourbillon, located at the 7 o’clock position, is a dial of white lacquer that displays the hours and minutes with a pair of blue serpentine hands. The dial is inclined at a 50° tilt so that the time can be read only by the wearer ; an intimate communication that highlights the personal nature of the LM FlyingT.
On the reverse, the automatic winding rotor takes the shape of a three-dimensional red gold sun with sculpted rays, providing LM FlyingT with four days (100 hours) of power reserve. After the diamond-set launch editions, Legacy Machine FlyingT is now offered in two limited editions of 18 pieces each : 18K red gold case with black guilloché dial (Night) and platinum 950 case with sky-blue guilloché dial (Day).
