Resulted from a challenge
As any watch journalist will tell you, it’s a joy to write about haute horlogerie from independent watch companies, and they also pose their fair share of challenges, that is trying to make sense of their new whacky innovations. MB&F is one such watch company, that thrives in being different and pushing the boundaries of watchmaking while staying true to the traditional art of the trade.
The latest addition to their Legacy Machine collection is a second generation of their Split Escapement series called the EVO. But before we delve into the discussion of the watch at hand let’s refresh our memory. Split Escapement is an innovation that began in 2015 when MB&F collaborated with the Northern Irish master watchmaker Stephen McDonnell on creating the Perpetual Calendar for the LM series. Due to the limited space on the dial and DNA of the LM, McDonnell solved the problem by splitting the escapement into parts, the balance wheel remains in the centre on the front of the dial side suspended from the wishbone bridge, the anchor and escape wheel has been moved to the opposite end of the movement below the dial, splitting them. How do the two parts work as one? You may ask. Via a long balance staff which link them both. Ingenious, isn’t it?
Two years later, in 2017 LM Split Escapement was introduced to highlight the ingenuity, and now five years later, LM Split Escapement is being evolved, into something more practical, more user-friendly and the marvellous split escapement is being housed in an EVO case first seen in LM Perpetual EVO on 2020. The case is constructed to withstand water resistance to a depth of 80m, and it has a screwed-down crown without a bezel. That is not all it comes with the world's first monobloc shock absorber which dampens vertical and horizontal shocks as we would experience in real-life situations, called “FlexRing”. Due to the design of the new case the LM Split Escapement EVO, the mechanism within the movement has to be rotated 30 degrees clockwise thus moving the crown from 2 o’clock to 4.30 o’clock, changing the entire character of the watch. Making it more present, I would say.
A year ago, in 2022, we saw MB&F introduce the LM SE EVO, a marriage of the two LM Split Escapement in a new EVO-lutionary titanium case, and a couple more renditions since then. First, there was the icy blue base plate and slate grey dials editions, then there was the blue and black edition for MB&F LAB in Beverly Hills, and today LM Split Escapement EVO celebrates its eight years of partnership with Swiss Prestige of Taipei since they opened M.A.D.Gallery. The Taipei edition comes with a titanium case with a black base plate and sunburst green dial for the hours and minutes located at two o’clock, the date ring dial at nine o’clock with a push-button just next to it on the case for a quick change of date, and the power reserve ring dial at six o’clock. The hands and numerals are coated with SuperLuminova for easy reading in the dark.
The engine that powers the balance wheel above and below deck is a hand-wound calibre with double mainspring barrels developed by Stephen McDonnell, and the “FlexRing” fitted between the case and the movement to help absorb the lateral and vertical shock.
Overall, every feature in this LM Split Escapement EVO is implemented for all practical reasons, making it a perfect everyday watch for almost every adverse condition there is in the environment that we face in our daily lives. It is an all-rounded fabulous time machine limited to only 20 pieces. If you ever see it, and you have some change in your pocket, just grab it, do not hesitate or you will live to regret it. It’s one of those ‘holy grail’ of independent watches.
