MB&F brings together independent watchmaking and traditional decorative arts in the new LM101 Gabriel Colliard editions, a series of three watches featuring miniature jungle scenes created by Swiss-based artist and enameller Gabriel Colliard.
The project brings his compositions in cloisonné enamel to the dial and movement architecture of the Legacy Machine 101, with each watch built around a distinct dominant colour.
The LM101 Gabriel Colliard is presented in three editions: Monkey - Blue, Macaw - Red and Crocodile - Green. Each depicts its respective animal in a composition built around the corresponding colour.
Limited to eight pieces per edition, they draw inspiration from the richly decorated enamel dials of the 1950s, while adopting a more contemporary approach to colour.
Rather than relying on a broad multicoloured palette, Colliard uses numerous variations of a predominant hue, combining translucent, semi-opaque and opaque enamels to create depth, contrast and atmosphere.
The collaboration began with MB&F's wish to give an independent artist the freedom to develop his own compositions. Colliard studied fine arts in Argentina before moving to Switzerland in 2003.
After initially working in watchmaking, he trained in enamelling in Limoges, France, and subsequently gained experience in specialist workshops and at Patek Philippe. His background as a painter informs his approach to the medium, which he uses not simply as a decorative technique but as a means of exploring colour, light and composition.
Each dial is produced using the traditional cloisonné technique.
Fine gold wires are bent by hand to outline the animals, leaves and other elements of the scenes, creating small compartments that are then filled with enamel.
The dial is fired repeatedly in a kiln, with successive applications building up the colours and their different levels of transparency.
The process requires considerable precision, as enamel changes appearance during firing and even a small adjustment to a shade can require several further stages of work.
As Colliard puts it, the fire always has the final say. With approximately one composition completed per month, producing all 24 watches is expected to take more than two years.
The artwork also had to accommodate the distinctive three-dimensional architecture of the LM101.
Its large suspended balance wheel and sculptural bridges occupy much of the dial's surface, making the integration of the enamel scenes a particular challenge. Rather than treating these mechanical elements as obstacles, Colliard incorporated them into his compositions.
The project required modifications to the dial plate, which was adapted to accommodate the thickness of the enamel, as well as the removal of the original sub-dials and the extension of their hands.
The result is a composition in which the mechanical structure and the enamel artwork interact.
The decorative work continues on the reverse of the movement, where an enamelled ratchet wheel echoes the colours and motifs of the dial.
Colliard develops the two elements in parallel, creating a visual connection between the front and back of the watch.
The LM101 Gabriel Colliard is housed in a 40 mm platinum case measuring 16.55 mm in height, with sapphire crystals treated with anti-reflective coating on both sides and water resistance to 30 metres / 100 feet.
The manually wound movement was originally developed by MB&F's in-house engineering team in collaboration with independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen, who established its traditional finishing specifications.
For these editions, the calibre has been upgraded to provide a 60-hour power reserve, compared with 45 hours in previous versions.
Comprising 222 components and 23 jewels, the movement features a 14 mm suspended balance wheel fitted with a Straumann double hairspring and operating at 18,000 vibrations per hour (2.5 Hz).
Hours and minutes are displayed at 2 o'clock, while the power reserve indication is positioned at 6 o'clock.
The movement's finishing includes undulating Geneva waves, hand-polished bevels, gold chatons and countersunk blued screws, alongside NAC-treated rear bridges and a rhodium-plated mainplate.
The MB&F Legacy Machine 101 Gabriel Colliard is offered in three eight-piece limited editions: Monkey – Blue, Macaw – Red and Crocodile – Green.
Each piece is fitted with a hand-stitched alligator leather strap featuring a white gold folding buckle cover. Retail pricing is set at CHF 98,000 / €107,000 / US$ 131,000 (excluding taxes). mbandf.com
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