In the next few weeks, my ‘Independent Watchmakers’ book will be released globally. To publicise its release, I did an in-depth Skype interview with a renowned freelance journalist who was doing an article for the New York Times. Originally we had designated 30 minutes for the meeting but it ended up taking over 2-hours. The book features many unusual timepieces (including my own ‘Pure Carbon’) that needed a comprehensive explanation. It was also important to emphasise the reason for writing this type of book. As a watch designer myself I realised the challenges small independents are confronted with and wanted to highlight this.
Back in 2015 I visited Baselword and met with several prominent watchmakers/designers including Maximilian Büsser. At the time I had just created my own watch called the ‘Polaris’ and wanted to get some feedback. Even though the timepiece still needed some refinements the majority of people liked the aesthetic. In fact, even though the timepiece has a diameter of 53mm a lot of ladies expressed serious interest and enquired if it could be adapted. Essentially Maximilian Büsser has done exactly this with his latest incarnation of the Legacy Machine.
Less than a decade ago a woman had a limited choice of timepieces that were mainly quartz. Therefore, many ladies I know bought unisex watches or classically sized gents dress models. This has all changed and brands are trying to exploit this market and MB & F is a good case in point. Certainly, the Legacy Machine has never been one of my favourites as I prefer many of their other models. However, I do think the LM FlyingT is a very clever adaptation that will definitely appeal to discerning female clients.
Aesthetically the LM FlyingT has all the charm you would expect from MB & F. The design isn’t that much different to the other Legacy models but that doesn’t really matter. Effectively the proportions have been scaled down (38.5mm x 20mm) and the case is garnished with diamonds. Female clients have a choice of Black Lacquer or Baguette diamond-set dials. Certainly (in my opinion) the former is a lot more effective because it perfectly showcases the three-dimensional vertical tourbillon movement. Personally, I feel the Baguette diamond-set dial is too fussy and a bit overwhelming. Although, taste is subjective and I am sure opinions will vary.
