Dear friends of IWS, welcome back to our magazine. Today we are here to tell you the story of friendship between one of the hottest independent Maisons of the moment and on the other side, one of Milan’s most exclusive watch boutiques.
If you haven’t guessed yet, we are talking about MB&F and Great Master of Time (GMT).
The two friends reunited after 30 years, and to celebrate this enduring and successful partnership, they decided to create the M.A.D. 1 GMT Milano Edition to thank those who have always supported them.
Let us now explore in detail this new version of the watch with the now iconic oscillating weight capable of mesmerizing anyone and, retrace, what has been the history between MB&F and GMT from the 1990s to the present.
The birth of M.A.D. 1
When we talk about MB&F I literally start to lose my mind, just like a child when he enters a toy store.
Then again, as it is usually said, we never stop playing even as we grow up but, simply, the type of games we desire changes.
And it is within MB&F that, personally, I find those futuristically designed “toys for grown children” that make my heart beat faster every time I see them.
For those who are not familiar with the brand’s creations, these are highly exclusive watches named “Machines” by the creator of the Maison, Max Büsser, as they represent real machines that contain within them the most innovative and creative design and mechanical solutions.
As a Maison that makes just about 200 watches a year, it is easy to understand right away how exclusive their timepieces are and how much, unfortunately, they can cost.
In addition to MB&F’s Machines, in 2014 Max Büsser decided to create something to say “thank you” to those who have always supported his work since 2005, driven by the desire that has always resided in him to create pieces for his friends and family.
This is how he decided to make a new watch, in addition to the ordinary MB&F watches, under the name “M.A.D. Edition,” linking it to the universe of mechanical art created with the M.A.D. Galleries.
A riguardo Büsser si espresse con queste parole:
“I used to love making crazy MB&F machines (and still do!) but their very high price due to complexity, production and finish quality had created some frustration for me – my family and friends could never afford them. That is why I have been playing around with the M.A.D.Edition side project for some time now. Also, developing something creative at a much lower price represented a huge intellectual challenge.”
Thus in 2021 the M.A.D. 1 was born. It is not a usual machine from MB&F, but a more accessible timepiece created under the new brand, M.A.D. Editions.
This is a watch that arrived directly from another galaxy with the now-famous triple-bladed winding rotor, similar to that found in some MB&F watches, which goes on top of the dial of a non-“normal” watch.
The case structure and time display are quite unique. The upside-down movement allows the titanium and tungsten rotor to be placed on top, and the two cylindrical aluminum discs on the side of the case indicate the time.
Created for the purpose of saying thank you to those who helped create MB&F, the first version of M.A.D. 1 was reserved for the “Friends” and the “Tribe,” that is, all the contributors involved in the making of the different MB&F watches and the collectors who supported the Maison from the beginning by purchasing the “Machines.”
Given the enormous success and the constant demand for this very affordable watch by even people outside the MB&F “circle,” Max Büsser has decided to create a second version, distinguished this time by the color red, in the spring of 2022.
This second version of the M.A.D. 1 also literally sold out, demonstrating yet another successful creative idea from a visionary such as Max Büsser.
Adding a dose of success to M.A.D. 1 was this watch’s winning of the “Challenge” award during the prestigious GPHG 2022 evening that I had a chance to talk about within a dedicated article.
The new M.A.D. 1 GMT Milano Edition
To celebrate 30 years of friendship and collaboration between Max Büsser and the Corvo family, the two friends decided to create a third and exclusive edition of M.A.D.1.
The relationship between the Corvo family, founders of the GMT boutique in Milan, and MB&F founder Maximilian Büsser began well before the Maison’s birth in 2005, more precisely 13 years earlier.
In fact, in the 1990s, when Max Büsser was the Product Manager at Jaeger-LeCoultre, he got in touch with Giorgio and Michele Corvo, distributors for the Italian market of the Swiss Maison, in order to plan future developments.
Subsequently, in 1998 Max Büsser moved to head Harry Winston’s watchmaking department while always maintaining contact with the Corvo family. Having severed relations with Jaeger-LeCoultre in 2003, the Corvo family resumed working with Maximilian Büsser as the distributor for Italy of Harry Winston watches.
Maximilian Büsser wanted to try to transform a brand that had always been considered purely feminine.
Thanks to the Opus collection, developed with some of the world’s most talented master watchmakers, Max Büsser’s move proved to be a successful one and brought much-desired success throughout Europe.
2005 is the one that represents the real breakthrough year for one of the most creative geniuses of all time in the history of watchmaking.
During that year, Maximilian Büsser decided to sow the harvested fruits by creating his own watches characterized by his own vision of the watchmaking world. Thus MB&F was born.
The idea was to develop complicated watches out of the ordinary by relying again on the support of the Corvo family to represent him in Italy.
Coinciding with the start of Büsser’s business, the Corvo family decided to open a boutique to promote independent Haute Horlogerie.
So it was that in 2007 the Corvo family’s first GMT Boutique was born in Porto Cervo, receiving the first HM1 Tourbillon. Subsequently, the second GMT boutique opened in 2009, but this time in the heart of the business city par excellence, Milan.
Finally, we come to 2021, the year in which he opens what has become a real landmark for us “sickos” of independent haute horlogerie: GMT’s second boutique is born in Milan at 25 Via della Spiga.
And it is in the wake of these achievements and successes that to celebrate 30 years of collaboration and friendship between Maximilian Büsser and the Corvo family, a commemorative edition of the now iconic M.A.D. 1 will be produced.
Intended for customers and friends who have supported the Milan boutique over the years, the new M.A.D.1 GMT Milano Edition takes inspiration from the previous two versions.
Featuring the unique winding rotor with a triple Space Halberd in tungsten and titanium exposed on the side of the dial, the watch has classic cylindrical aluminum discs on either side of the 42mm-diameter case.
The gold 4N trim recalls the early special series produced by other houses for the Corvo family, and the strap is in a classic greenish color that fades toward petrol.
The total number of pieces produced will be 30, each representing one year of the wonderful friendship and collaboration between two of today’s most established independent watchmakers.
To learn more about MB&F visit their official website and our dedicated section.
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