Legacy Machine 101 (LM101)

The MB&F Legacy Machine 101, or LM101, is the watch that made Maximilian Busser's independent brand wearable for people who do not want a spaceship on the wrist. When it landed at Baselworld 2014 it was the first Legacy Machine built around a movement conceived entirely in-house by MB&F, and the first MB&F piece small enough to read as a proper dress watch. The case is 40mm across and roughly 16mm thick, with a high-domed sapphire crystal that lets a 14mm suspended balance wheel float above the dial like it is defying gravity. Under it sit two subdials, hours and minutes at 12 and a power reserve indicator at 6, both in white lacquer with a hand-frosted or vertical-brushed base plate depending on the edition. This is the entry point to MB&F collecting, but entry point does not mean cheap: retail ran from roughly CHF 49,000 for the later steel version up to CHF 64,000 for gold, and the movement finishing was specced by Kari Voutilainen. We stand behind a counter on 47th Street that has been family-run since 1959, we see plenty of independents cross the glass, and the LM101 is the MB&F we get asked about most by collectors making their first jump out of Rolex and Patek. If you own one and want a real number, or you want to buy one that has been checked over by people who know the caliber, bring it to 19 West 47th Street.