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Ship of Theseus Sails Into A Catch-22 Situation With The New MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra

Editor’s Note: The review of the new MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra is going to be a rather different feature from us. Instead of our usual detailed reviews, in the spirit of this rather unusual collaboration, we will keep it different and short; and we have decided to take a more poetic route if you may.

New MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra

Stanza 1 – The Preamble 

This was a tough one to crack; it took a while to understand and digest it. At first, it is confusing. MB&F and Bulgari? Then beyond the glitzy cabochon-cut coloured gems and MB&F’s usual eccentric watchmaking, you begin to appreciate the new MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra’s beauty, and wonder, how was this not a thing until now?!

New MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra

Before we go into our decoding of this piece, let’s get the basic specifications out of the way. 

New MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra
  • 17 component 18k white or red gold 39mm x 20mm diamond-set case that is water-resistant to 30m and features a high domed sapphire crystal on top with anti-reflective coating on both sides
New MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra
  • Inside the case ticks the 280-components, 30-jewels, 2.5Hz frequency beating MB&F FlyingT movement featuring three-dimensional vertical architecture
New MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra
  • The watch face shows a central flying 60-second tourbillon and hours and minutes displayed on a 50° vertically tilted dial with two serpentine hands
  • The new MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra comes in two models, with both featuring ~ 0.24ct brilliant-cut diamonds on the dial and crowns, ~ 2.80ct brilliant-cut diamonds on the case and buckle, and a mixture of colourful tourmaline, tsavorite, diamonds, rubellite, amethyst, tanzanite and topaz
New MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra
  • Continuing this cheeriness on to the movement is the case-back revealing the sun-shaped oscillating weight: its gold sandblasted rays rotate on the ruthenium disc positioned above a platinum counterweight
New MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra

Stanza 2 – Two Paradoxes Collide

In theory, MB&F and Bulgari could not be more different. If one is two-dimensional styling, the other is all about three-dimensional design. If one is enriched by the long history of Italian design, the other is the modern kid hell-bent on refuting norms. If one is mechanics, the other has mastered the art of jewels. 

If one is day, then the other night.

New MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra

They are contradicting brands, and if you mix them it’s like a paradoxical moment of pure horological truth. 

Night and day must meet. 

Look up in the sky and in that fleeting seconds of their interaction at dawn or dusk, magic happens. And it is this rare moment that is physically embodied in the new MB&F x Bulgari LM FlyingT Allegra. 

Together, in this paradoxical moment, both the brands change the status quo.

New MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra

Take Bulgari for instance.

Bulgari has new Allegra cocktail watches for women that are aimed at capturing the “joy and exuberance of la Dolce Vita”. Their designer ladies jewellery watches, like the Allegra High Jewellery watch in 36mm diameter ref. 103493 is a bejewelled beauty, but with a simple quartz movement. 

Compared to say very three-dimensional kinetic art prices, these ladies watches are more aesthetically oriented than about watchmaking. 

Now take MB&F. 

Their pieces are horological exceptions, that break the norms engineering and architecture wise. Very kinetic, they constantly push the boundaries of watchmaking such as in the Stephen McDonnell-assisted MB&F LM Perpetual EVO Titanium to name one.

MBandF LMP EVO Ti Lifestyle1 Lres

Now you switch the status quo. 

Swap it. 

Take a few diamonds and emeralds from Bulgari and put them on the three-dimensional body of the Legacy Machine. 

New MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra

Strip what’s expected. 

Take away the quartz movement and put in a supercharged mechanical one, such as the FlyingT movement with a central flying 60-second tourbillon. 

MBandFXBulgari FlyingT Allegra WG Gem Lres

You may have done the unexpected, as these two brands do. You may have taken apart the very foundations of what MB&F watches and Bulgari’s ladies watches have come to be known for. 

But in this taking out part by part and rebuilding it, just like the paradoxical concept of ‘Ship of Theseus’ you may have these two differing objects that have had their components replaced and exchanged, but fundamentally, what remains is the same tour de force, the same pièce de résistance we can expect from the powerhouses that these two brands are.

New MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra

The new MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra is not only remnant of what MB&F does best, but also features the best of Bulgari’s expertise in women’s jewellery cocktail timepiece art. 

It’s the fusion of two dramatically opposing forces, that when they come in contact and collide, and when the dust settles, all that remains is a stunning timepiece that will appeal to both women of taste and knowers of the value of high horlogerie. 

MBandFXBulgari FlyingT Allegra WG Face Lres

But that’s not all.

Both Maximilian Büsser and Bulgari’s Product Creation Executive Director Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani have together come up with a product that also presents the watch connoisseur community with a Catch-22 situation: should they look at it from the perspective of a ladies’ bejewelled cocktail timepiece and ignore the horological prowess, or should they look at it from the perspective of a watchmaking masterclass? 

New MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra

And the real trick here is to find the distinction between the two, for the watch is both very Bulgari-esque and MB&F-esque at the same time. So just like Jospeh Heller’s term, watch collectors would find themselves in a paradoxical situation where they might be unable to choose which side to take, bling or mechanics, unable to escape because of the clash of the pre-ordained contradictory rules of serious watchmaking versus jewellery timepieces, and I believe finally, would succumb to the beauty of this rather unique timepiece. 

New MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra

There is a Denis Villeneuve quote that reads: “In contradiction and paradox, you can find truth”.

Simply put, the ‘Ship of Theseus’ sails into a Catch-22 situation with the new MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra. 

Two paradoxes collide, and kinetic art meets jewellery to form an enigmatic truth.

New MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra

Stanza 3 – That’s All Folks! Or The Poetic Version 

  • The new MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra is an unexpected collab,
  • Combining the worlds of Bulgari’s and MB&F’s watches was simply fab;
  • The T in FlyingT stands for the flying Tourbillon, and for the initial of Max Büsser’s wife Tiffany, 
  • And this unexpected partnership between MB&F and Bulgari revels a moment of rare epiphany; 
New MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra
  • The resulting timepieces reveal a watchmaking world filled with two paradox,
  • Femininity, complex architecture, colourful gems and kinetic art, they are rock;
  • Just like its Italian name Allegra, the watch enthuses a sense of joy,
  • It may be covered in gems, but its serious watchmaking cred will even force advanced collects to make it their new toy;
New MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra
  • It’s a lively, cheerful watch with cabochon-cut coloured gems,
  • With 20-pieces in either 18k white or red gold, it’s a beauty that from MB&F’s FlyingT movement stems;
  • A central flying 60-second tourbillon and a 100-hour power reserve await, 
  • The impressiveness of the 280-component movement inside a 39mm x 20mm diamond-set gold body gets your senses to gyrate;
New MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra
  • The three-dimensional vertical architecture, automatic winding movement has been conceived and developed in-house by MB&F;
  • But the famous Legacy Machine case has now been entirely redesigned by Bulgari giving it a vibe that’s futuristic and opulent most def;
  • Flip the watch and the sun-shaped oscillating weight begins to entice,
  • For this beauty, CHF 160’000 + VAT is a small price;
New MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra
  • You get to be caressed by tourmaline, tsavorite, diamonds, rubellite, amethyst, tanzanite and topaz,
  • Wear it in good health and take it with you to any party with music and jazz;
  • Designing a surprising beauty like this could be considered a crime, 
  • And at the end, one of its biggest charms is that only its owner can read the time;
New MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra
  • Feel the power of Mediterranean exuberance joining radical watchmakin’,
  • With the new MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra the world for you is for the takin’… 
  • Feel the power of Mediterranean exuberance joining radical watchmakin’,
  • With the new MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra the world for you is for the takin’…
New MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra

To find out more about the new MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra and other MB&F watches, please head to their website here. All images unless otherwise specified are Courtesy ©MB&F SA 2018. Make sure to check out our reviews of other 2021 novelties here.

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