If you’ll permit me to express my other nerdy love for a moment, I absolutely love classic literature. It probably won’t surprise you to learn that I completed a degree in English Literature and Creative Writing from Lancaster University where I wrote my dissertation on the subject of classic adventure novels, specifically Moby Dick, Treasure Island and Master & Commander. Imagine my pure delight then on learning that two of these books form part of MB&F’s latest unique piece series in collaboration with master engraver Eddy Jaquet inspired by literary classics. Only the first of the eight unique pieces has been revealed so far, the MB&F x Eddy Jaquet LM Split Escapement ‘The Three Musketeers’.
The complete series will feature editions dedicated to Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, The Call of the Wild by Jack London, Moby Dick by Herman Melville, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, Robin Hood (anonymous). While Treasure Island and Moby Dick featured in my dissertation, I also studied Robinson Crusoe, The Mark of the Beast by Rudyard Kipling and had an entire module dedicated to Robin Hood. So out of the eight stories here, I have studied, at least in some capacity, five of them at academic level. My nerdy heart is beating so fast right now.
When I first saw the the MB&F x Eddy Jaquet LM Split Escapement ‘The Three Musketeers’ it took me off guard for a moment because I don’t typically associate MB&F with metiers d’art. They’re much more haute horology focused with their energy going into elaborate case designs and exquisite movements. For the most part their dials are nice but generally form a pleasant backdrop for the real focal point. This is evident on timepieces like the Legacy Machine Sequential Flyback Platinum.
However, back in 2020 MB&F launched their first major collaborative series with Eddy Jaquet, the master engraver they have long worked with and who is typically responsible for engraving the brand’s logo onto their movements. The collab was an excuse for Jaquet to show his true skills instead of such a comparatively simple task. The original series was also eight unique pieces, each dedicated to a work by Jules Verne. The Around the World in Eighty Days edition even got a nod at that year’s GPHG awards.
Robinson Crusoe
The structure of each watch is largely similar. They’re all based on an updated version of LM Split Escapement that’s adapted to provide the largest possible engraving surface to display Jaquet’s work. The watch itself is 44.5mm in diameter and made from stainless steel. The movement on display is the LM Split Escapement with 72-hour power reserve and manual winding.
The Jungle Book
Focussing in on the engravings, they are designed completely from scratch by Jaquet and are original pieces of artwork derived from the engraver’s own readings of the relevant book. In ‘The Three Musketeers’ edition the engraving shows 10 men sword fighting overlooked by figures in balconies. MB&F have also announced that ‘The Jungle Book’ will show a scene of Mowgli surrounded by the animals of the tale, ‘Robinson Crusoe’ features Crusoe and Friday spotting a ship with a telescope, ‘Treasure Island’ depicts Jim escaping from pirates and ‘The Last of the Mohicans’ shows three figures around a campfire.
There is such detail packed into each image that the watch comes with a complimentary Loupe System X6 macro lens to reveal all the detail. It’s pretty astonishing. The MB&F X Eddy Jaquet LM Split Escapement ‘The Three Musketeers’ is priced at CHF 158,000 excluding VAT (approx. £140,000 + VAT). I wish I could see all of them side by side but at time of writing that’s impossible because five of them are still in production. This is quite possibly the collection that has warmed my heart the most this year, I really enjoy the immaculate detail and subject matter.
Price and Specs:
More details at MB&F.
