Buffy Acacia Now in its 20th year, MB&F has expanded the Longhorn’s unique offering for 2021. The Longhorn case shape was conceived in 2009 when the first MB&F Legacy machines were in the prototype stage. Both the LM Perpetual Longhorn and LM Sequential Flyback Longhorn feature complex movements designed with one of MB&F’s oldest friends, Stephen McDonnell.
Twenty years is still a childish period by watch brand standards, but MB&F’s collective experience and excellence make it feel like it will always be a classic. But perhaps childhood is an apt metaphor for a brand so wild in its creativity and playfulness. Its watch machines, legacy machines, and collaborative creations qualify as watches by the loosest of labels, pushing aside all stereotypes in favor of expressive engineering. To kick off the brand’s 20th anniversary celebration, MB&F has released two stunningly restrained pieces: the LM Perpetual Longhorn and the LM Sequential Flyback Longhorn.
Both the MB&F LM Perpetual Longhorn and LM Sequential Flyback Longhorn are themselves callbacks to unique pieces sold in 2021. The LM1 was launched in 2011 and marked the beginning of the Legacy Machine series, but versions with long lag were abandoned in pre-production. . Ten years later, it’s back as a one-off LM1 Longhorn, and now two 20th Anniversary Limited Editions have released 40 more Longhorns into the wild. But while the Longhorn’s case retains its individuality, the dial is more extreme, showing off its complications with skeletonized precision.
The Longhorn case is the epitome of legacy machine style, honoring decades of tradition and expressing the elegance of the past. The stainless steel case is polished to a shine, and the smooth bezel gently curves to match the brushed sides. Of course, the lugs are the main feature here, drawing an elongated drape across the wrist thanks to their tapered curvature. The case diameter is already 44mm, but thanks to careful geometry, the lug length still doesn’t look intimidating. Height is a bit more of an issue, and both require considerable thickness to accommodate sculptural movement. The Perpetual Longhorn is 17.5 mm thick and the Sequential Flyback Longhorn is 18.2 mm thick, but these aren’t the kind of watches you’d want to hide under your cuff anyway.
Starting with the MB&F LM Perpetual Longhorn, its perpetual calendar movement was developed in collaboration with Stephen McDonnell. For those who don’t know the MB&F acronym, it stands for Maximilian Büsser & Friends, and McDonnell is the brand’s most important friend. This caliber was built from the ground up as an efficient and intuitive perpetual calendar. This means it avoids many of the pitfalls that other similar movements have developed from decades of adaptation. Very easy to read, it displays the pointer date at 9, weekdays at 3, month at 6, and the traditional hours and minutes on a black lacquer subdial at 12 o’clock. There is also a retrograde leap year and power reserve display, discreetly hidden at the 4:30 and 7:30 positions. A large balance wheel hangs above the dial from a polished wishbone post and sits proudly above all other wheels. It is hand-wound, has a power reserve of 72 hours, and beats at a frequency of 18,000 vibrations per hour.
The LM Sequential Flyback Longhorn immediately conveys its step-up in complexity from the sheer number of pushers protruding from the case and a total of five subdials separated by an overhanging balance wheel. Perpetual had 581 components, while Sequential Flyback went up to 619. If anything, the name Sequential Flyback makes it sound much simpler than it actually is. This is a dual chronograph with two independent 30-minute registers and a large seconds subdial, with hours and minutes relegated to an angled subdial standing at 6 o’clock.
A watch with two chronographs is already impressive, but the wildest part is the use of “twinverters” that combine them to allow for multiple timing modes. They can run independently as split-seconds chronographs, cumulatively, or as lap timers, all with flyback functionality that snaps each counter to zero and instantly starts a new count. A watch like this truly showcases the genius mind of Stephen McDonnell and celebrates his contribution to the brand that began with the Horological Machine 1. The watch features a beat rate of 21,600 vph for improved chronograph detail, but also has a 72-hour power reserve.
MB&F LM Perpetual Longhorn and LM Sequential Flyback Longhorn Pricing and Availability
The MB&F LM Perpetual Longhorn and LM Sequential Flyback Longhorn are limited to 20 pieces each, and pricing is available upon request. Price: on request
Brand MB&F Model LM Perpetual Longhorn
LM Sequential Flyback Longhorn Case Dimensions 44mm (D) x 17.5mm (Perpetual)
44mm (D) x 18.2mm (sequential flyback) Case material Stainless steel Water-resistant 30M crystal Sapphire Dial Skeletonized with rhodium-plated baseplate and heat-blued hands Strap Calf leather with steel folding buckle Movement Fully integrated perpetual Calendar and Sequential Flyback Chronograph Power Reserve developed by Stephen McDonnell for MB&F 72 Hours Functions Hours, minutes, perpetual calendar, power reserve indicator (perpetual)
Twin sequential flyback chronograph with hours, minutes and “twinverter” mode (sequential flyback) Availability Limited to 20 pieces each Price On request
