After four years, MB&F collaborates once again with master engraver Eddy Jaquet announcing a eight new Pièces Uniques inspired by the great classics of youth literature. You may recall their previous collaboration with Eddy Jaquet, launched in 2020 and inspired by the novels of Jules Verne; that first series of eight unique pieces would go on to win the prestigious GPHG Artistic Crafts Award in 2021. Now, MB&F is delighted to release a second series of eight unique pieces, this time inspired by classic novels including: The Three Musketeers, The Jungle Book, Robinson Crusoe —this first three have just been completed—, The Call of the Wild, The Last of the Mohicans, Moby-Dick, Robin Hood and Treasure Island. The images we have here are for The Three Musketeers piece unique.

Things to Know About the Watch

MB&F’s friendship with Eddy Jaquet goes back to well over a decade, since he has been engraving the flowing script you see on their Legacy Machines —but that’s just a tiny hint of his immense artistic talent. Eddy’s transformative touch can turn a watch —in this case, MB&F’s Legacy Machine Split Escapement— into a rich storytelling tapestry. Cased in stainless steel and with an 18K white gold dial, these new watches are simply stunning and a piece of storytelling.

From a first list of 15 classic novels, Eddy selected eight that he then synthesized into entirely original illustrations. Like his Jules Verne series, none of the illustrations imagined by Eddy Jaquet are drawn from existing works of art; they are entirely conceived by the artist after reading the source books and viewing other creative works. Each engraving is an intricate tableau of the heroes, scenes and key moments from the novels, expressly designed to be interpreted through the medium of the LM Split Escapement.

Each novel is directly engraved on the LM SE movement’s dial plate, modified to 18K white gold for this series of eight unique pieces. Each piece comes in a stainless steel case, with a slimmer bezel and openworked black subdials offering a fuller view of Eddy’s masterpieces.

The Movement

The Split Escapement was first developed by Stephen McDonnell for the previous Legacy Machine Perpetual. This Split Escapement allows for MB&F's signature flying balance wheel to exist in its purest form, floating high above the dial, while the rest of the escapement —anchor and escape wheel— is located on the opposite side of the movement. The movement provides a power reserve of 72 hours while beating at a frequency of 18,000 vph. This manual wound movement is composed of 314 parts, 35 jewels and it features the longest escapement shaft in watchmaking that is almost 12 mm long.

On the Wrist & Price

On the wrist, the MB&F LM Split Escapement Eddy Jaquet Classic Novels Unique Pieces wears true to its size and just like all other iterations of this watch. The suspended balance wheel at the center of the dial is very impressive and captivating, but that when compared is nothing as impressive as the hand engravings on the dial. Only eight unique pieces of this new watch are available directly from MB&F.

Sticker Price CHF 158,000 Swiss Francs —approx USD 183,000. For more info on MB&F click here.