New women’s timepiece from two watch industry heavyweights.
As MB&F founder Max Büsser admitted to Rich Report in 2018, he was unsure of his ability to design for women when he gave a sneak preview of the LM FlyingT, his first ladies’ watch.
The watch itself was anything but conventional, despite sounding antiquated in terms of gender norms. In the end, the eighth, a collaboration with Bulgari, could be its biggest headliner since its futuristic design was unlike anything else on the market and proved to be such a hit that the company has since released seven versions.
Developed from a friendship between Büsser and Bulgari’s creative director of watches, Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, both of whom have a penchant for bucking tradition and incorporating unusual mechanisms into their watches. In addition to a vertically built 3-D movement, the new 39mm-by-20mm LM FlyingT Allegra is equipped with a flying tourbillon on the upper end of the axis, a space-age domed case design, but now it is decorated in Italian opulence.
Within a galaxy of diamonds covering the mainplate are a system of large, colorful gems surrounding the tourbillon; depending on whether you choose a white-gold or rose-gold case, the combination of stones will vary, including tsavorite, topaz, amethyst, tanzanite, rubellite, and tourmaline.
As well as the case, buckle, and crown, the offset dial is also encrusted with diamonds, and its 50-degree angle makes it impossible to read the time without looking at the watch.
It comes in a presentation case with an aluminum orb surrounded by a large, waterjet-cut metal ring; when tilted dramatically on a desk or dresser, it looks like a Saturnian planet from a far, faraway ultra-luxe universe. For a rare piece of watchmaking from two of the most relentlessly creative minds in the business, the LM FlyingT is a fitting home, priced at $185,000 and available in just 20 pieces.
