MB&F extends the range of its watches for ladies with the latest addition to the FlyingT – introducing the LM Flying T in Lapis Lazuli.
Press information
As this is a line extension, details of the LM Flying T are in our earlier coverage:
Retail price of the LM FlyingT Lapis Lazuli is CHF 125,000 + VAT (USD 138,000 / EUR 118,000 + tax).
MB&F LM FlyingT in Lapis Lazuli
First launched in 2019, the Legacy Machine FlyingT was MB&F’s first-ever Machine dedicated to women. It embodies elegance and vitality over the softer conventions of womanhood. The watch even won the prize for Best Ladies’ Complication at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève 2019. The launch versions in 18k white gold were joined earlier this year by limited editions in red gold and platinum, featuring guilloche dials. Today, a sixth edition is added: the LM FlyingT Lapis Lazuli, featuring a dial plate and subdial in the deep blue gemstone, in an 18k white gold case set with diamonds.
This is the first of a series of gemstone editions, which MB&F will announce once a year. Lapis Lazuli was an obvious first choice: the the intense, deep blue, enhanced by the gold flecks (which are actually Pyrite) is quite an attractive material.
Prized since antiquity for its intense colour, Lapis Lazuli has been mined as far back as 7000 BC and is found in many artifacts from civilisations across the world. During the Renaissance, it was ground into powder and made into ultramarine, the finest and most expensive of all blue pigments.
The case and design
To bring out a different level of refinement for the feminine LM FlyingT, the Legacy Machine case was completely redesigned. Case height and diameter were reduced in order to shift the focus to the highly convex sapphire crystal dome. The lugs were slimmed down, their curves were emphasised, and deep bevels were introduced to create a more elegant profile.
Harsh or particularly defined lines have been tempered throughout LM FlyingT, such as in the example of the hour and minute hands, which take on an undulating shape – echoed in the rays of the sun-shaped automatic winding rotor.
Asymmetry is highlighted in the design of LM FlyingT, from the positioning of the time display at 7 o’clock to the ventricular dial-plate aperture that frames the emerging tourbillon. Even the tourbillon cage itself embraces asymmetry, opting for a cantilevered double-arch upper bridge instead of the symmetrical battleaxe which has topped all other MB&F tourbillons.
Woven throughout Legacy Machine FlyingT are subtle references to the aspects of femininity that resonate strongest with Max Büsser, such as the solar motif of the automatic winding rotor and the column construction of the tourbillon, which introduce concepts of life-giving and support.
The movement (engine)
Flying tourbillons, as their name suggests, are anchored only at their base, with no stabilising bridge to restrict lateral motion at the top. This increased need for overall rigidity is what causes the conservative placement of most flying tourbillons within their movements. Legacy Machine FlyingT breaks free of this limiting need for movement security and confidently displays its flying tourbillon in all its glory.
An additional distinct challenge which arose in the construction of LM FlyingT was the shape of the upper tourbillon cage, which creates more mass on one side of the tourbillon than the other. In order to compensate and ensure that the mechanism remains balanced, a counterweight was hidden under the tourbillon carriage, on the opposite side of the upper tourbillon cage.
In order to display the time as precisely as possible on the 50° inclined dial, conical gears were employed to optimally transmit torque from one plane to another, a solution first used in HM6 and subsequently in HM9 Flow.
The 280-component engine of Legacy Machine FlyingT has a power reserve of four days (100 hours), which is among the highest within MB&F, a testament to the growth of in-house expertise and experience.
At the foot of the flying tourbillon, located at the 7 o’clock position, is a dial of 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.
MB&F Legacy Machine Flying T Lapis Lazuli Specifications
Diamond-set editions in 18k white gold cases with dial plates in black lacquer, paved diamond-set, baguette diamond-set or lapis lazuli.
Red gold and platinum limited editions with guilloche dial plates.
Engine
Three-dimensional vertical architecture, automatic winding, conceived and developed in-house by MB&F
Central flying 60-second tourbillon
Power reserve: 100 hours
Balance frequency: 2.5 Hz / 18,000 bph
Three-dimensional sun winding rotor in 18k 5N+ red gold, titanium and platinum.
Number of components: 280
Number of jewels: 30
Functions/indications
Hours and minutes displayed on a 50° vertically titled dial with two serpentine hands.
Two crowns: winding on left and time-setting on right.
Case
Material: 18k white gold and diamonds, 18k red gold or platinum.
High domed sapphire crystal on top with anti-reflective coating on both sides, sapphire crystal on back.
Dimensions: 38.5mm x 20mm
Number of components: 17
Water resistance: 30 m / 90’ / 3 ATM
Lapis Lazuli editions
168 stones (120 on the case, 21 on the buckle, 1 on top of the tourbillon cage and 26 for the crowns). About 1.7ct.
Strap & buckle
Calf or alligator leather straps available with white gold pin buckle matching the case.
