LM1 Silberstein
Overview
In 2009, MB&F had called on Silberstein to create its very first piece of ‘Performance Art’; the result was the HM2.2 ‘Black Box’, followed by a long list of collaborations with other creators.
For this new Performance Art series, Silberstein has taken our classic Legacy Machine No.1 and imbued it with his unique flair for the unconventional. His use of his signature three bright colours and shapes: red, blue and yellow; triangle, rectangle and circle for the hands and dial markers; and three-dimensionally translated as a cone, cube and sphere for the power reserve, catch the eye as they contrast against the more subdued movement plate below.
About the collaboration
"I resonated with LM1 because by highlighting the balance – the mechanism that splits time into miniscule increments – it highlights how man converts eternal time into something he can use. It was a pleasure to work from such a creative timepiece as LM1 because the suspended balance and arched bridge made it feel like working on the set of a science fiction film".
Alain Silberstein
BOLD COLOURS & SHAPES
The three primary colours found on the concave subdials – red and blue hands, yellow index markers – are echoed in the three shapes of the three-dimensional power reserve indicator. Blue cone, red cube and yellow sphere.
SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL BRIDGE
The original dual arches of LM1's balance bridge are replaced with a single, transparent bridge in sapphire crystal. Two years of development were required to create the balance bridge.
SILBERSTEIN MOTTO
A discreet inscription on the side of the case reveals Silberstein’s motto: “Le vrai bonheur est d’avoir sa passion pour métier” (“True happiness is making a profession of your passion”).
Machine in action
Engraved in French on the case band between the lugs of LM1 Silberstein is a paraphrased quote from Gustave Flaubert: "Le vrai bonheur est d'avoir sa passion pour métier" – which translates roughly as, "Making a profession of your passion is true happiness”.
The phrase carries special meaning for both French watch designer Alain Silberstein, who left the safety of working in his trained profession as an interior designer to found his own watch brand, and MB&F founder Maximilian Büsser, who left the security of being a successful CEO of a well-known brand to found his own niche creative lab.
THE MACHINE
Playing with materials and finishes
Alain Silberstein had one overriding aim in his vision of creating a ‘Performance Art’ edition of LM1: to welcome the "eternal time" of the universe into the movement, where it would be transformed into time on a more human scale. To realise this, he envisaged concave subdials to catch "eternal time", rather than the convex subdials of the original LM1. He also envisaged replacing the original dual arches of LM1's balance bridge with a single, transparent bridge, allowing full visual access to the time indications and dial-side escapement.
The colours and shapes of the concave hands highlight Silberstein's meticulously practical approach to artistic design. When reading the time, the hour is generally the first bit of information required. So the hour hands are a brighter colour (red) on a larger surface area (triangle) than the thinner blue minute hands.
The three primary colours found on the subdials – red and blue hands, yellow index markers – are echoed in the three shapes – blue cone, red cube, and yellow sphere – of the three-dimensional power reserve indicator.
- Material: 18k red gold, grade 5 titanium or grade 5 titanium treated with black PVD
- Dimensions: 42.5 x 17 mm
- Three-dimensional horological movement created by Jean-François Mojon and Kari Voutilainen
- Manual winding with single mainspring barrel
- Vertical power reserve indicator (45 hours)
- Transparent sapphire crystal bridge
- Bespoke 14mm flying balance wheel visible on top of the movement
- 279 components / 23 jewels / 45h power reserve
- Superlative hand finishing throughout respecting 19th century style
- Hours and minutes; completely independent dual time zones displayed on two dials; unique vertical power reserve indicator
- Left crown at 8 o'clock for setting time of left dial; right crown at 4 o'clock for setting time of right dial and winding
Inspiration
The Legacy Machine FlyingT immediately appealed to Tarpin thanks to its volume. Where the majority of timepieces are flat, he was fascinated by this domed space around the vertically built mechanism. With a free ticket to design whatever he wanted, he decided on a wintery theme, as not only is winter his favourite season, but travelling back and forth between his hometown of Annecy to Geneva, in a sometimes wintery wonderland, quickly provided him with the inspiration he needed.
The first model, called Ice, features asymmetrical diamond-set stalagmites that encroach on the sapphire crystal dome and the movement. Each icy stalagmite is different, replicating the randomness of nature. Tarpin took his inspiration from a trip to Lake Baïkal in Southern Siberia, where in winter the lake freezes from the edge inwards until it is totally frozen. The claws of the diamond stalagmites have not quite claimed the movement and the matt lapis lazuli dial, leaving the beauty of the mechanism and the time visible to the eye.
For the second model, named Blizzard, Tarpin let his imagination run free into the Alps where he has been skiing since he was two years old. He has interpreted memories of being caught in blizzards of snow into the LM FlyingT with brilliant-cut diamonds set under the sapphire crystal dome and closed-set diamonds set into the matt lapis lazuli dial, depicting snowflakes on the ground. The result is like a snow globe in motion.
