MB&F’s Legacy Machine 101 has always treated mechanics as part of the dial-side theatre.
The new LM101 Gabriel Colliard editions add another layer to that performance, bringing miniature cloisonné enamel scenes by the Swiss-based artist and enameller onto one of the brand’s most recognisable movement architectures.
There are three versions, each built around a single animal and a dominant colour, with just eight pieces made per edition.
At a glance
- MB&F has introduced three Legacy Machine 101 Gabriel Colliard limited editions with cloisonné enamel jungle scenes.
- The Monkey – Blue, Macaw – Red and Crocodile – Green editions use variations of one dominant hue rather than a broad multicoloured palette.
- Each edition is limited to eight pieces, priced at CHF 98,000, €107,000 or US$131,000 excluding taxes.
Three animals, three colour studies
The collection is divided into Monkey – Blue, Macaw – Red and Crocodile – Green.
Each watch depicts its animal within a dense jungle composition, but the point isn’t simply miniature illustration.
Colliard works through numerous shades of the dominant colour, mixing translucent, semi-opaque and opaque enamels to create depth and atmosphere.
That approach nods to richly decorated enamel dials from the 1950s while feeling more controlled and contemporary in its use of colour.
The result is a trio of watches that share a theme but avoid repetition, with each dial built around its own chromatic mood.
Gabriel Colliard’s enamel work meets MB&F architecture
Colliard studied fine arts in Argentina before moving to Switzerland in 2003.
After initially working in watchmaking, he trained in enamelling in Limoges, France, then gained experience in specialist workshops and at Patek Philippe.
That painterly background is important here, because the enamel isn’t treated as a surface ornament applied after the watch has been designed.
It becomes part of the composition, shaped around the suspended balance wheel, bridges and displays that define the LM101.
In traditional cloisonné, fine gold wires are bent by hand to outline the animals, foliage and smaller details, forming compartments that are then filled with enamel.
The dial is fired repeatedly in a kiln as colours are built in stages.
Enamel can shift dramatically under heat, which makes control difficult and revision slow.
Colliard has said that fire always has the final say, and the production pace reflects that reality, with about one composition completed per month and more than two years expected for all 24 watches.
How the LM101 was adapted for enamel
The Legacy Machine 101’s dial isn’t an empty canvas.
Its 14 mm suspended balance wheel and sculptural bridges occupy a large part of the visible architecture, which made the integration of the enamel scenes unusually demanding.
Rather than hiding the mechanics or treating them as interruptions, Colliard incorporates them into the compositions.
The dial plate was modified to accommodate the thickness of the enamel, while the original sub-dials were removed and their hands extended.
The enamel work also appears on the reverse, where an enamelled ratchet wheel echoes the colours and motifs seen on the dial.
Colliard develops the front and back elements together, giving the watch a more complete decorative language rather than a single spectacular face.
The movement beneath the miniature worlds
The manually wound movement was developed by MB&F’s in-house engineering team in collaboration with independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen, who established its traditional finishing specifications.
For these editions, the calibre has been upgraded to a 60-hour power reserve, an increase from the 45 hours of previous versions.
The movement comprises 222 components and 23 jewels, with a 14 mm suspended balance fitted with a Straumann double hairspring and beating at 18,000 vibrations per hour.
Finishing includes undulating Geneva waves, hand-polished bevels, gold chatons and countersunk blued screws, alongside NAC-treated rear bridges and a rhodium-plated mainplate.
Details & Specifications
| Brand | MB&F |
|---|---|
| Model | Legacy Machine 101 Gabriel Colliard |
| Editions | Monkey – Blue, Macaw – Red, Crocodile – Green |
| Case size | 40 mm diameter, 16.55 mm height |
| Case material | Platinum |
| Crystal | Sapphire with anti-reflective coating on both sides |
| Water resistance | 30 metres / 100 feet |
| Movement | Manually wound calibre developed by MB&F with traditional finishing specifications established by Kari Voutilainen |
| Components | 222 |
| Jewels | 23 |
| Balance | 14 mm suspended balance wheel with Straumann double hairspring |
| Frequency | 18,000 vibrations per hour / 2.5 Hz |
| Power reserve | 60 hours |
| Displays | Hours and minutes at 2 o’clock; power reserve at 6 o’clock |
| Movement finishing | Undulating Geneva waves, hand-polished bevels, gold chatons, countersunk blued screws, NAC-treated rear bridges and rhodium-plated mainplate |
| Strap | Hand-stitched alligator leather strap with white gold folding buckle cover |
| Limited edition | Eight pieces per edition |
| Price | CHF 98,000 / €107,000 / US$131,000 excluding taxes |
The LM101 Gabriel Colliard editions will speak most directly to collectors who like MB&F for its mechanical sculpture but want something slower, more artisanal and more intimate on the wrist.
It’s a rare meeting of independent horology and hand-fired colour, where the complication is as much in the making as it is in the mechanics.
