The Birth of M.A.D. Editions as a much more affordable brand from MB&F is fundamentally connected to the concept of community.
MB&F's concept is a far cry from industry standards. On the one hand, the concept originated from the ideas and dreams of the MB&F’s founder and brings Büsser's brainchild to life. On the other hand, the concept is geared towards having a group of like-minded people create watches.
This is similar to the Horological Machine No.1, a timepiece which was the product of a joint effort by Maximilian Büsser, Eric Giroud, Laurent Besse and Peter Speake-Marin. The birth of the M.A.D. Editions brand is rooted in the concept of community.
Büsser explained that the new project was spurred by his friends and watchmakers themselves who couldn't afford MB&F pieces. The first model was distributed within a close circle which only served to create even more hype.
Inundated with requests to purchase the M.A.D.1, Büsser has decided to respond by releasing a second watch. It’ll be sold to the biggest fans this time round, who haven't been shied away from getting in touch and writing about what they want.
Another interesting way to obtain the watch is through a raffle run by the brand's MAD-Gallery e-Shop. It’s certainly something worth chancing your luck on. Apart from the watch's price tag of CHF 2900, another cherry on the cake is its triple-blade rotor borrowed from the shape of a battle-axe like the rotors from the MB&F HM3 series.
The rotor made of titanium and tungsten dominates the entire dial, which gives the Miyota 821A movement its 42-hour power reserve. You need to look at the watch from the side to read the lateral time display on the revolving aluminum cylinders.
You can't see the main shade of cherry-red used to finish the new M.A.D.1 Red in the dark, but that's when its impressive Super-LumiNova coating comes to life, playing on the rotor's blades and numerals in the time display. The model's stainless steel case measures 42 mm in diameter and 18.8 mm in height.