A New MB&F LM Perpetual EVO Silicon Valley Edition Marks the Pending Opening of the MB&F Lab at The Villa

Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry has collaborated with its longtime partner, MB&F, to release what may be one of the most desirable offerings ever from that brand—an exclusive 18-piece edition of its Legacy Machine Perpetual EVO. The limited series timepieces, in a stunning combination of rose gold and a deep blue dial tone, are available exclusively through Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry at The Villa Menlo Park.

This edition marks the first time the conceptual Swiss watchmaker has produced its popular Evo sports model in a precious metal - in this instance, 18 karat rose gold. The MB&F LM Perpetual EVO Silicon Valley edition features the GPHG award winning perpetual calendar movement developed by Stephen McDonnell, a blue dial plate, and choice of white or blue rubber strap, and a rose gold case back designating the edition.

Initial response to the model, which retails for $208,000 USD, has been very strong, and just a few LM Perpetual EVO Silicon Valley edition models remain available for pre-sale now at Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry at The Villa Menlo Park. The product collaboration underscores the Silvers’ close relationship with MB&F brand Founder and Creative Director Maximilian Büsser. The launch anticipates the opening of Northern California’s new MB&F LAB at The Villa Menlo Park in early 2025, a mixed-use retail, dining, and community development spearheaded by Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry. 

“We were happy to be able to provide some design input based on the tastes of our clients,” says Jared Silver, president of Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry. “Small enhancements of the dial were made to enhance legibility, and the appearance of the color scheme. I am biased of course, but I think this is the most attractive version of the LM Perpetual EVO yet released and will be highly collectible over time.”

Introducing the Legacy Machine Perpetual EVO Silicon Valley Edition

MB&F creations have transported their wearers to destinations that exist only on maps of the imagination: from star-cruisers to deep-sea jellyfish, Maximilian Büsser’s Machines are the mechanical cartographers of the multiverse.

The EVO line marked a significant evolution, with the release of the first LM Perpetual EVO pieces in 2020: their wearers became the navigators of their active lifestyle; the map was their life. On this journey, they would never have to leave their watch behind.

The LM Perpetual EVO was launched in three limited editions in zirconium, followed by a titanium edition with green CVD dial-plate, replaced in February 2024 by an ice blue dial-plate. To celebrate the opening of the MB&F LAB in Silicon Valley with retail partner Stephen Silver, the series is joined by a limited edition of 18 pieces in 18K rose gold with an ocean blue dial plate. All editions feature a closely-fitted, integrated rubber strap for the smoothest wearing experience of any MB&F Machine ever.

The 44mm case’s profile emphasizes openness and extreme clarity. A specially developed monobloc shock-absorbing system – “FlexRing” – that makes for the most robust Machine ever to emerge from MB&F. The LM Perpetual Engine, designed by Stephen McDonnell, an award-winning perpetual calendar that replaces traditional constructions with an innovative mechanical processor.

The MB&F collection has welcomed several complications and horologically prestigious mechanisms. In terms of combining prestige, tradition and innovation, however, Legacy Machine Perpetual has remained at the apex of MB&F watchmaking savoir-faire since it was introduced in 2015.

Although the 44mm diameter is unchanged from its 2015 iteration, the new EVO case design features a no-bezel construction, with the domed sapphire crystal fused directly to the case. The increased openness of this design highlights the equilibrium between the legibility of LM Perpetual EVO’s calendar indications and the cinematic play of the engine components — surmounted by the iconic MB&F hovering balance wheel. This expansive new presentation of the LM Perpetual Engine was no simple design reconfiguration. New geometries for the sapphire crystal had to be calculated, achieving the mechanically opposing aims of maintaining structural strength and decreasing its height-to-diameter ratio. Freeing LM Perpetual EVO from the bezel also necessitated the use of a sophisticated thermal bonding system between the sapphire crystal and the case.

The previously circular pushers for adjusting the perpetual calendar have been enlarged into double-sprung oblong actuators, boosting the tactile comfort and ease of adjustment. The LM Perpetual EVO is rated at 80m of water resistance, enabled by its screw-down crown. A small, but essential, detail of implementing a screw-down crown is the débrayage of the winding stem, disengaging the crown from the winding mechanism when it is pushed in and tightened, which eliminates the chance of manually over-winding the mainspring barrel.

An additional new element of the LM Perpetual EVO is the FlexRing: an annular dampener fitted between case and movement, providing shock protection along the vertical and lateral axes. Machined from a single block of stainless steel, the dampener imparts exceptional robustness to the perpetual calendar, a function that is associated with classicism and elegance, but is arguably the most pragmatic and utilitarian of all the high complications.

When Stephen McDonnell set out to redesign the perpetual calendar for MB&F, he proposed a system that rethought the entire mechanical basis of the complication. The LM Perpetual uses a “mechanical processor” consisting of a series of superimposed disks. This revolutionary processor takes the default number of days in the month at 28 — because, logically, all months have at least 28 days — and then adds the extra days as required by each individual month. This ensures that each month has exactly the right number of days and removes the possibility of the date jumping incorrectly. An inbuilt safety feature disconnects the quickset pushers during the date changeover, so that even if the pushers are accidentally actuated whilst the date is changing, there is no risk of damage to the movement.

LEGACY MACHINE PERPETUAL EVO IN DETAIL

Conventional perpetual calendars are generally modules comprising the complication, which is fitted on top of an existing movement. The calendar indications are synchronized by a long lever running across the top of the complication and passing through the center. As the date changes, this long lever transmits information to the appropriate components and mechanisms by moving backwards and forwards. This traditional system, while beautiful in its interplay of levers and components, is also extremely unwieldy, restricting movement construction in several key ways that would make something like Legacy Machine Perpetual a mechanical impossibility.

Created by Stephen McDonnell and premiered in 2015, the LM Perpetual Engine was — and still is — one of the most innovative perpetual calendar systems to exist in modern watchmaking 

In the traditional system, perpetual calendars assume that, by default, all months have 31 days. At the end of months with fewer than 31 days, the mechanism quickly skips through the superfluous dates before arriving at the 1st of the new month. Any manipulation or adjustment of the date during changeover can result in damage to the mechanism, requiring expensive repairs by the manufacturer. The dates can also jump or skip during changeover, negating the whole point of the perpetual calendar in the first place, which is not requiring adjustment for years. Or decades.

Legacy Machine Perpetual uses a “mechanical processor” consisting of a series of superimposed disks. This revolutionary processor takes the default number of days in the month at 28 – because, logically, all months have at least 28 days – and then adds the extra days as required by each individual month. This ensures that each month has exactly the right number of days. There is no "skipping over" redundant days, so there is no possibility of the date jumping incorrectly. 

Using a planetary cam, the mechanical processor also enables quick-setting of the year so that it displays correctly in the four-year leap year cycle, whereas traditional perpetual calendar mechanisms require the user to scroll through up to 47 months to arrive at the right month and year.

The mechanical processor also enables an inbuilt safety feature that disconnects the quick-set pushers during the date changeover, eliminating any risk of damage while the date is changing.

In 2015, Legacy Machine Perpetual premiered the world's longest balance wheel pinion, connecting the hovering balance to the escapement on the back of the engine. This technical feat has since been showcased elsewhere in the MB&F collection, namely the Legacy Machine Split Escapement.

LEGACY MACHINE PERPETUAL EVO TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

- Silicon Valley limited edition in 18K rose gold with ocean blue dial plate.

Engine

Fully integrated perpetual calendar developed for MB&F by Stephen McDonnell, featuring dial-side complication and mechanical processor system architecture with inbuilt safety mechanism. Manual winding with double mainspring barrels. Bespoke 14mm balance wheel with traditional regulating screws visible on top of the movement. Superlative hand finishing throughout respecting 19th century style; internal bevel angles highlighting hand craft; polished bevels; Geneva waves; hand-made engravings. Galvanic black dials with both SLN numerals and hands (except for the leap year and power reserve)  FlexRing: an annular dampener fitted between case and movement, providing shock protection along the vertical and lateral axes.

Screw down crown

Power reserve: 72 hours

Balance frequency: 18,000bph / 2.5Hz

Number of components: 581

Number of jewels: 41

Functions/indications

Hours, minutes, day, date, month, retrograde leap year and power reserve indicators

Case

Material: rose gold

Dimensions: 44 x 17.5mm

Number of components: 70

Water resistance: 8ATM / 80m / 270 feet

Sapphire crystals

Sapphire crystals on top and display back treated with anti-reflective coating on both faces

Strap & buckle

Rubber strap with matching titanium or rose gold folding buckle.

Contact the Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry team today to inquire about the MB&F LM Perpetual EVO Silicon Valley.