Masterpieces of Time

Lm101 MB&F x H. Moser, an unprecedented collaboration

Available in 4 limited editions of 15 pieces each in stainless steel 316, with fumé dials in Funky Blue, Red, Cosmic Green and an Aqua Blue edition exclusively for Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons. Share

Edouard Meylan and Maximilian Büsser are delighted with this rewarding collaborative project. In addition to the beauty of the models created in tandem, two bodies of expertise and two sets of DNA have been blended and mutually enriched. The two different communities of the two Maisons have also pooled their skills in a wonderful spirit of openness and transparency. This experience leaves Edouard and Maximilian with a keen sense of coming back to a sense of pleasure: the pleasure of working together and of creating.

H. Moser & Cie. and MB&F are both independent, human-scale Swiss companies. They are run by two passionate personalities, longstanding acquaintances who both appreciate and respect each other on both a personal and professional level. The brands have in fact been working together for more than ten years, with Precision Engineering AG – a sister company of H. Moser & Cie. – notably supplying MB&F’s balance springs. It is therefore not surprising that MB&F asked Edouard Meylan to take part as a “friend” to help create a Performance Arts piece. The latest aspect of this collaboration lies in its being a two-way street. Maximilian Büsser says:

“When I called Edouard to tell him that I wanted to collaborate on a creation, I mentioned that I really liked the double balance-spring, the Moser fumé dials and the Concept watch series. Edouard immediately told me that he would let me borrow these features, but on condition that he could also reinterpret one of my machines. After an initial moment of surprise, I gave it some thought. Being 50% Indian and 50% Swiss, I am firmly convinced that mixing DNA creates interesting results, so why not try the experiment in watchmaking? I therefore agreed and suggested the FlyingT model, which is particularly dear to my heart.”

Lm101 MB&F x H. Moser, an unprecedented collaboration
Lm101 MB&F x H. Moser, an unprecedented collaboration
Lm101 MB&F x H. Moser, an unprecedented collaboration
Lm101 MB&F x H. Moser, an unprecedented collaboration
Photo: Courtesy of H. Moser & Cie. and MB&F

In a spirit of sharing and openness, while cultivating the notion of strength in unity, H. Moser & Cie. and MB&F have thus jointly created two models, available in several versions and issued in 15-piece limited series. This number is a nod to the 15th anniversary of MB&F as well as honouring the 15th anniversary of the relaunch of H. Moser & Cie. By pooling their strengths, these two competing yet friendly brands are working to harness the combined strengths of talented artisans, entirely in keeping with the philosophy adopted by MB&F.

H. Moser & Cie. has borrowed from MB&F the concept of three-dimensional movements, a strong element of the Geneva Maison’s identity, protected by a sapphire dome and featuring a one-minute flying tourbillon that rises above the main dial through a ventricular opening appearing at 12 o’clock. Benefiting from the expertise of its sister company Precision Engineering AG, H. Moser & Cie. has equipped its tourbillon with a cylindrical balance spring, the same as that developed by Precision Engineering AG for MB&F’s LM Thunderdome. Invented in the 18th century, the cylindrical balance spring is reminiscent of a worm- or corkscrew, rising perpendicularly around the upper rod of the balance staff.

Lm101 MB&F x H. Moser, an unprecedented collaboration
Lm101 MB&F x H. Moser, an unprecedented collaboration
Lm101 MB&F x H. Moser, an unprecedented collaboration
Lm101 MB&F x H. Moser, an unprecedented collaboration
Lm101 MB&F x H. Moser, an unprecedented collaboration
Photo: Courtesy of H. Moser & Cie. and MB&F

Commonly used in historical marine chronometers at the time, it offers the advantage of developing concentrically, and therefore geometrically, since it works perfectly along the axis of its pivots. This gives it a significant advantage over the flat balance spring, whose opposite ends tend to exert forces on the pivots, despite the Philips or Breguet terminal curves which were specifically developed to partially correct the non-concentric opening of the balance spring. Fitted with a Breguet overcoil at both attachment points, the cylindrical balance spring reduces pivot friction and greatly improves isochronism. Due to its specific shape, the cylindrical balance spring is far more difficult to produce and takes ten times longer to make than a traditional balance spring.

Within the MB&F collection, the Legacy Machine 101 distils the very quintessence of mechanical watchmaking: the balance wheel, the power reserve and the passing of time. It is therefore no coincidence that the collaboration revisited this model, since it is minimalism that guided the creation of the LM101 MB&F x H. Moser.

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