Dear Friends,

I have two (or actually three) very different topics to share with you in this newsletter: first, the next step of our "EVO" series presented last year; and second, not just one but a pair of Pandas we've created - and both for upcoming charity auctions taking place in early November! Sit back and enjoy the read :)

Almost exactly a year ago, we presented a new Machine building on our award-winning Legacy Machine Perpetual: the LM Perpetual “EVO”. At the time, we explained how the EVO suffix marked a significant evolution at MB&F; until then, our Machines had invited you to follow them in their horological explorations. With EVO, we switched the roles: now the watch followed the path decided by its owner. How? Thanks to a redesigned, sleeker case, user-friendly double-sprung pushers, an integrated rubber strap, Super-LumiNova, a ‘FlexRing’ shock-absorbing system, a screw-down crown and 80 metres of water resistance.
The result was the most comfortable, most robust MB&F Machine to date. I finally had an MB&F Machine that could follow me into the pool! And apparently, the watchmaking world loved it: the three launch editions in zirconium sold out within weeks. We were thrilled, but also a bit frustrated – because that meant that the Perpetual EVO was unavailable for the following 12 months.

It was time to offer a new edition: just a week ago, we released the LM Perpetual EVO in grade 5 titanium, with a vibrant green dial. The first pieces have started shipping to our worldwide retail partners, and we’ve saved a few for our eShop. To see this new titanium edition in action, have a look at the video below.
Have you been following this year’s edition of the 'Only Watch' charity auction? A few months ago, the amazing Luc Pettavino and his team unveiled the 53 one-of-a-kind timepieces… and you may have noticed our contribution: the HM10 Panda. At the time, we only released illustrations of the piece, by the very talented Lee Yuen-Rapati (aka @OneHourWatch on Instagram) – because the actual timepiece wasn’t quite ready!
The live images of the HM10 Panda have since been released. If you missed the details, we’ve transformed our HM10 Bulldog into a panda bear, that super-cute mammal loved by everyone – and that includes me (my first cuddly toy was a panda)! Because pandas are so linked with childhood, this is unsurprisingly not the first time a panda has made an appearance for MB&F at Only Watch; in 2011, we presented an HM4 ‘Flying Panda’.

This year’s HM10 Panda features a stainless steel case in black and white lacquer, two titanium panda ears added to the sapphire crystal dome, and a ceramic tail in grade 5 silicon nitride. Just like the panda’s eyes, two black hour and minute domes dominate the face of the watch – a nod to the other use of the word ‘panda’ in the watchmaking world, fond of "panda dials” (more on that below). Panda “legs” that wrap firmly around your wrist and panda teeth complete the transformation!
 

Those panda teeth are functional: the hinged jaws indicate the power reserve of the HM10 engine, designed and developed in-house – a "best of" MB&F expertise. The flying balance wheel first appeared in our Legacy Machine No.1 of 2011; it has since become a signature of MB&F. The revolving time-telling domes (first seen on the HM3 Frog) are as light as possible, thanks to reworked milling processes with micro-fine tolerances to produce paper-thin aluminium components. We combine this with conical gearing to obtain a precise time display.
The HM10 Panda is being offered together with the illustrations by the incredibly talented Lee Yuen-Rapati. This is the sixth time MB&F has contributed one of its Machines to Only Watch, a biennial auction specialising in one-of-a-kind timepieces. 99% of funds raised go to research on neuromuscular diseases, in particular Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The 2021 auction will take place in Geneva on Saturday, November 6th.

Thank you for supporting Only Watch! Click here to find all the auction details.
 
Totally coincidentally, and also for charity, we've created another very different type of panda... or more precisely, a watch with a panda dial. This time it’s a very special Legacy Machine No.1, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the LM1 series: we went back to one of the very first prototypes we developed a decade ago.
The LM1 “Longhorn” follows on from the HM4 Kittyhawk prototype, also sold on the 10th anniversary of the HM4 collection (last year) to one of our most avid collectors - in a private sale. To make this second prototype sale open to all of our collectors, we’ve asked Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo to auction the piece on Sunday, November 7th in Geneva – the day after the Only Watch auction! - and we are donating a significant portion of the proceeds to Save the Rhino International.

The name “Longhorn” refers to the prototype’s lugs, also called horns. During the initial LM1 design iterations back in 2009-2010, I explored with designer Eric Giroud the idea of long horns, but the position of the spring bars for the strap was a problem – do you place them close to the case, or at the tip of the lug? Depending on your wrist, both options can lead to a bad fit. We finally opted for shorter lugs, but the longer horns were always at the back of my mind.

And then, during one of our recent brainstorming sessions I suddenly had the idea to drill two holes in the long horn for the spring bar – one hole at the tip of the horn and the other closer to the case – and then let the customer decide. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this 10 years ago!

What else makes this LM1 Longhorn unique? The vast majority of LM1s were crafted in gold, platinum and titanium. The LM1 Longhorn prototype is in stainless steel; only 18 other stainless steel LM1 models were made for the “Final Edition” of 2017. The Longhorn is paired with a rhodium-plated base plate and, for the first time in LM1 history, the sub dials come in shiny black, instead of the signature glossy white lacquer. The case bears the mention “Prototype”, attesting to this one-of-a-kind timepiece.

Why the rhinoceros connection? The charity dimension in the sale of this Pièce Unique was a given – and rather naturally, the idea came up to link the “Longhorn” name to the endangered species, famous for its long horn. We selected Save the Rhino International, a London-based organisation striving to protect rhinoceros in Africa and Asia (UK Registered Charity Number: 1035072). By stopping poaching and habitat loss, Save the Rhino International aims to take rhinos off of the Critically Endangered species list - and the highest bidder at the auction will help them in their mission!

Just a few days before the Only Watch and Phillips auctions, the watchmaking world will hold another important event: the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève. And this year, not just one, not two, but three of our Machines have been shortlisted by the GPHG Academy! We're crossing our fingers for the LM101 Double Hairspring in the Men's category, the LMX in Men's Complications, and the wonderful LM SE Eddy Jaquet in the "Artistic Crafts" section.

If we missed you at the Geneva Watch Days in August, or at WatchTime in New York just a few days ago, I hope to see you at the GPHG or Geneva auctions in a few days... and if you're in Dubai at the end of November, you must visit us at one of the very best watch events in the world, the Dubai Watch Week!
Take good care of yourself,
Maximilian Büsser
Owner & Creative Director