Independents

The Perpetual Legacy Machine has been a grail of mine for years. When MB&F released the EVO variant, it improved it with swimmable water resistance, lume and shock resistance; I knew I had to have one.

Then, the Sequential EVO Chronograph took that a step further…especially for hardcore chronograph nerds fans like me.

I originally thought I’d end up with the perpetual, but this popped up from a good dealer and I couldn’t say no. 

Let’s jump in…

Engineering

The current wave of independents largely skips this part of watchmaking entirely and nobody can touch Mb&F. Maybe Greubel? 

The sequential has two chronographs, swimmable water resistance, shock protection, and a novel operating system. 

High level explanation of the chronographs…

There are two chronographs, one on each side. You can start & stop them just like a normal chronograph. 

The pusher at 9 o’clock allows you to invert the chronograph. Starting what is not running and stopping what is running. 

Activating the chronograph and stopping it has more of a “buttery” feel to it as opposed to the firmer and styler stiff click you get from something like a Lange chrono. The reset does feel stiffer in a good way. Personally, I don’t care much either way.

Winding here is bar none the best I have experienced. Feels amazing, and watching it action on the back is even better.

The shock protection system is shared with the Perpetual EVO, and owners I know wear theirs hard without issue. 

What stands out is that a small independent continues to out-engineer multi-billion-dollar brands. Mb&F did it with the Perpetual Calendar and has done it again here.

Comfort and Wearability

Most complicated well made watches cannot be worn daily. The EVO series can be! 

The dimensions look intimidating on paper but wear smaller in practice. The lug design keeps the watch compact and much of the thickness sits below the case. The result is excellent comfort. If you have tried the Perpetual EVO out, this wears very similarly, despite the larger dimensions on paper. 

It’s waterproof and fully lumed, making it a true all-day watch; I literally haven’t taken it off since I picked it up. 

That said, wrist size matters. I have average size wrists and find it easy to wear. If your wrist is under ~6 inches I don’t think this is a good idea. Fit will depend heavily on wrist shape. I strongly recommend trying it on first. 

To be clear, it’s chunky, just that it wears more like 43 and 14.5 or something, not 44 and 18. It definitely wears smaller than my Panerai or my AP offshore, both which have smaller sizes on paper but are nowhere near as comfortable. 

The zirconium case is extremely light and is resistant to scratches and dings. I’ve never owned a watch made of this metal, and no complaints from me. I like my watches as light as possible. 

The deployant is comfortable. I was planning on swapping it for a tang buckle but changed my mind. It feels quite flat and I have no issues typing with this watch on. I do have some friends who have smaller wrists and felt it was uncomfortable though. 

I’ll throw legibility in this section. It’s easy to read. I have no issue with smaller subdials because I am in my early thirties, maybe this will change when I’m 60. If you have spent time with a watch like the Breguet Tradition…this is even easier to read because of high contrast dials. It looks like Mb&F has improved this even more with the newest variant featured an angled dial and flyback feature. 

Finishing

Thicc anglage, well-executed bevels, sharp internal angles, and everything else you can think of…it’s easy to burn an hour with a loupe. In my pictures I tried to highlight some of my favorite examples of their finishing. 

Minor imperfections exist at extreme magnification, but nothing unreasonable. You have to be viewing the watch with lot of magnification under good lighting to see said imperfections. 

It’s impressive when you take into account that this watch has 585 parts. It feels like I could pick a random subsection of the watch, and find something new every day.   

The stripes feature Mb&F’s NAC treatment, which makes them darker and more 3D. It’s a different aesthetic versus the super soft and feathery aesthetic most brands go for or see as ideal. Note, because I used a lot of post processing in my images to clean up sharpness in particular, the stripes look rougher/quite a bit harsher, in reality they look a lot softer. 

Compared to large brands like Patek or AP, this is clearly better finished, and it sits above several other independents I have owned or own. 

Is this the best finishing in independent watchmaking? 

No, but it’s right below the top, and it seems like the finishing is a two up from the Perpetual EVO. For example the power reserve area is much more detailed, the anglage on some components is significantly thicker. 

Design

You either love or hate MB&F’s design language. There is no middle ground.

I fall firmly in the former camp. The watch is instantly recognizable, and that distinct identity is a major strength. I don’t buy independent watches for derivative design!

The openworked design lets you explore how the watch works, which is especially fun while messing with the chronograph function.  

I really like the black dial. It makes the watch a bit less loud.  

The sheer depth of this watch has is fantastic. It really feels like they built layers on top of layers on top of layers.

Things I Don’t Like

Most of these critiques apply to Mb&F EVO models generally.

Hands: They lag behind the rest of the watch. They’re functional but lack the refinement seen in the hands on my De Bethune or Bradley Taylor. It’s hard not to compare this to the hands on my DB28 in particular, which are beautifully made and designed. It feels like someone slapped on some hands with this watch instead of carefully thinking things through. This is surprising given how well though through other aspects of the watch are. Obviously you can’t go nuts with the chrono hands specifically because they need to bounce around, but that doesn’t preclude doing more with the hands for the time. 

Subdials: The EVO loses the floating numerals of the lacquered non-EVO versions. They’re legible but visually flat. I’d prefer applied indices with polished elements. The Lange Odysseus pulls this off perfectly in a sports watch context. Some will argue this is less legible but personally I don’t think it’s a problem. The new variant of this watch features an angled time dial which I think helps make it a little more interesting visually and takes advantage of the existing height  

Straps: You’re limited to boring MB&F rubber straps. I enjoy swapping straps, and the inability to throw on  canvas or leather is a downside. A stronger taper on the strap would have been nice too, as the current design doesn’t look super elegant. 

Loudness. This watch attracts attention. I wore it to a charity event where Gordon Ramsay was cooking, and he commented on it immediately. This was so cool given I grew up watching himself on tv. Others did as well. Whether that’s a positive or negative depends on the owner. I don’t mind, but I live in a very safe city. 

Conclusion 

If you want a beautifully made, technically ambitious, and visually distinctive chronograph that you can wear all day, this is an excellent choice.

Once you restrict the field to chronographs with excellent water resistance, and high end finishing,  the competitive landscape doesn’t really exist. 

One last note, Mb&F has a well documented history of being very good to customers. I’ve talked to the founder a few times before and he was great! They also hooked me up with a bunch of cool stuff even though I bought this watch preowned! A nice touch! Certainly a brand I look forward to buying more watches from in the future. I don’t even know a single collector that has had an issue with them, nor have I read a negative forum post ever. Impressive given the brand has been around for 2+ decades. 

If anyone has any questions, happy to answer or take additional pictures. 

All photos were taken on my iPhone with a cheap ring light. Sorry in advance! I used some hacksaw lightroom editing too. 

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