It is probably an understatement of the highest order to suggest that when Max Büsser, Owner & Creative director of MB&F announced the M.A.D.1, in June of 2021, with its upside-down modified triple-blade winding rotor Miyota movement, it absolutely decimated the Internet.
What should absolutely impress you about that, is that Büsser did not use any classical means of having the news of the watch’s launch out there. One fine June day, it just started popping up all over Instagram, and continued to dominate conversations among watch circles well past Geneva Watch Days in September.
Büsser explained back then, “…I absolutely LOVE creating insane MB&F Machines – and I still do! – but their very high price, due to their complexity, production and quality of finishing, had created a bit of frustration in me: my family and friends could never afford them. That’s why I’ve been playing with the M.A.D.Editions side project for quite a while. Also, there was an enormous intellectual challenge in developing something creative at a much lower price point.”
While Büsser managed to meet his own brief with the M.A.D.1, what we imagine, he had not anticipated, is how much of a runaway success the watch was poised to become. He shares, “The limited quantity of M.A.D.1’s we could make in 2021 (only a few hundred pieces) meant that in practice, we could not make them accessible to everyone. That’s why we reserved them to two very precise groups of people: first, those we call officially ‘The Friends’: the over 100 suppliers who have helped us create all our MB&F Machines all these years; and second, the members of ‘The Tribe’, the owners of MB&F machines – the patrons who have made our adventure possible.”
Upon announcement, though, the amount of people who wanted to add the M.A.D.1 went far and beyond Büsser’s logical means to limit its production, several times over. He goes on, “The response to that M.A.D.1 was mind-blowing: in a matter of days, we were submerged by thousands of comments and messages on social media, begging us to make the M.A.D.1 available. After a few weeks, in early July, I posted a video to explain the thinking behind the M.A.D.1, and why it was limited to our Friends and Tribe members… and at the same time, I promised you that our team was working very hard on making a follow-up version, accessible to a wider public in 2022.”
Büsser’s explanations aside, when we spoke with him about the Pink Dial Project, we cannot even begin to explain to you how thankful we are that it was he who suggested a special pink, one off execution of the M.A.D.1 for our little charity auction. The Pink Dial Project amassed a final sum of USD526,803, where the M.A.D.1 Pink Dial Project alone went for USD172,000.
But at long last, we’re well into the later part of Q1 2022 and Büsser being a man of his words, is announcing today the follow up to last year’s M.A.D.1. Says Büsser, “We needed the time to organize ourselves, because M.A.D.Editions remain a side project; it has always been clear in my mind that M.A.D.1 could not put our MB&F operations in danger. We also wanted to propose a slightly different timepiece, because the original M.A.D.1 should remain exclusive to the Friends and the Tribe. We’re now ready with that follow-up version, which we’ve called… M.A.D.1 RED!”
While built on the original M.A.D.1, the watch is differentiated with a fresh new cherry red livery along with a slightly slimmer bezel and a more classical round winding crown for the winding and time setting functions.
Now for the more crucial bits of information for those who are keen on getting one. Explaining his approach on how he intends to avail the M.A.D.1 RED, Büsser explains, “We’ve had endless discussions with the team and come up with what we think is the fairest solution. First, among the countless reactions of the last 10 months, some of you actually took the time to write and send us an email. We’ve been carefully registering those written interests, and we’ve decided that they get first priority. There’s no obligation of course, but we are first contacting them to check whether they’d like to place their order, within the next 10 days.
“By the way – and this is very important! – if you didn’t write to us yet, there’s no need to write now – we’ve closed that list. However, you DO have another chance to get a M.A.D.1 RED, which I’ll explain now.
“Once we have the confirmations of the priority orders, we’ll then take all the remaining M.A.D.1 RED pieces available, and allocate them thanks to a lottery, open to everyone. If you’re interested in participating in the lottery, which is of course totally free of charge, please go to our eShop to obtain a lottery ticket – and relax, there’s no rush, you have the next 2 weeks to get a ticket. After 2 weeks we’ll then proceed with a random draw, and we’ll let you know whether the draw has been favorable to you – in which case you will be able to place your order.”
Deliveries of the M.A.D.1 REDs will start in April and continue throughout the rest of this year. The first deliveries will go to those who had written in to the team last year, and when those orders are served, deliveries will begin for the lottery winners – most likely between September and December.
Explaining a new pricing for the M.A.D.1 RED, Büsser shares, “To make the M.A.D.Editions project sustainable in the long term – because we do have long-term plans for it! – the price of the M.A.D.1 RED is 2,900 Swiss francs before tax.”
Beyond the launch of the M.A.D.1 RED and its price, what you need to take away right now is that Max Büsser has now officially gone on record to say that there are long-term plans M.A.D.Editions.
Tech Specs
M.A.D.Editions M.A.D.1 RED
Movement: M.A.D.1 caliber; inverted Miyota 821A automatic movement, modified with titanium and tungsten winding rotor on top and lateral time display system, featuring revolving hour and minute rings
Function: Hours and minutes displayed laterally
Case: Ø 42mm stainless steel, mineral glass and sapphire crystal; thickness 18.8mm
Dial: Hours and minutes displayed laterally on revolving cylinders
Strap: Calfskin strap with stainless steel folding clasp
More information: shop.madgallery.ch
