INTRODUCING: The MB&F LM Sequential EVO incorporates two chronographs in one watch
Zach BlassWatchmaking at times can be very predictable and with brands often merely switching up colourways in their latest novelties there is not always as much shock and awe as we would like. Not MB&F though, you can always count on the independent manufacture to keep you guessing and make the jaws of horological die-hards hit the floor. MB&F is always innovating, refusing to find safety and comfort in the conventional. Across 17 years, they have developed 20 different calibres – more than a new one every year. Today the 20th calibre makes its debut, marking the first ever chronograph watch for MB&F: the LM Sequential EVO. In typical MB&F fashion, this is not your ordinary chronograph watch. What sets the MB&F LM Sequential EVO apart is how it incorporates two column-wheel chronographs and a groundbreaking “Twinverter” binary switch, allowing multiple timing modes including split-second and lap timer modes – a combination never seen before in any chronograph.
The MB&F LM Sequential EVO is, like previous EVO references, cased in Zirconium – a very robust metal that is lighter than steel and stronger than titanium. Its case, 44mm in diameter and 18.2mm (including its highly domed sapphire crystal), features an array of exquisite finishes. The caseband and lugs are each scalloped, the sunken surface of the caseband richly brushed across and then frosted within the lugs. On its front, however, you’ll find the raised lugs hoods are entirely mirror polished top-side. Each of the four chronograph pushers are entirely mirror polished, the fifth “Twinverter” pusher at 9′ brushed and rendered with a grid motif on its outward facet. The dimensions are certainly on the larger side, and its bezel-less design will certainly make the watch appear that much larger, but the curvature of the lugs creates a camber that will likely flatter the wrists of those usually intimidated by such specs. When we see haute horology make its way into sportier designs, sometimes they do not live up to the sporty aesthetic with cases that are not very shock or water-resistant. The LM Sequential EVO, however, certainly does offering 80 metres of water-resistance thanks to the screw-down crown and a “FlexRing” damping system in the case
In typical Legacy Machine style, the dial side of the watch offers a large view of the calibre at work – the large flying balance wheel on full display at its centre, affixed to the dial by a full and impeccably polished bridge that spans from the 11′ and 1′ positions of its real estate. The calibre components are decorated to the nines, richly and concentrically brushed on their top surfaces with razor-sharp and thin hand-executed bevels. Here is where things get that much more interesting. Five black registers consume the dial, the sub-dial at 6′ indicating the hours and minutes. Symmetrically positioned on each side, you have two thirty-minute elapsed minutes registers and two chronograph seconds registers below which merge with the hours and minutes sub-dial. The left-side pushers at 10′ and 8′ serve as the start/stop for the left set of registers, and the 2′ and 4′ positioned pushers serving the right-set of chronograph indications. So, what does the fifth “Twinverter” pusher at 9′ do? Well, simply put, engaging this fifth pusher will invert the start/stop status of both chronographs. So were the left-set of registers running, while the right-set were stopped, hitting the pusher would stop the left-set and start the right-set.
It’s a very complex mechanism that results in an easy to use and versatile system for multiple modes of timing that were previously not possible with a mechanical wristwatch. MB&F explains: “Here are a few things that the LM Sequential EVO can do, that existing chronographs cannot. ‘Independent mode’ measures the duration of multiple events with separate starting points and end points, even when the events overlap in timing. ‘Simultaneous mode’ measures the individual durations of two events that start simultaneously, but have different end points. ‘Cumulative mode’ measures the individual cumulative durations of two discontinuous events. ‘Sequential mode’ or ‘lap mode’ measures the individual sub-durations of a single continuous multi-phase event, with provision for sub-durations that last over a minute.”
This system and calibre was developed by Stephen McDonell, a longstanding friend of the brand who also developed the perpetual calendar calibre found in the LM Perpetual and LM Perpetual EVO. Like its front-side, the back of the calibre, visible beneath an exhibition caseback, is also decorated to the highest standard with beautiful Côtes de Genève and thick curvaceous chamfers. The darkened bridges really play into the sporty nature of the watch, and, as a point of added functionality, the lowermost bridge on the right side hosts a power reserve indicator for the manually wound calibre which offers three days of power reserve.
There are two variations to explore, one with an atomic orange dial plate (orange PVD) and the other with a coal black dial plate (black PVD). The former is outfitted on a black rubber strap, the latter a white rubber strap, which rests perfectly flush against the case.
MB&F LM Sequential EVO pricing and availability:
The MB&F LM Sequential EVO is available now for purchase on the MB&F/M.A.DGALLERY website. Price: CHF 160,000/ EUR 160,000 / $180,000 USD (all excl. applicable taxes)
| Brand | MB&F |
| Model | LM Sequential EVO |
| Case Material | Zirconium |
| Case Dimensions | 44mm x 18.2mm |
| Water-Resistance | 80m (screw-down crown) |
| Dials | Orange or black PVD dial plates |
| Strap | Black or white rubber |
| Movement | LM Sequential EVO |
| Power Reserve | 72 hours |
| Complications | Hours, minutes, power reserve, two column-wheel chronographs |
| Availability | Now |
| Price | CHF 160,000/ EUR 160,000 / $180,000 USD (all excl. applicable taxes) |