Auctions: This Piece Unique From MB&F Changes Everything We Know About Lugs

By Danny Milton

Auction season is upon us. We’ve now seen the full slate of this year’s Only Watch participants, including the HM10 Panda from MB&F. Well, Maximilian Büsser and Friends are back to say that that wasn’t the only unique trick the brand had up its sleeve. In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the LM1 series (one of the brand’s very first prototypes), it has announced the LM1 “Longhorn.” Employing the key design language we have come to recognize in the LM1, this watch features two separate time displays with blued hands, with an impressively large balance wheel on an arched bridge hanging over top (the same arch design seen in the LM1 Final Edition).

Past iterations of the watch have been done in all manner of case materials from precious metals to titanium. What makes this watch special, is that the case is fashioned entirely from no-nonsense stainless steel. Instead of white lacquer for the two dials, these are done in shiny black lacquer. The name Longhorn is a reference to the lugs (which the brand also calls horns).

This watch has a charitable angle. It will be auctioned off by Phillips on Sunday, November 7th in Geneva, and a significant portion of the proceeds will go to Save the Rhino International.

The LM1 has always struck me as the most conventional watch design to come out of the house of Büsser, even though it’s technically two watches in one – or, two dials at least. I do find it interesting that we currently live in a world where the truly special watch, the piece unique, is made of stainless steel. I’ll admit, I am intrigued by the notion.

In terms of overall form, the watch is not entirely surprising from past iterations – maintaining the balance wheel and arched bridge beneath the pronounced domed crystal. The black lacquer dials against the blued hands do give this watch a particular industrial vibe that prior iterations did not possess. In fact, the Final Edition, released about four years ago, had more of a luxe, haute-horology feeling.

But I am far more interested in this Longhorn moniker and what it really means. It’s a description for the visual representation …read more