SPECIFICATIONS:
MB&F LM Thunderdome
Movement: Developed for MB&F by Eric Coudray and Kari Voutilainen, is
manual winding with three mainspring barrels. The regulating mechanism
features 3 fast-rotation axes revolving at different speeds and on
different planes. The rotation speeds of the axes starting from the center
are respectively 8 seconds, 12 seconds and 20 seconds. The combined
weight of the multi-axis mechanism is nearly 1 gram. Bespoke
hemispherical 10mm balance wheel with traditional regulating screws
and helical hairspring, visible on top of the movement.
Superlative hand finishing throughout respecting 19th-century style;
bevelled internal angles highlighting handcraft; polished bevels; Geneva
waves; hand-made engravings. Power reserve (indicator on back) is
45 hours.
Dial: Blue guilloche plate showing hours and minutes on a 58° vertically
tilted white dial
Case: 44mm by 22.2mm platinum 950. Hour Glass editions in tantalum.
Water resistant to 30 meters. Sapphire crystals on top and display back
treated with anti-reflective coating on both faces.
Strap: Blue hand-stitched alligator strap with platinum or tantalum
folding buckle matching the case.
IN THE FOUR YEARS THAT HAVE ELAPSED SINCE MB&F asked watchmaker
Eric Coudray to create “the craziest, most cinematic three-axis tourbillon
ever,” the renowned master of micro-engineering has been working overtime.
One look at the new MB&F Legacy Machine Thunderdome will attest to the
fact that Coudray met – and exceeded – that initial challenge.
The new MB&F Legacy Machine Thunderdome pairs Coudray’s three-axis
mechanism with the globe-topped tilted-dial display similar to the design
we saw first in early 2019 in MB&F’s award-winning Legacy Machine FlyingT.
As a result, Coudray’s proprietary new ‘TriAx’ does its high-speed work in
plain sight, operating in multiple dimensions underneath the massive MB&F
domed sapphire crystal. Coudray’s device features three axes that revolve at
different speeds, on different planes and in three speeds: an incredible eight
seconds, twelve seconds and twenty seconds.
Coudray met MB&F founder Maximilian Büsser at Jaeger-LeCoultre,
where Coudray in 2004 developed the Gyrotourbillon, one of the world’s
first multi-axis tourbillons. He is now a member of a specialist team TEC
Ebauches, a high-complication think tank and movement supplier based in
the Vallée de Joux.
Coudray designed the TriAx using the unusual Potter escapement, a
19th century design that allows the watchmaker to control the rate at
which energy escapes from the movement barrel. With the rate under
control, Coudray then designed an escapement that uses a fixed escape
wheel in place of the far more common mobile escape wheel. This not only
allows for higher rotational speeds, but also frees up more space for the
balance and hairspring.
The multi-axis arrangement gave Coudray the space to add another
novel component: a hemispherical balance combined with a cylindrical
hairspring. Historically, this sturdy, ultra-precise hairspring design is most
likely found inside marine chronometers, though today you’ll also variations
within specific wristwatches made by Bovet, Montblanc (Minerva), H. Moser,
Jaeger-LeCoultre and a few others. According to MB&F, the hemispherical
balance/cylindrical hairspring arrangement is a first in any micro-mechanical
work of horology.
A VOUTILAINEN STAGE
The LM Thunderdome’s multi-axis drama unfolds above Kari Voutilainen’s
eye-catching dark-blue guilloché dial. Echoing earlier Legacy Machines,
MB&F showcases the TriAx by suspending it on arched, polished titanium
bridges that beautifully echo the curve of dome that gives the watch its
name. And underneath his rich blue dial, Voutilainen has for the first time
WINTER 2020 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | 63