The watch industry can be quite a mundane one. On the one hand, enthusiasts crave for a few select dive watches, fanning over rotating bezels as if their each click brought about a new revelation. Conversely, watch collectors preside over their complicated wrist machines, generally embezzled more with jewelry than horological prowess. In this status quo, once in a while comes along just the perfect whisper of delight. The MB&F LM Split Escapement Eddy Jaquet eight new Pièce Uniques inspired by their namesake classics are just that; and for anyone who has spent their childhood under tree shades reading these, they are also a wonderful dose of nostalgia.
Just over four years ago, MB&F unveiled the first series by Eddy Jaquet. In 2021, one of those Pièce Uniques won the GPHG Artistic Crafts Award. Just like the unveiling of an art exhibition, now the following are being presented: The Three Musketeers, The Jungle Book, Robinson Crusoe, The Call of the Wild, The Last of the Mohicans, Moby-Dick, Robin Hood and Treasure Island. Eddy’s own interpretations of the novels are engraved directly “on the Legacy Machine Split Escapement’s dial plate, modified to 18K white gold for this series of eight unique pieces”.
Each piece of the LM Split Escapement Eddy Jaquet comes in a stainless steel case, with a slimmer bezel and openworked black sub-dials offering a fuller view of Eddy’s masterpieces. The movement and dial are presented inside a large 44.5 mm x 18.2 mm stainless steel case featuring 50 components. The dial shows the functions of hours and minutes at 12’o clock, a sub-dial at 4’o clock as the power-reserve indicator and another sub-dial at 7’o clock as the date indicator. The movement, developed for MB&F by Stephen McDonnell, features manual winding with double mainspring barrel and s a bespoke 14mm balance wheel with traditional regulating screws. The split escapement with the balance wheel is suspended above the dial, while the anchor and escapement wheel are under the movement. It beats at the frequency of 2.5Hz, features 296-components, 35-jewels, and offering a 72-hour power reserve.
Retail price of each LM Split Escapement Eddy Jaquet unique piece is CHF 158,000 + VAT. To find out more about the MB&F M.A.D.1 ‘Time to Love’, please head to their website here. All images unless otherwise stated are courtesy MB&F | © MB&F SA 2018. All rights reserved.
