Since 2015, MB&F’s Legacy Machine Perpetual has made its rounds in just about every precious metal you could think of: Red gold, platinum, titanium, white gold, palladium, even yellow gold. But somehow, after nearly a decade of wild experiments and precious splurges, they hadn’t done the obvious: stainless steel. That changed in 2023, and they brought along a salmon dial to ensure nobody missed the point. Steel and salmon? It just works. 

A 2023 MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual Calendar in stainless steel. Available for immediate purchase from Phillips PERPETUAL.. Price: £125,000

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The watch is big — 44mm wide and 17.5mm thick — but that's old news with the Legacy Machine Perpetual. That domed sapphire crystal and the dramatic three-dimensional architecture are part of the package. On paper, the size sounds crazy, but on the wrist, it’s surprisingly wearable. MB&F gets the proportions right, especially with that relatively thin mid-case and low-set lugs that hug your wrist better than they have any right to.

A 2023 MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual Calendar in stainless steel. Available for immediate purchase from Phillips PERPETUAL.. Price: £125,000

The main time-telling parts — hours, minutes, the full calendar, and a power reserve indicator — float above the dial on lacquered subdials, while the movement itself, designed by Stephen McDonnell, takes center stage. It’s a technical marvel and a piece of kinetic art at the same time.

McDonnell and MB&F didn't just tweak an existing perpetual calendar movement. They started from scratch. There was no base movement from which to pull. It features no modules, and of course, no compromises. They built a 581-component engine from zero, intending to solve all the typical problems that plague traditional perpetual calendars.

A 2023 MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual Calendar in stainless steel. Available for immediate purchase from Phillips PERPETUAL.. Price: £125,000

The mechanical processor at the heart of the watch defaults to 28 days and adds dates as needed. You don't have to baby it or stress about jamming the movement when you’re fiddling with the calendar settings at the wrong time. And you won’t need a pin or a prayer to adjust it either — the pushers at the corners are simple and safe to use.

It’s easy to get jaded with watchmaking. You see a lot of brands chasing trends, or padding out their catalogues with safe bets and low-effort reissues. MB&F doesn’t do that. 

The present example dates to the first production year of 2023, is in outstanding condition, and comes complete with its original MB&F box and paperwork. It's available for immediate purchase from Phillips PERPETUAL for £125,000.

  • About Logan Baker

    Logan has spent the past decade reporting on every aspect of the watch business. He joined Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo at the start of 2023 as the department's Senior Editorial Manager. He splits his time between New York and Geneva.