As Arnold Schwarzenegger said in the greatest Batman movie ever, “The Iceman cometh!” In classic MB&F fashion, their new release certainly takes this to heart.
If you were to stop a random person on the street and ask them to name a few watch brands, MB&F isn’t one that immediately comes to mind. Prior to getting into watches and knowing nothing about them, I only knew of three: Rolex (obviously), Casio (I thought the brand was called G-SHOCK), and Omega (dad loves James Bond way too much). However, that doesn’t make MB&F any lesser – even the combined strength of most iconic watch brands couldn’t hold a candle to MB&F even on its worst day. And as of right now, they are having a pretty good day, unveiling a brand new LM Perpetual Evo with a stunning icy blue dial.
Now, I’m sure you’re looking at this watch and thinking, “What the hell is that?” Don’t worry though, there are answers to that question and more – but to understand exactly what’s going on here, you may have to understand the brand a little.
MB&F’s origins start in 2005, having been founded by Maximillian Büsser – a businessman, micro-engineer and the first half of the brand’s name. His goal? To make himself and his Friends (the other half of the name) a laboratory dedicated to horology. I’m sure that existing at the same time as low-rise cargo pants and frosted tips had a major effect on MB&F’s approach to watchmaking because it most certainly shows. Upon the release of the LM Perpetual in 2015, I’m sure that’s what everyone else noticed too. In both design and mechanics, it was clear that MB&F was inspired by the great watchmakers and innovators of centuries gone by. However, MB&F loves to put the wildest, most outlandish, and radical spins on the classics – which they have – but in a manner that pays tributes to the greats who came before them.
Their 2020 release, the LM Perpetual EVO, only furthers that spirit. Where it carries the design from the original LM Perpetual, the EVO added a great many quality-of-life changes for the watch to be adapted to their users’ dynamic lifestyles – FlexRing shock absorbers, a screw-down crown providing 80m water resistance, rubber straps, lume, and ergonomic zirconium & titanium cases propelled the LM Perpetual beyond just being considered a piece of art. As they love to say, the LM Perpetual EVO became a “Watch for Life.”
For 2024, they have decided to retire their long-standing green dial configuration in favour of a gorgeous icy blue. As the headline suggests, Ice Blue for me evokes imagery of the extremely campy Batman and Robin movie, especially Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Mr. Freeze. As goofy and as bizarre as that movie may be, there is so much heart and dedication put into it that you can’t help but respect it for what it is – a value I’m sure that MB&F treasures. But every Batman needs his Robin, and while Max has received much of the critical acclaim surrounding the piece, he would agree that – as the name implies – MB&F is a collaborative effort. In this case, chief among the many Friends that contributed to the LM Perpetual is one Stephen McDonnell.
Despite not coming from a formal watchmaking background, Stephen is a born tinkerer, having been curious about the creation and repair of mechanical clocks throughout his childhood. His work with MB&F helped to pioneer one of their most iconic features – the split escapement – and also contributed to what the brand calls the re-invention of the perpetual calendar, again removing flaws and adding much-needed quality-of-life improvements to a challenging complication. For example, somehow Stephen has made the operation of a perpetual calendar simple, installing four sets of correcting pushers somewhat reminiscent of how a Casio G-SHOCK operates.
Adding such a trivial intuition in a mechanical setting, however, is disgustingly complicated and crazy. Fortunately for Stephen and MB&F, they love crazy. Add that to a 72-hour power reserve (complete with indicator), a retrograde leap year indicator and an excruciating level of hand finishing and you have a timepiece as capable as it is mind-bending.
In the ever-evolving landscape of haute horlogerie, the MB&F LM Perpetual EVO with its stunning icy blue dial makes its mark. It stands as a testament to Max and his Friends’ extreme dedication to engineering and design, as well as the unbridled creativity and joy they take in pushing the boundaries of what watchmaking can be. As much as I am sad to see the green dial EVO go, the Ice Blue is as good of a tradeoff as you could get, and in the world of MB&F, innovation, and collaboration continue to thrive, making even the most minute difference in each release a unique masterpiece. It’s brands like theirs that keep the watch world moving and shaking, and when the market may seem dull, they always return to teach us one thing: From MB&F, always expect the unexpected.
Reference: LM PERPETUAL EVO BLUE TI
Specification
- Case: 44mm x 17.5mm thickness
- Case Material: Titanium
- Dial: Icy Blue CVD
- Crystal: Sapphire crystals on top and display back treated with anti-reflective coating on both sides
- Water resistance: 80m (8 Bar)
- Movement: MB&F Integrated Perpetual Calendar by Stephen McDonnell, Manual Wind
- Movement Frequency: 2. 5Hz (18,000bph)
- Power reserve: Approx 72 hours
- Strap: Rubber strap with titanium folding buckle
