The EVO-lution: MB&F Launches the New Legacy Machine Split Escapement EVO

New Watch! • 29 Aug 2022

The EVO-lution: MB&F Launches the New Legacy Machine Split Escapement EVO


The MB&F Legacy Machine Split Escapement gets an EVO-lution. Following in the footsteps of other Legacy Machines, the Split Escapement now also comes in a robust EVO case.

 

MB&F Legacy Machine Split Escapement EVO in Ice Blue
The new MB&F Legacy Machine Split Escapement EVO

 

It’s hard to mention the LM Split Escapement without first mentioning the LM Perpetual launched in 2015. Designed and conceived by Northern Irish master watchmaker Stephen McDonnell, there were two criteria for the perpetual calendar: make it fool-proof; and display MB&F’s signature flying balance wheel in the centre of the dial. McDonnell was soon to realise that there was a problem: there was nowhere to put the escapement. The concept had worked with previous Legacy Machines, where the balance wheel was on the front of the watch along with the escapement, but with the perpetual calendar display of the more complex LM Perpetual, there was simply no room for both.

The solution: McDonnell created the world’s longest balance staff. Traversing the entire movement, the large balance wheel was left on its own on the front of the watch, while the remaining parts of the escapement – the anchor and escape wheel – to the opposite side of the movement, hence the name “Split Escapement”.

 

In 2017, MB&F debuted the LM Split Escapement to highlight McDonnell’s ingenious idea. The manual-winding, 298-component movement is driven by double barrels providing 72 hours of power reserve, and features a user-friendly, foolproof rapid date-changing system.

 

EVO-lution

The first editions of the LM Split Escapement were presented in MB&F’s classic Legacy Machine case. The collection now also features the EVO case, conceived for a more active lifestyle.

This new case design first came to life in 2020 in the form of the LM Perpetual EVO. The defining feature of the EVO concept goes deep inside the case: the movement is suspended in a first-of-its-kind monobloc shock-absorbing “FlexRing” system, able to dampen the vertical and horizontal shocks that come with real-life adventures. More recently, MB&F launched their first-ever chronograph, the LM Sequential EVO, with the EVO case.

 

 

In addition to the EVO case, the design of the LM Split Escapement has also been modified. Remaining consistent with the LM Split Escapement EVO UAE Golden Jubilee limited edition, the entire mechanism was rotated clockwise by 30 degrees, placing the crown at the 4:30 position instead of at 2 o’clock. This change in symmetry gives the watch a completely new character.

An Icy-Cool Look

The latest LM SE EVO also sports a cool new look. Surrounded by a Grade 5 Titanium case, the pastel blue baseplate provides an icy backdrop to the slate grey dial and counter rings. On the movement side, the special darkened treatment creates heightened contrast between the wheels, the rhodium-plated barrels, and the rose gold details. And of course, in usual MB&F fashion, the contemporary design is accompanied by a myriad of traditional finishings on the movement. MB&F remains one of the few artisanal brands that continue to finish components painstakingly by hand, making the watch visually appealing from all angles.

 

 

The new MB&F Legacy Machine Split Escapement EVO features time, date and power reserve indicators, with a quick date adjustment push button next to the date dial, and anti-reflective sapphire crystals on top and display back. The titanium case with pastel blue baseplate and slate grey dials comes with an integrated rubber strap with titanium folding buckle. 

Register your interest in the Legacy Machine Split Escapement EVO

Tags: geneva watch days 2022 independent watchmaking legacy machine maximilian busser mb&f split escapement


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