The partnership between MB&F and Ahmed Seddiqi runs deeper than commercial arrangement. Since opening its first boutique in Bur Dubai in 1950, Seddiqi has cultivated a reputation as champions of high-end watchmaking in the Middle East, introducing over 60 luxury brands to the region across seven decades. This family-owned enterprise, now led by the second, third and fourth generations, has become synonymous with horological expertise and service excellence. Their commitment extends beyond retail into education and cultural engagement, founding Dubai Watch Week in 2015 as a global platform dedicated to preserving watchmaking culture. The relationship with MB&F exemplifies this ethos. As Maximilian Büsser himself expressed, the Seddiqi family welcomed him during vulnerable moments, supported him through challenges, and celebrated achievements together. This anniversary collaboration, producing just twelve pieces across two references, represents something far beyond limited editions, it acknowledges a friendship forged through shared values of innovation, craftsmanship and respect for independent creative expression in haute horlogerie.
Signature Blue and Architectural Complexity
The LM Perpetual EVO 75th Anniversary Seddiqi employs the signature blue colourway first featured on the 2020 LM101 MB&F x H. Moser created exclusively for Ahmed Seddiqi. Here, the treatment reverses from that earlier piece: blue animates the sub-dials against an anthracite dial plate background, creating visual tension between warm and cool metallic tones. The perpetual calendar display arranges itself symmetrically around the suspended 14mm flying balance wheel with four subdials occuping cardinal positions, each appearing to float above the mechanical architecture below. The skeletonised construction allows direct observation of the mechanical processor’s superimposed disks, the revolutionary system that redefines how perpetual calendars calculate month length.
The LM Perpetual Baguette Diamonds inverts this colour scheme. The blue plate forms the primary canvas, with black subdials providing high contrast for the time, day, month and date displays. This represents the first instance of a diamond-set bezel in the Legacy Machine Perpetual series. The 48 baguette-cut diamonds totalling 1.5 carats establish a perimeter of geometric precision, their step-cut facets creating linear light play distinct from brilliant-cut stones. The setting technique demands exacting tolerances: each stone must align perfectly with its neighbours to maintain visual continuity whilst the bezel accommodates the domed sapphire crystal interface.
Stephen McDonnell’s Mechanical Processor
The calibre powering both anniversary editions represents one of the genuine innovations in perpetual calendar design from the past decade. Developed by Northern Irish watchmaker Stephen McDonnell and premiering in 2015, this fully integrated 581-component movement fundamentally reimagines the complication’s architecture. Traditional perpetual calendars operate as modules atop existing movements, synchronised by a long lever traversing the mechanism’s centre. These systems default to 31-day months, rapidly advancing through superfluous dates at month-end for shorter months. This creates vulnerability: adjusting the calendar during changeover risks catastrophic damage. Dates can skip incorrectly, and the entire system remains mechanically inelegant.
McDonnell’s solution employs a “mechanical processor” of superimposed disks. The system defaults to 28 days which is the only universally applicable month length, then adds extra days as required by each specific month. This eliminates date skipping entirely. An integrated safety mechanism automatically disconnects the quickset pushers during changeover, removing any possibility of user-induced damage. The planetary cam enables quick-setting of the leap year indicator, where traditional mechanisms require scrolling through up to 47 months to establish correct position.
Positioning the perpetual calendar mechanism on the movement’s dial side allows appreciation of the complication from above, a clear departure from conventional construction where calendar components hide beneath subdials. The 14mm balance wheel, suspended via the world’s longest balance staff, connects to its escapement on the movement’s reverse through a pinion traversing the entire calibre thickness. This split escapement architecture, with the balance wheel isolated on the dial side whilst anchor and escape wheel reside nearly 12mm below, emerged from necessity, since the perpetual calendar display consumed all available dial-side space, “forcing” McDonnell to separate the regulating organ’s components.
The manual-winding movement employs dual mainspring barrels providing 72 hours of power reserve. Balance frequency runs at 18,000 vibrations per hour, the traditional pocket watches 2.5Hz frequency.It is a deliberate choice favouring amplitude stability over chronometric performance. Traditional regulating screws on the balance rim allow precise rate adjustment. The movement contains 41 jewels positioned throughout the 581 components.
Finishing adheres strictly to 19th-century conventions. Internal bevel angles highlight hand craftsmanship throughout the plates and bridges. Polished bevels contrast against Geneva waves covering larger surfaces. Gold settings chatons secure the jewels with polished countersinks. The anglage work reveals itself under magnification: each internal angle terminates crisply, the surrounding surface exhibiting neither rounding nor irregularity. Every surface receives treatment appropriate to its function and visibility, following the codes established by Joux Valley craftsmen two centuries prior.
Grade 5 Titanium and Steel with Diamonds
The LM Perpetual EVO employs Grade 5 titanium (Ti-6Al-4V alloy containing 6% aluminium and 4% vanadium). This aerospace-grade material offers strength exceeding 900 MPa, over three times that of commercially pure Grade 2 titanium. The alloy’s strength-to-weight ratio permits the 44mm diameter case to remain structurally robust whilst weighing significantly less than stainless steel. Grade 5 titanium accepts diverse surface treatments: the case combines polished, brushed and sandblasted finishes, each technique exploiting the alloy’s response to abrasion differently.
The FlexRing system, exclusive to EVO editions, functions as an annular dampener positioned between case and movement. Machined from stainless steel, this ring-shaped component provides shock absorption along both vertical and lateral axes. The geometry resembles two concentric circles, following the mathematical definition of an annulus and creating a flexible interface that isolates the fragile perpetual calendar mechanism from impact forces. This addresses one of haute horlogerie’s persistent contradictions: complications demanding gentle handling versus owners’ desire to wear these pieces actively. The screw-down crown enhances water resistance to 80 metres, far exceeding traditional dress watch specifications. The integrated rubber strap, secured via titanium folding buckle, completes the sports-oriented architecture.
The LM Perpetual Baguette Diamonds utilises stainless steel for its 44mm case. The 48 baguette-cut diamonds, totalling 1.5 carats, occupy the bezel in continuous arrangement. Baguette cuts, with their parallel facets and step-cut pavilions, produce light performance distinct from brilliant cuts, maybe less fire, but pronounced linear reflections that emphasise the stones’ geometry and clarity. Setting these stones demands precision metalwork. Each diamond seats in an individual collet (or channel) within the bezel, held by micro-prongs (or pressure walls) filed and burnished to secure the stones without visible metal intrusion. The setter must account for the domed sapphire crystal’s junction with the bezel, ensuring the diamonds neither interfere with the crystal seal nor create weak points in the case structure. Water resistance rates at 30 metres is adequate for daily wear but prioritising the gem setting’s integrity over aquatic capability.
Both cases measure 44mm diameter by 17.5mm height, contain 70 components in the EVO specification and 69 in the Baguette edition. The dimension accommodates the movement’s vertical complexity whilst maintaining wrist presence appropriate to contemporary haute horlogerie expectations. Sapphire crystals on dial and caseback receive anti-reflective coating on both surfaces, critical for appreciating the mechanical architecture through the crystals’ depth. The caseback carries the 75th Anniversary engraving, identifying these pieces as unique collaborations within the Legacy Machine Perpetual lineage.
Happy Anniversary and Thank You!
These anniversary editions distil what distinguishes meaningful collaborations from mere commercial exercises. The relationship between MB&F and Seddiqi transcends the retailer-brand dynamic, representing instead a shared commitment to championing independent creative vision within an industry dominated by conglomerate interests. The watches themselves with just seven EVO pieces in titanium and five Baguette Diamond examples in steel, extend the technical legacy of Stephen McDonnell’s perpetual calendar whilst introducing design elements specific to this partnership. The signature blue colourway references previous Seddiqi collaborations, creating continuity across the relationship’s history. The baguette diamond bezel inaugurates a first for the series, demonstrating how limited editions can introduce genuine variation rather than superficial dial changes.
McDonnell’s mechanical processor remains one of the few genuine innovations in perpetual calendar architecture from recent years. The system’s logic defaulting to 28 days rather than 31 solves practical problems whilst enabling the dial-side mechanical display that characterises the Legacy Machine Perpetual’s aesthetic. The finishing quality, adhering to 19th-century conventions through contemporary execution, evidences MB&F’s commitment to traditional haute horlogerie codes despite the brand’s avant-garde reputation. These pieces celebrate a retailer who chose to support independent creators when such decisions carried genuine commercial risk, and a friendship that has endured through the volatile cycles inherent to luxury watchmaking.
Reflecting on this relationship, Maximilian Büsser, owner & creative director of MB&F, shares:
“I have been privileged over the last 27 years of their 75-year history, to have counted the Seddiqi family as very close friends. They welcomed me when I was at my most vulnerable, they many times helped me when I was down, and were there to celebrate our greatest achievements together. It is therefore my privilege and honour to celebrate this milestone of Ahmed Seddiqi, with two incredibly rare and special MB&F pieces. Both are based on the ground-breaking Perpetual Calendar developed by Stephen McDonnell. For such an exceptional anniversary, we had to choose an equally exceptional movement”.
