MB&F adds sapphires and rubies to Legacy Machine Perpetual editions

MB&F has taken one of its most respected watches and turned it into something closer to a trophy with a heartbeat. The Legacy Machine Perpetual Chromatic editions arrived in three variants, each limited to eight pieces worldwide and priced at CHF 228,000, with gemstone-set bezels that push the cult perpetual calendar into high-jewelry territory without stripping away the watchmaking credibility that made it matter in the first place.

The platform underneath is the real reason these editions land. MB&F developed the Legacy Machine Perpetual in 2015 with independent Northern Irish watchmaker Stephen McDonnell, building a 581-component, hand-wound movement with a 72-hour power reserve and a 2.5 Hz frequency. It won the Calendar Watch Prize at the 2016 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, and the 2026 launch marked a 10-year anniversary for that award. That pedigree matters, because this is not decorative dressing over a generic luxury case. The perpetual calendar, suspended balance wheel and dial-side architecture are the watch.

The Chromatic treatment is where MB&F leaned into spectacle. Two white-gold versions came set with blue sapphires or purple sapphires, while the red-gold edition used Mozambique rubies. Some reporting also noted that each bezel contained 48 baguette-cut gemstones, hand-set by STG Creation in Geneva, which is the kind of detail that separates serious gem work from ordinary bling. The hand-stitched alligator straps and folding buckles matched the case metal, keeping the finish polished and formal from bezel to clasp.

That balance between engineering and ornament is what makes the editions unusual in the gift market. At CHF 228,000, these are not impulsive presents or everyday statement watches. They make the most sense as collector trophies, the kind that mark a promotion, a milestone birthday, a major anniversary or a personal triumph that deserves something no one else is likely to own. They can be celebratory gifts, too, but only for someone who already understands why the original LM Perpetual was such a feat. In a category full of gem-set distractions, MB&F has done something rarer: it has kept the machine worthy of the jewels.