MB&F is organising a raffle of 20 watches as a gesture to say thank you to its collector community. It will include 10 ‘LM101 Longhorn 20th Anniversary’ for the brand’s Tribe community and 10 ‘M.A.D.1S 20th Anniversary’ for watch enthusiasts who have previously participated in the M.A.D.Editions raffles.
“Our dozens of different Machines born over the last two decades allowed us all together to partake in what we love most: to create. To transform ideas into meticulously innovative hand finished sculptures. To find joy in working together. To build a community. Amongst the few regrets I have from the last twenty years, one is that it was incredibly difficult to be generous when we were in survival mode. This 20th Anniversary allows us to say thank you to our entire community: our own team, the artisans we call Friends, our Tribe members, our retail partners, the growing M.A.D.Editions community… all without whom our ideas would have remained simply that: ideas”. – Maximilian Büsser, Founder & Creative Director of MB&F.
LM101 Longhorn 20th Anniversary
Functions and Operations
Hours and minutes indicated on the subdial between 1 and 2 o’clock. Power reserve indicated on the subdial at 6 o’clock. Screw-down crown at 4 o’clock for winding and time setting.
Dial
Luminous rhodium-plated dial plate with a sunburst finish. Black sub dials. Blue hands.
Movement
Powered by an MB&F developed in-house movement that drives the hours, minutes, and power reserve indicator. Parts: 229. Jewels: 23. Frequency: 18,000 vph or 2.5 Hz. Power reserve: 45 hours. Manually wound movement with a single mainspring barrel. Bespoke 14 mm rhodium-plated balance wheel with 4 traditional regulating screws. Straumann® double hairspring.
Movement finishing includes “internal bevel angles highlighting hand craft; polished bevels; exclusive sunburst rhodium-plated dial plate; Geneva waves; hand-made engravings, gold chatons with polished countersinks.”
It is “the first calibre entirely conceived by MB&F’s in-house engineering team. Award-winning, independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen played a pivotal role in the design and finishing specifications, ensuring that its architecture and 19th century style hand-finishing techniques met the highest standards of traditional haute horlogerie and respected the codes of historical watchmaking.”
Case
Made from stainless steel 316L. Parts: 35. Diameter: 40 mm. Thickness: 16 mm. Dial side features a high domed sapphire crystal. Caseback features a box sapphire crystal. Both with dual-side anti-reflective coating. Water resistant up to 3 ATM / 30 metres / 90 feet. Watch comes with a light brown leather strap fitted with a stainless steel folding buckle.
Please click here to read about the recently launched LM101 EVO – which is based on the LM101, and here to read about two other variants of the brand’s Longhorn series.
M.A.D.1S 20th Anniversary
Functions and Operation
Hours and minutes displayed on a single cylinder. Crown at 12 o’clock for winding and time setting.
Movement
Powered by an inverted Manufacture La Joux-Perret G101 movement that drives the rotating cylinder. A Swiss made movement, it features a unidirectional automatic winding rotor. Height: 4.45 mm. Diameter: 11 ½ lignes or 25.94 mm (approximately). Jewels: 24. Frequency: 28,800 vph or 4 Hz. Power reserve: 68 hours.
Case
Made from stainless steel 316L. Diameter: 42 mm. Thickness: 15 mm. Dial or “rotor” side features a sapphire crystal, and caseback features a mineral glass – both with dual side anti-reflective coating. Water resistant up to 3 ATM / 30 metres / 90 feet. Watch comes with a light brown leather strap fitted with a stainless steel folding buckle.
Please click here to read about the M.A.D.1S ‘Grow Your Dreams’ trio – a collaboration with Yinka Ilori, a British Nigerian multidisciplinary artist and designer.
Our Thoughts
The watchmaking landscape is vastly different today than it was 20-25 years ago. These days new independent brands spring up frequently – “crafting watches” that boast “exceptional horology” and exorbitant prices. Social media helps them a lot. Only a handful of new independents have gained serious traction. Akrivia / Rexhep Rexhepi, Berneron, Simon Brette, and Sylvain Pinaud are few names that come to mind. The world was a different place 20-25 years ago. Watchmaking was dominated by a handful of mainstream brands (it still is), transparency was unheard off (still holds true with many brands), and there was no social media.
It was in those days that a young Max Büsser set out to found Maximilian Büsser & Friends or MB&F. The “F” is critical in understanding the brand, as with-it, Max gave the watchmaking ecosystem much deserved transparency and recognition. Every MB&F creation gives credit to the individuals and companies that have worked on it.
Max could well have walked on fire – because few would have believed in his idea back then. He persevered and made audacious horology equally desirable and accepted by a discerning audience. I witnessed this first hand when I lived in Singapore during 2014 – 2017. At a Franck Muller watch event hosted by Sincere, a tall watch collector and his wife made an entrance. He was wearing two MB&F HMs (Horological Machines) – one on each wrist. This was my first sighting of an MB&F in the wild! Another time, at a GTG in a restaurant, a renowned watch collector walked in carrying a bespoke briefcase – with the typical glint in his eye. I almost fainted when he opened it. It was filled with complications and grand complications from prestigious mainstream and independent brands – watches one never gets to see in the wild, and seldom at boutiques. It contained a few MB&F HMs. This was an important lesson in my horological journey: Max’s creations could happily coexist alongside traditional and classical watchmaking.
A few months ago, they launched a new collection debuting the Special Projects or SP One to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Max’s original vision is as fresh and relevant as ever, and MB&F – the brand he so lovingly founded 20 years ago – is going from strength to strength. We wish them all the best.
Showing gratitude to their collector community – both to the Tribe members and those who have participated in prior M.A.D.Editions Raffles – by giving away 20 watches is an awesome (and as crazy as their creations) gesture by the brand.
Please click here to read Vidya Prabhu’s coverage on MB&F’s 20th anniversary. Max has described each of the brand’s creations in a few words.
Raffle Details
The Raffle draws will be held in October and supervised by a bailiff to guarantee fairness.
“The 10 LM101 Longhorn 20th Anniversary pieces will be raffled through a first draw, automatically including all registered Tribe members who have entered their MB&F pieces (collectors should register with The Tribe to make sure they are included). Details will be shared with owners directly, and the 10 lucky winners will be invited to Geneva to collect their new Machine directly from the MB&F M.A.D.House.”
“Simultaneously, MB&F wanted to acknowledge its broader circle of fans. Thousands of watch aficionados have registered for M.A.D.Editions raffles over the years; their names will automatically be entered into a draw for one of the 10 M.A.D.1S 20th Anniversary pieces.”
