Dear Friends,

When I started MB&F back in 2005, it was with a rebellious spirit and a good dose of rage… I wanted to do things differently from what I had done during the first 15 years of my professional life. So if you had asked me, would I ever create a round, classic watch again, the immediate response would have been, “Not the slightest chance!”

Accordingly, our first Horological Machines were anything but conventional – and that rebellious vein continues as strong as ever: expect some serious Horological shock when you discover HM6 next year. But in parallel, we’ve also channelled some of our rage into a more classic line, illustrating our love and respect of watchmaking tradition: Legacy Machines. After the award-winning LM1 in 2011, we launched in September this year our second round watch: Legacy Machine N°2!

I can trace the origins of LM2 back to two key moments: the first one was a collectors’ dinner about 10 years ago, before MB&F had even started. The gentleman sitting next to me had a very classic, unassuming watch on his wrist. I asked to see it and realised it was a piece by renowned watchmaker Philippe Dufour… Turning it over, I discovered a beautiful movement with not one, but two balance wheels, connected via a differential system: this was the very rare “Duality”, of which Dufour has apparently crafted only 9 pieces. I was stunned by the beauty of the mechanism but also thought to myself, one day it would be nice to revisit the dual balance wheel idea, showcasing it in a more visible way…

The second moment was early in the development process of Legacy Machine N°1. One of the key features of LM1 was its world-first “flying” balance wheel, suspended high above the dial. Putting that together with the memories of Dufour’s Duality seemed like a winning combination: we held the concept of LM2!

As always, next to our own team a fantastic group of Friends brought the concept to life – including Kari Voutilainen and Jean-François Mojon for the movement and our loyal designer Eric Giroud for the general design.

Traveling deep into watchmaking history, LM2 is really about paying tribute to our amazing Horological ancestors. Starting about 250 years ago, famous watchmakers like Ferdinand Berthoud, Antide Janvier and Abraham-Louis Breguet experimented with dual balance wheel systems, in their quest to create more reliable clocks and pocket watches. Much later, the first traces of dual balances combined with differentials appear; but the complexity and difficulty of creating such differentials explains their scarcity, still today.

How does the differential work? In a few words, the LM2 has one source of energy: a single spring and barrel. That energy is distributed by the differential to the two independent balance wheels and escapements, which each beat at their own natural rate. The same differential then averages out those two rates, using that average to drive the hours and minutes.

To use a human metaphor: LM2 has one pair of lungs (the barrel), two hearts (the two balances), one brain (the differential), and two hands (the hours and minutes).

LM2 is crafted in red and white gold versions, plus a limited edition of 18 pieces in platinum. Have a look at the short video to see those balances in slow motion; and you’ll find a lot more about LM2 on our website.

If you’re in London between this Thursday evening and Saturday, you should come and visit us at one of the best watch fairs on the planet: Salon QP, at the beautiful Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea. You’ll see a great selection of watch brands, ranging from the most famous manufactures to some of the hottest and most creative independent brands. It will be a pleasure for my team and me to meet you at our booth. We’ll have some of our most recent pieces, including Legacy Machine N°2 of course… and there’s a bonus: we will be launching a new Machine during Salon QP! If you’d like to be among the first to see it in the metal, you know where to go on the weekend :)

I’ve been urging you to check out our Instagram account lately, for good reason: it has become one of our most active, dynamic channels, growing from zero to over 7,000 followers in just 6 months. We post regularly on our own account of course, but you’ll also see other fans’ shots – their creativity is really quite amazing.

Check us out, don’t hesitate to post your own pics and don’t forget to tag #mbandf so we can appreciate your photographic talent!

Award-winning photographer Seth Casteel was at a routine photo shoot when a dog named Buster the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel decided he would rather be playing around in a nearby swimming pool. Watching little Buster jump in the water again and again, Seth thought to himself: “I wonder what he looks like under there?”

And so the Los Angeles and Chicago-based snapper got his hands on a tennis ball, rubber ring and a waterproof case for his camera and set to work on a terrific series of photos aptly entitled ‘Underwater Dogs’. The portraits of his four-legged friends breaking through the surface of the water head first have since gone viral, while no self-respecting coffee table is complete without the book of the same name.

Take a look at our selection of Seth Casteel’s superb photos, now on our weekly blog A Parallel World.

As always, keep the feedback coming – in whichever form you like, email, Facebook, Instagram… or a visit to Salon QP or the M.A.D.Gallery, we’ll be happy to hear from you.

Very best regards,

Maximilian Büsser
Owner & Creative Director