Since M.A.D.1 was released a month ago, they’ve received tons of questions on the ‘M.A.D.1’ – a machine created under a different label, M.A.D.Edition. Most of the questions,  is the M.A.D.1 for sale? Is it an MB&F? Why can’t I purchase one? 

Maximilian Büsser, owner and creative director of MB&F, clarified the dust that has settled a little. See the transcript and video announcement also.

The story behind MB&F

First of all, I love creating our Horological and Legacy Machines at MB&F, and I have absolutely no plans to slow down on that front. Most of you do not know that when I started MB&F 16 years ago, I had created  a second watch brand in parallel, which was around US$ 4’000 retail. It was called Green Dog, and even though the product was really cool, I never found the funding necessary to launch it. And, in hindsight, that is probably a very good thing.

This is actually dedicated to the loved ones

Why would I want to do that? Because I have always wanted to create pieces for my friends and family. Also, I must admit that there is an enormous intellectual challenge in  something original at those lower price points: the technical constraints are immense and completely different to ultra-high-end pieces like MB&F. As usual, I love learning and getting out of my creative comfort zone.

The long journey of MB&F

Nine years later, in 2014, I thought up this amazing [M.A.D.1] piece. Even though we are truly proud of the result, we could not put the MB&F name on it–the engineering, complexity, and of course, the finishing is not at all in the same league. So we created a new label, “M.A.D.Edition”, linking it to the mechanical art universe we’ve created with our M.A.D.Galleries.

The development process clearly lasted a while because we were doing this as a side project, on top of all our very intense MB&F activity. At the same time, it was clear in my mind that M.A.D.1 could not put our MB&F operations in danger; our highly skilled but small team of engineers and watchmakers create and craft just over 200 timepieces a year. The M.A.D.1 is obviously not as complex, but those same watchmakers modify the base movement, mount the hour and minute cylinders, the oversized rotor, do the encasing, and the final testing assembling thousands of M.A.D.1s is UNTHINKABLE for us; our workshops and team are just not equipped for it.

Special thanks to the “friends” who work hard for MB&F

First the “Friends”: the over 100 talented suppliers who have helped us create our timepieces since 2005. Those who craft our dials, hands, cases, escapements, movement components, sapphire crystals, but also the photographers, writers, designers, and all the other creatives we work with; the vast majority of all those people definitely don’t have the means to acquire an MB&F.

The second group of people to receive an email from us were our patrons: the collectors who have supported us from the beginning by acquiring our Machines. Without them, MB&F would not exist. This is why the M.A.D.1 was also suggested to the members of “The Tribe”, our owner’s club.

Now, let’s come back to the watch itself! Actually, we’re super proud of what we’ve achieved for that price. The case structure and time display are especially innovative, with an upside-down movement allowing to place this titanium and tungsten rotor on top, revolving hour and minute rings around the case. The construction of the case (which is a mystery)–we’ll keep it that way for a little longer.